Nicky Vreeland, the grandson of iconic Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland, lived a rarified life. In his gilded youth, he was a committed dandy, fastidious about his scarves and shoes, with gorgeous girlfriends and undisputed entrée into high society. Though he was not unhappy, he began to feel that the world of pleasure and appearances was untrustworthy. Turning to Buddhism in order to reach beyond the materialism of his glamorous lifestyle, he was granted an audience with the Dalai Lama—he shaved off his blond locks and began to practice meditation, eventually moving to India to study at a prominent Tibetan monastery. Many years later, his long devotion to his adopted religion inspires the Dalai Lama to appoint him abbot of the monastery. Even as he transitions from opulence to asceticism, however, Vreeland finds he cannot renounce his love of photography, despite his ambivalence toward the attachment.  LB