In September 1932 Yorke left England for China, where he travelled extensively reporting for Reuters on the civil war and Japanese occupation of Manchuria, and studying Chinese culture and Buddhism.
At the cessation of hostilities, he took a position in the London office of Pontifex, with the family dividing their time between Forthampton Court and their house in Montagu Square, Marylebone.
Yorke was also the personal representative to the West of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama (died 1933) and the author of an original foreword to a secret book on the Kalachakra initiation.
In his late fifties, Yorke became increasingly immersed in the study and practice of Buddhism, served on the council of the Buddhist Society, and spoke regularly at their meetings.
His editorial skills and contacts in the publishing industry, especially his part time position with Rider & Co. and Allen & Unwin, meant that he was able to play an important role in bringing the works of the Dalai Lama to an English-speaking audience, and he also oversaw the publication of texts by then-unknown but now-famous authors such as B.K.S.