Research Catalog

Title

The Dalai Lama : an extraordinary life / Alexander Norman.

Author

Norman, Alexander

Publication

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xxii, 410 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map, portraits; 24 cm

Summary

"The first definitive biography of the Dalai Lama--a story by turns inspiring and shocking--from an acclaimed Tibetan scholar with exceptional access to his subject. The Dalai Lama's message of peace and compassion resonates with people of all faiths and none. Yet, for all his worldwide fame, he remains personally elusive. Now, Alexander Norman, acclaimed Oxford-trained scholar of the history of Tibet, delivers the definitive biography--unique, multilayered, and at times even shocking. The Dalai Lama illuminates an astonishing odyssey from isolated Tibetan village to worldwide standing as spiritual and political leader of one of the world's most profound and complex cultural traditions. Norman reveals that, while the Dalai Lama has never been comfortable with his political position, he has been a canny player--at one time CIA-backed--who has maneuvered amidst pervasive violence, including placing himself at the center of a dangerous Buddhist schism. Yet even more surprising than the political, Norman convinces, is the Dalai Lama's astonishing spiritual practice, rooted in magic, vision, and prophecy--details of which are illuminated in this book for the first time. A revelatory life story of one of today's most radical, charismatic, and beloved world leaders."--

Subject

• Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935-
• Dalai lamas > Biography
• BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Religious
• Dalai lamas
• Tibet Region > Biography
• China > Tibet Region

Genre/Form

Biographies.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 386-391) and index.

Contents

The travails of the Great Thirteenth -- A mystic and a seer : the regency established -- A child is born -- The view from the place of the roaring tiger : Tibet's nameless religion -- "Lonely and somewhat unhappy" : a hostage in all but name -- Homecoming : Lhasa, 1940 -- Boyhood : two cane-handled horsewhips -- Trouble in Shangri-La : devilry and intrigue on the roof of the world -- The perfection of wisdom : the higher education of a Tibetan Buddhist monk -- "Shit on their picnic!" : China invades, 1949-50 -- Into the dragon's lair : the Dalai Lama in China, July 1954-July 1955 -- The land of the gods : India, November 1956-March 1957 -- "Don't sell the Dalai Lama for silver dollars!" : Lhasa, 1957-1959 -- On the back of a Dzo : the flight to freedom -- Opening the eye of new awareness : Allen Ginsberg and the Beats -- "We cannot compel you" : cultural revolution in Tibet, harsh realities in India -- "Something beyond the comprehension of the Tibetan people" : The yellow book and the glorious goddess -- From Rangzen to Umaylam : independence and the middle way approach -- Cutting off the serpent's head : reaction and repression in Tibet -- "An oath-breaking spirit born of perverse prayers" : the murder of Lobsang Gyatso -- Tibet in flames : the Beijing Olympics and their aftermath -- The magical play of illusion.

Call Number

JFE 20-4754

ISBN

• 9780544416581
• 0544416589
• 9780544416888 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

• 2019023278
• 40029813475

OCLC

1104220655

Author

Norman, Alexander, author.

Title

The Dalai Lama : an extraordinary life / Alexander Norman.

Publisher

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 386-391) and index.

Other Form:

Online version: Norman, Alexander, The dalai lama Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020. 9780544416888 (DLC) 2019023279

Other Standard Identifier

40029813475

Research Call Number

JFE 20-4754