A Long Way From Tibet

Author: Carlo BuldriniPublisher: Tara-India ResearchYear: 2005Language: EnglishPages: 226ISBN/UPC (if available): 8187943742 DescriptionPart memoir, part travel book, this absorbing account of the Tibetan community in exile also takes an unromantic look at Tibet today, no longer a remote, mystical, mountain kingdom but an oppressed nation struggling to maintain its identity.The story unfolds on many levels and we are drawn into the fascinating culture of Tibet and its displaced citizens - from historical and political developments to the intricacies of religion and spirituality.Intriguing glimpses of this world in exile include the mysteries of Tibetan medicine; an investigation of the sinister Dorje Shugden cult which resulted in murder and threats on the life of H.H. Dalai Lama and his subsequent - apparently uncharacteristic - ban on the cult; the flight of the Karmapa Lama and the controversy of the alternative claimants to the title; the story of the two Panchen Lamas and what bec