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In the Shadow of the Buddha: Secret Journeys, Sacred Histories and Spiritual Discovery in Tibet
Spiritual biography meets edge-of-your-seat undercover reporting: how an American Buddhist smuggled out hard evidence of abuse and torture in Tibet.
For nearly a decade, Matteo Pistono smuggled out of Tibet evidence of atrocities by the Chinese government, showing it to the U.S. government, human rights organizations, and anyone who would listen. Yet Pistono did not originally intend to fight for social justice in Tibet-he had gone there as a Buddhist pilgrim.
Disillusioned by a career in American politics, he had gone to the Himalayas looking for a simpler way of life. After encountering Buddhism in Nepal, Pistono's quest led him to Tibet and to a meditation master whose spiritual brother is Sogyal Rinpoche, bestselling author of "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying." Pistono not only became the master's student but also couriered messages to him in Tibet from the Dalai Lama in India. This began an extraordinary, and ultimately vital, adventure.
"In the Shadow of the Buddha" is a book about Tibet through the eyes of a devotee-a stranger hiding in plain sight. It's about how a culture's rich spiritual past is slipping away against the force of a tyrannical future. It's about how Tibetans live today, and the tenacity of their faith in the future in spite of dire repression and abuse. It's also about Pistono's own journey from being a frustrated political activist to becoming a practicing Buddhist mystic, a man who traveled thousands of miles and risked his own life to pursue freedom and peace.
For nearly a decade, Matteo Pistono smuggled out of Tibet evidence of atrocities by the Chinese government, showing it to the U.S. government, human rights organizations, and anyone who would listen. Yet Pistono did not originally intend to fight for social justice in Tibet-he had gone there as a Buddhist pilgrim.
Disillusioned by a career in American politics, he had gone to the Himalayas looking for a simpler way of life. After encountering Buddhism in Nepal, Pistono's quest led him to Tibet and to a meditation master whose spiritual brother is Sogyal Rinpoche, bestselling author of "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying." Pistono not only became the master's student but also couriered messages to him in Tibet from the Dalai Lama in India. This began an extraordinary, and ultimately vital, adventure.
"In the Shadow of the Buddha" is a book about Tibet through the eyes of a devotee-a stranger hiding in plain sight. It's about how a culture's rich spiritual past is slipping away against the force of a tyrannical future. It's about how Tibetans live today, and the tenacity of their faith in the future in spite of dire repression and abuse. It's also about Pistono's own journey from being a frustrated political activist to becoming a practicing Buddhist mystic, a man who traveled thousands of miles and risked his own life to pursue freedom and peace.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
27 people are currently reading
226 people want to read
About the author
Matteo Pistono
14 books23 followersMatteo Pistono is a writer and meditation teacher. His books include Breathe How You Want to Feel: Your Breathing Tool Kit for Better Health, Restorative Sleep, and Deeper Connection, Meditation: Coming To Know Your Mind (Hay House, 2017), Fearless in Tibet: The Life of the Mystic Tertön Sogyal (Hay House 2014), and In The Shadow of the Buddha: One Man’s Journey of Discovery in Tibet (Dutton Penguin 2011).
Matteo began studying Buddhism and yoga in Nepal in the early 1990s, and later lived and worked in Tibet for a decade. Pistono's writings about meditation, Buddhism, yoga, Himalayan and Southeast Asian cultural, political, and spiritual landscapes have appeared in The Washington Post, BBC, Buddhadharma, Tricycle, Men's Journal, Kyoto Journal, and HIMAL South Asia. Matteo earned a Masters in Indian Philosophy from the University of London. He has engaged regularly in extensive meditation retreats over the last twenty-five years, and he maintains a daily yoga asana, pranayama, and meditation practice.
Pistono was born and raised in Wyoming, completed his undergraduate degree in Anthropology from the University of Wyoming, and in 1997 he obtained his Masters of Arts degree in Indian Philosophy from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. After working with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. on Tibetan cultural programs, Pistono lived and traveled throughout the Himalayas for a decade, bringing to the West graphic accounts and photos of China’s human rights abuses in Tibet, which he wrote about in In the Shadow of the Buddha. He sits on the Executive Council of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists. Matteo and his wife Monica reside in Southern California.
Matteo began studying Buddhism and yoga in Nepal in the early 1990s, and later lived and worked in Tibet for a decade. Pistono's writings about meditation, Buddhism, yoga, Himalayan and Southeast Asian cultural, political, and spiritual landscapes have appeared in The Washington Post, BBC, Buddhadharma, Tricycle, Men's Journal, Kyoto Journal, and HIMAL South Asia. Matteo earned a Masters in Indian Philosophy from the University of London. He has engaged regularly in extensive meditation retreats over the last twenty-five years, and he maintains a daily yoga asana, pranayama, and meditation practice.
Pistono was born and raised in Wyoming, completed his undergraduate degree in Anthropology from the University of Wyoming, and in 1997 he obtained his Masters of Arts degree in Indian Philosophy from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. After working with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. on Tibetan cultural programs, Pistono lived and traveled throughout the Himalayas for a decade, bringing to the West graphic accounts and photos of China’s human rights abuses in Tibet, which he wrote about in In the Shadow of the Buddha. He sits on the Executive Council of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists. Matteo and his wife Monica reside in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 9, 2016
Having finished this book about a month ago, I've had a little time to digest its content and value for other readers. What I would say about the book is that if you have an interest in Tibet and the struggles of the people there (against Chinese oppression) to maintain their lifestyle and religion, then this book is definitely worth reading.
I read it as a travel book, and in some regards it fits the bill. However, the author is a Westerner with a devout sense of Buddhism and it's a very personal story in some ways that few might relate to. Yes, there is a mention of the Dalai Lama, albeit fleeting.
It's the author's own pursuit of his pathway to Buddhism that is probably most disruptive in the book, ironically enough. That makes his story unique, but also stiff in many places, repetitive, and (although I feel a bit uncomfortable in saying this) boring. It's easy to go astray with this one and lose interest.
Maybe this is just not the book I was looking for, and it may be perfect for you. As they like to say, "your miles may vary." Never was it more true than on this trek through Tibet and beyond.
I read it as a travel book, and in some regards it fits the bill. However, the author is a Westerner with a devout sense of Buddhism and it's a very personal story in some ways that few might relate to. Yes, there is a mention of the Dalai Lama, albeit fleeting.
It's the author's own pursuit of his pathway to Buddhism that is probably most disruptive in the book, ironically enough. That makes his story unique, but also stiff in many places, repetitive, and (although I feel a bit uncomfortable in saying this) boring. It's easy to go astray with this one and lose interest.
Maybe this is just not the book I was looking for, and it may be perfect for you. As they like to say, "your miles may vary." Never was it more true than on this trek through Tibet and beyond.
June 13, 2019
A fairly interesting account of what things are like in modern Tibet. The sad fact is that, at least at the time the book was written, the situation had not improved. The Chinese still regarded any support of the Dalai Lama and the practice of Vajrayana Buddhism as seditious acts. The author's travels among gurus and history of Tibetan mysticism was also informative, except that there were times when the book felt too much like a travel diary. The book was fine when the author didn't focus on the author. Another flaw (and a general pet peeve of mine) is when an author is relating history and purports to actually quote conversations. Even conversations from the present--unless they're filmed or the author takes notes immediately--are not likely to be perfectly recalled. But overall, if you have an interest in Tibetan Buddhism or the plight of the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet, it's worth reading.
February 29, 2012
Enjoyed the physical descriptions of the area of Tibet and high areas of India, but the author stretches credulity in some of his narratives. He accepts without question some very strange happenings, such as the bodies of lamas becoming, on their death, pure light, leaving behind only nails and hair. Also several grammar/usage errors, including "bailing" for "baling" and "symbols" instead of "cymbals."
February 13, 2011
IN THE SHADOW OF THE BUDDHA: Secret Journeys, Sacred Histories, and Spiritual Discovery in Tibet (Dutton; January 20, 2011) is Pistono's story, told in his own words, for the first time. Part undercover reporting, part spiritual biography, this book takes readers deep into the heart of Tibet: how Tibetans live today, their rich spiritual past, the tenacity of their faith, and firsthand accounts of repression and abuse by Chinese authorities, smuggled out by one dedicated man.
Disillusioned by a career in American politics, Pistono originally fled to the Himalaya in hopes of more peaceful and meaningful way of life. On spiritual pilgrimage, he intended to follow in the footsteps of one of Tibet's greatest mystics of the 20th century, Terton Sogyal. But as he visited every notable site of the mystic's life, he continually met monks, nomads and everyday Tibetans who shared with him their struggles and strife under an abusive and oppressive Chinese reign. Pistono's travels soon took dramatic new shape.
There were many things that I loved about this book, Matteo’s honesty, the wisdom of the masters he met in his journeys, the mix of history, personal stories, politics and snippets of Tibetan’s lives. But what I liked most of all was how Matteo interwove these strands in a way that really gave me a glimpse of Tibet, its people, their spirituality and culture as it is now and was in the past.
The story jumps backwards and forwards in time and from Matteo’s story to Terton Sogyal’s but if it is disorientating (I didn’t find it so, but others might), it is in the best way. It reminds us that past actions cause the present, that the present is the result of the past, and that our inner and outer experience is inextricably linked.
I didn’t know Tibet’s political history of the early 1900s and the details are fascinating. Terton Sogyal’s role could be called ‘tantric damage control’. The Nachung Oracle and masters of the time warned Tibet’s then political leaders of the results should they not live in harmony, but through self interest they ignored the advice. The Lamas of the present see within this history the causes for the Chinese takeover in the late 1950s. This is karma on a national scale, and in the light of this view, as the Dalai Lama so clearly understands, the right action is to create the positive causes now for a peaceful resolution in the future. It’s a pity the Chinese Government doesn’t understand this point.
Disillusioned by a career in American politics, Pistono originally fled to the Himalaya in hopes of more peaceful and meaningful way of life. On spiritual pilgrimage, he intended to follow in the footsteps of one of Tibet's greatest mystics of the 20th century, Terton Sogyal. But as he visited every notable site of the mystic's life, he continually met monks, nomads and everyday Tibetans who shared with him their struggles and strife under an abusive and oppressive Chinese reign. Pistono's travels soon took dramatic new shape.
There were many things that I loved about this book, Matteo’s honesty, the wisdom of the masters he met in his journeys, the mix of history, personal stories, politics and snippets of Tibetan’s lives. But what I liked most of all was how Matteo interwove these strands in a way that really gave me a glimpse of Tibet, its people, their spirituality and culture as it is now and was in the past.
The story jumps backwards and forwards in time and from Matteo’s story to Terton Sogyal’s but if it is disorientating (I didn’t find it so, but others might), it is in the best way. It reminds us that past actions cause the present, that the present is the result of the past, and that our inner and outer experience is inextricably linked.
I didn’t know Tibet’s political history of the early 1900s and the details are fascinating. Terton Sogyal’s role could be called ‘tantric damage control’. The Nachung Oracle and masters of the time warned Tibet’s then political leaders of the results should they not live in harmony, but through self interest they ignored the advice. The Lamas of the present see within this history the causes for the Chinese takeover in the late 1950s. This is karma on a national scale, and in the light of this view, as the Dalai Lama so clearly understands, the right action is to create the positive causes now for a peaceful resolution in the future. It’s a pity the Chinese Government doesn’t understand this point.
May 5, 2011
I'm not sure how objective I'm going to be but so far I love this book. I met and was friends with Matteo through Amnesty International while living in Wyoming. He was in college and I was a newly divorced mother of two in my early 30's. Even then, I was very impressed with his seriousness and maturity when it came to thinking globally. Only because that is not at all what was on the top of my list of priorities when I was 20. And he was a long-haired, snowboard shredder, free spirit with, who knew, this deep, old soul.
I am not a Buddhist but my sister is so I probably know more than the average person about the Buddhist religion and I have a great respect for it and have always desired to know more about it. This is not Eat, Pray, Love; that was a vacation in comparison; this is a serious pilgrimage. It is well written, not dark, but this man did put his life in jeopardy to do extraordinary things to help save the sanctity of this wonderful, ancient religion.
See any objectivity yet? Ha! This is a serious, true, interesting story, as I said, not dark but uplifting even in challenges he uses humor even in the moment. I highly recommend it!!!!
I am not a Buddhist but my sister is so I probably know more than the average person about the Buddhist religion and I have a great respect for it and have always desired to know more about it. This is not Eat, Pray, Love; that was a vacation in comparison; this is a serious pilgrimage. It is well written, not dark, but this man did put his life in jeopardy to do extraordinary things to help save the sanctity of this wonderful, ancient religion.
See any objectivity yet? Ha! This is a serious, true, interesting story, as I said, not dark but uplifting even in challenges he uses humor even in the moment. I highly recommend it!!!!
September 18, 2011
At first I was completely lost. The book moves quickly between the author's present-day journeys through Tibet and Tibetan Buddhist history. Perhaps it was my relaxed state of mind (I was reading it while on a camping trip in beautiful Big Sur), but in the beginning I had a hard time keeping up. Once I settled in to the back and forth pace, I was hooked. I was moved by the reporting aspect of the book with regard to the current human rights conditions in Tibet. I was curious about the history lesson aspect of the book with regard to Tibetan Buddhism. I continued to be slightly confused with the author's travels to and from Tibet, however now since I am done I realize the time-line of his travels really wasn't what was important. It was more a platform from which to build the telling of current conditions in Tibet and Tibetan Buddhist history.
May 24, 2017
I'm not really sure how to describe this book well. It was in part about the author's journey to Tibet to try and smuggle documents out of there to show how the Chinese were treating the Tibetans. It was also about the Dalai Lamas and some other spiritual people that helped the Dalai Lamas.
This was a short book (220 pgs), but it was taking me forever to read it and I was just not into it. It was a book club pick, so I was going to power through it, but once another member gave up I felt like that was permission for me to give up too. The story was not interesting to me at all. It jumped back and forth to the present and to the past. It was hard to keep track of who was who (it probably didn't help that all of the names are so unfamiliar to me). The one plus was that I did learn some history about Tibet, but I think that reading the Google page would be more interesting than this book.
This was a short book (220 pgs), but it was taking me forever to read it and I was just not into it. It was a book club pick, so I was going to power through it, but once another member gave up I felt like that was permission for me to give up too. The story was not interesting to me at all. It jumped back and forth to the present and to the past. It was hard to keep track of who was who (it probably didn't help that all of the names are so unfamiliar to me). The one plus was that I did learn some history about Tibet, but I think that reading the Google page would be more interesting than this book.
February 15, 2016
This was an interesting book, but it wasn't always an easy to read one.
I can see why other reviewers commented on the constant jumping around through time (not just back and forth between 19th/early 20th C Tibetan history and the present day, but within each timeframe as well.
It did seem to settle eventually (and given the Buddhist view of time, some non-linearity is probably appropriate) but my logical Western mind found it a little confusing in places.
The history and legends were rich, and the descriptions of what the Tibetan people live with today was disturbing. I walked away from the book with a deep sense of sadness (why do we humans do these things to each other?), and respect for people like the author who work tirelessly to make the world a better place.
I can see why other reviewers commented on the constant jumping around through time (not just back and forth between 19th/early 20th C Tibetan history and the present day, but within each timeframe as well.
It did seem to settle eventually (and given the Buddhist view of time, some non-linearity is probably appropriate) but my logical Western mind found it a little confusing in places.
The history and legends were rich, and the descriptions of what the Tibetan people live with today was disturbing. I walked away from the book with a deep sense of sadness (why do we humans do these things to each other?), and respect for people like the author who work tirelessly to make the world a better place.
December 11, 2016
i bought this book a few years ago from Bangkok , i read it and i loved it , i read it in 2 days.
it was well written.
it is about matteo Piston , he is a buddhist who has lived in Tibet and Nepal for over a decade.
he has given some beautiful discriptions of Nepal and of kathmandu.
it is his journey and about how he travelled in Asia!.
he talks about Dalai Lama and about the crimes that have been commited by the Chinese government and about how they have tortured people.
he is actually from wyoming in america.
he talks a lot about Nepal and the streets of Kathmandu and i really missed the heart of Kathmandu while i was reading this book!.
it was well written.
it is about matteo Piston , he is a buddhist who has lived in Tibet and Nepal for over a decade.
he has given some beautiful discriptions of Nepal and of kathmandu.
it is his journey and about how he travelled in Asia!.
he talks about Dalai Lama and about the crimes that have been commited by the Chinese government and about how they have tortured people.
he is actually from wyoming in america.
he talks a lot about Nepal and the streets of Kathmandu and i really missed the heart of Kathmandu while i was reading this book!.
May 20, 2013
Sometimes exciting, sometimes mystifying, sometimes depressing -- a recent history of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhist through the eyes and mind of a Western convert who smuggled out documentation of Chinese government repression at the same time as he plunged himself into a far-from-Western view of life.
August 11, 2024
Man what a weird book. I feel like I need something totally mundane and silly to decompress from this one. If it hadn't included many of the....more out there narratives, shall we say, this book was fine. Travel, personal anecdotes, meeting people, all cool. Taking as genuine historical fact that a guy wandered around commanding rocks to split open, reveal amazing statues, and reseal; or making paintings on walls move which in turn causes serpents carrying treasures to appear in midair---it was a lot.
This one left me with a lot of (theological, I guess??) questions about certain aspects of Buddhist belief. The idea that there are literal actual demons and evil spirits who can actually draw Buddhist practitioners away from the right path (such as what is believed to have been happening at the time Sogyal is wandering around treasure hunting) doesn't mesh at all with what I understand of Buddhism. The historian side of me has no problem with this, since they're probably a holdover from pre-Buddhist thought, a merge with local beliefs in actual demons, but how could any good Buddhist believe in the literal existence of evil? Or that an actual monk spending his entire time practicing in the court of the Dalai Lama could be affected by such things? Or that the Dalai Lama himself could be adversely affected by a mean picture sewn into a shoe he wasn't even wearing?? Those semi-historical portions of the book about Sogyal felt like watching an historical drama where the shamans are cursing different members of the royal family: entertaining, but also completely fictional. It appears the author takes these things seriously, possibly entirely literally, and I just.....can't? To the point where I genuinely cannot image any amount or type of evidence that could make me believe that people can just enlighten themselves so well that only the keratin-based parts of their body remain while the rest of them beams away in a flash of rainbow colored light. And I don't get how anyone else could??
Buddhism is seriously weird, guys, I'm sorry.
This one left me with a lot of (theological, I guess??) questions about certain aspects of Buddhist belief. The idea that there are literal actual demons and evil spirits who can actually draw Buddhist practitioners away from the right path (such as what is believed to have been happening at the time Sogyal is wandering around treasure hunting) doesn't mesh at all with what I understand of Buddhism. The historian side of me has no problem with this, since they're probably a holdover from pre-Buddhist thought, a merge with local beliefs in actual demons, but how could any good Buddhist believe in the literal existence of evil? Or that an actual monk spending his entire time practicing in the court of the Dalai Lama could be affected by such things? Or that the Dalai Lama himself could be adversely affected by a mean picture sewn into a shoe he wasn't even wearing?? Those semi-historical portions of the book about Sogyal felt like watching an historical drama where the shamans are cursing different members of the royal family: entertaining, but also completely fictional. It appears the author takes these things seriously, possibly entirely literally, and I just.....can't? To the point where I genuinely cannot image any amount or type of evidence that could make me believe that people can just enlighten themselves so well that only the keratin-based parts of their body remain while the rest of them beams away in a flash of rainbow colored light. And I don't get how anyone else could??
Buddhism is seriously weird, guys, I'm sorry.
May 20, 2017
This book only has 227 pages of content- I should have whipped through it in just a few days, especially since it was for a book club that was going to meet less than a week from when I picked it up from the library. A week later, I still had 100 pages to go- I kept carrying it around everywhere I went, but had trouble staying awake while reading it. It doesn't know what it wants to be- a record of human rights atrocities? a travel tome? a story of spiritual discovery? exploration of East vs West? It drags and drags, and goes on for pages with long lists of names, with many people being known by multiple names throughtout a lifetime, and more than one name being used regularly. And my Western mind was going to have trouble with things like "X, being the 4th reincarnation of Y, went to study at the Z temple"- except that X, Y and Z are all names that are 25-30 letters long. It jumps back and forward in time, sometimes by centuries, sometimes by just a few years, and I found it almost incomprehensible. If it hadn't been for a book club, I would not have made it as far as I did.
June 30, 2021
This book grew on me: the identification of years not just by animal but also element (Metal Monkey for example) as well as number, the shuffling of the author's personal journey with his political work and the history of Terton Sogyal. While the human rights abuses are brutal, the book was gently written. The author is aware that he straddles worlds and works to convey fundamentally different ideas in a way westerners can connect with.
February 28, 2018
Such an intimate look into Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. The horrors of what the Chinese government is doing in Tibet is hard to read, but is as important as ever
December 16, 2021
I love reading about Nepal and Tibet and Buddhism and HH The Dalai Lama so I stuck through this book … but honestly I found the book difficult to follow.
May 20, 2012
Much like a modern version Alexandra David-Neel's "Magic and Mystery in Tibet," with the added thrills of the Chinese occupation, borders without papers, and smuggling documentary evidence of human rights violations. It is a triple story, as the sub-title implies, and they are well woven. Much of the spiritual discovery involves magic and mystery, and it has something of a believe it or not feel to it. If events like: "At this time, a robust raven landed on the windowsill of the room, cawing as it bobbed its head. ...it was the manifestation of the Raven-Faced-Dharma-Protector, who was to act as a messenger," don't put you off you many be able to suspend disbelief enough to hang with the spiritual history. If not, you won't find much of this book to be very credible.
May 3, 2011
amazing account so far an look forward to more a westerners exp in the name of smuggling evidence from tibet on abuses to buddhists and reveal to US. His going to the historical timeline while interweaving his exploration and enlightening political and spiritual journey was well done is well done. I met the author and is very humble obviously his teachings in tibet aided that attitude. Its different in that the smuggling of info by chinese govt she's factual evidence of believed atrocities perpetrated by the chinese govt. Part human rights activism, part spy novel, and part spiritual enlightenment. Its a great book.
January 12, 2013
Come along with author Matteo Pistono on his Buddhist pilgrimage in Tibet as he follows the same path as Terton Sogyal in the late nineteenth century. His personal mission also becomes one for the Tibetan people as he bears witness to the human rights violations committed by the Chinese and smuggles photos and documents out for the world to see. “In the Shadow of the Buddha,” readers will travel both the world and in time as they learn about Tibetan Buddhism through the spiritual development of the author.
February 1, 2016
3.5 stars. An interesting and inspiring account of Tibet's spirituality and history, the meaning of pilgrimages and sacred sites, and of Tibetan masters' teachings about the essence of life. However, I find that the style is not uniform throughout the book, being at times impersonal and dull and giving me the impression that some parts were written by a different hand. For this reason, the story doesn't flow smoothly especially in the first half of the book and so becomes less engaging and convincing.
November 19, 2016
I suppose I had different expectations for this book versus what it actually had to offer. A good human rights pursuit story always gets me. So does a travel tome. And a spiritual journey. All those things together make for a brief description of so many of my favorite books.
What would've made me better would have been getting more of Pistono's transformation throughout the story, more of a personal approach. So much of the book felt like a historical review and report. The information is valuable, but the presentation could have been far more dynamic.
What would've made me better would have been getting more of Pistono's transformation throughout the story, more of a personal approach. So much of the book felt like a historical review and report. The information is valuable, but the presentation could have been far more dynamic.
May 1, 2012
This follows a young man Matteo's journey through Tibetan history and Tibetan Buddhism by way of following in the footsteps of great Buddhist figures. Throughout the book, it flips back between historical stories and those of the present, including teachings by various figures of Tibetan Buddhism and stories about recent atrocities against the Tibetan people under the current Chinese regime. It was an interesting read, with many stories throughout its pages.
January 14, 2013
I read this book in one sitting last night. Really readable, and very interesting. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was that some of the historic stories lost me. I didn't have enough context for 1880s Buddhist history to stay following the people and events, other than the sweeping generalization that it was the time that China started to really crack down on making Tibet part of China and overthrowing the Buddhist governance in order to do so.
July 12, 2016
Thoroughly readable peep into the esoteric world of Tibetan Buddhism (both past and present) as well as the human rights situation in Tibet today.
Pistono writes crispy and clearly. Both his personal narrative and re-telling of the life of Tertön Sogyal are compelling, engaging and easy to read.
Recommended for anyone generally interested in Tibetan Buddhism or the current political situation in the country. You don’t need a high level of prior knowledge.
Pistono writes crispy and clearly. Both his personal narrative and re-telling of the life of Tertön Sogyal are compelling, engaging and easy to read.
Recommended for anyone generally interested in Tibetan Buddhism or the current political situation in the country. You don’t need a high level of prior knowledge.
May 6, 2011
I have been wanting to read a book about the oppression in Tibet that I could understand for a long time. This book really kept me interested by him being on a pilgrimage, the people he met and the history all woven together with his amazing quest of getting the Tibetan peoples voices heard. He is so commendable for this and very lucky to be alive!
March 23, 2013
It's like Into the Wild meets Lord of the Rings meets The Tibetan Book of the Dead meets The New York Times. I learned about the history of Tibetan Buddhism and the current political situation, which is much more complex historically and disturbing currently than I knew. Fascinating book.
March 9, 2012
A swashbuckling adventure of political activism and spirituality in Tibet.
I wrote a blog entry about it: http://goingforrefuge.blogspot.com/20...
I wrote a blog entry about it: http://goingforrefuge.blogspot.com/20...
April 30, 2012
Terrific book. Part travelogue, part history, part pilgrimage, part human rights struggle. Well written, I had no trouble moving between past and present. Make me want to travel.
July 11, 2012
Great book on Tibet, Buddhism, the China problem.
April 6, 2013
A bit too superstitious for me. I did enjoy the reporting side of this book though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews