The Search for the Panchen Lama
Sign in to keep track of books you’ve read and want to read.
In May 1995, a seven-year-old Tibetan boy, along with his parents and younger brother, was taken from his home by Chinese security services. Neither the boy nor his family has been seen since. His devotees believe him to be the eleventh incarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second most important incarnation in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy.In The Search for the Pachen Lama, Isabel Hilton tells the enthralling inside story of how this boy became the innocent prize in a battle between the Chinese regime and the Dalai Lama. Starting with the death of the last Panchen Lama, she describes the intrigue surrounding the race to choose Tibet's future religious leader, a decision of enormous importance in the politically charged climate of Tibet. Traveling from the Dalai Lama's headquarters in India to all-but-inaccessible monasteries and villages in the Himalayas, Hilton probes beneath the surface of a society living grudgingly under Chinese rule. Throughout, she balances her taut narrative against the fascinating history of Tibet's high lamas, illuminating the unique role religion has played in shaping Tibetan culture and Tibet's uneasy relationship with China.
Read more
Combining history, travel, and politics, The Search for the Panchen Lama offers an extraordinarily gripping and original window on to a fascinating land.
Liked The Search for the Panchen Lama? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked The Search for the Panchen Lama. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
-
The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama Shares Tibet, Buddhism, nonfiction -
Surviving the Dragon: A Recent History of Tibet Through the Looking Glass of a Tibetan Lama Shares Tibet, Buddhism, nonfiction -
In Exile from the Land of Snows: The Definitive Account of the Dalai Lama and Tibet Since the Chinese Conquest Shares Tibet, Buddhism, nonfiction -
Buddha's Warriors Shares Tibet, Buddhism, nonfiction
