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The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk
"With this memoir by a 'simple monk' who spent 33 years in prisons and labor camps for resisting the Chinese, a rare Tibetan voice is heard." —The New York Times Book Review
Palden Gyatso was born in a Tibetan village in 1933 and became an ordained Buddhist monk at eighteen—just as Tibet was in the midst of political upheaval. When Communist China invaded Tibet in 1950, it embarked on a program of "reform" that would eventually affect all of Tibet's citizens and nearly decimate its ancient culture. In 1967, the Chinese destroyed monasteries across Tibet and forced thousands of monks into labor camps and prisons. Gyatso spent the next twenty-five years of his life enduring interrogation and torture simply for the strength of his beliefs. Palden Gyatso's story bears witness to the resilience of the human spirit, and to the strength of Tibet's proud civilization, faced with cultural genocide.
"To readers of this memoir, however untraveled, Tibet will never again seem remote or unfamiliar. . . . Gyatso reminds us that the language of suffering is universal." —Library Journal
"Has the ring of undeniable truth. . . . Palden Gyatso's clear-sighted eloquence (in Tsering Shakya's fluent translation) makes his tale even more engrossing." —San Francisco Chronicle
Palden Gyatso was born in a Tibetan village in 1933 and became an ordained Buddhist monk at eighteen—just as Tibet was in the midst of political upheaval. When Communist China invaded Tibet in 1950, it embarked on a program of "reform" that would eventually affect all of Tibet's citizens and nearly decimate its ancient culture. In 1967, the Chinese destroyed monasteries across Tibet and forced thousands of monks into labor camps and prisons. Gyatso spent the next twenty-five years of his life enduring interrogation and torture simply for the strength of his beliefs. Palden Gyatso's story bears witness to the resilience of the human spirit, and to the strength of Tibet's proud civilization, faced with cultural genocide.
"To readers of this memoir, however untraveled, Tibet will never again seem remote or unfamiliar. . . . Gyatso reminds us that the language of suffering is universal." —Library Journal
"Has the ring of undeniable truth. . . . Palden Gyatso's clear-sighted eloquence (in Tsering Shakya's fluent translation) makes his tale even more engrossing." —San Francisco Chronicle
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 18, 1997
38 people are currently reading
1474 people want to read
About the author
Palden Gyatso
5 books16 followersPalden Gyatso (born 1933 in Panam, Tibet) is a Tibetan Buddhist monk who was born in Tibet in 1933.
After the 1959 Tibetan uprising, Palden Gyatso was arrested by Chinese officials. He spent the following 33 years in different Chinese prisons and labour camps. He was forced to participate in barbarous reeducation classes and was brutally tortured, leading to irreversible physical damage. During this time, he continued to abide by the Dharma (Buddha's teachings).
In 1992 Palden Gyatso was released. He escaped to Dharamsala, India, the place of the Tibetan exile government. There he wrote his autobiography Fire Under The Snow in Tibetan, since translated into many other languages and the subject of the film by the same name.
During his following visits in America and Europe he became politically active as an opponent of the Chinese occupation in Tibet and as a witness of many years under Chinese confinement. In 1995, he was heard by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
These days Palden Gyatso is living in Dharamsala and following his Buddhist studies.
After the 1959 Tibetan uprising, Palden Gyatso was arrested by Chinese officials. He spent the following 33 years in different Chinese prisons and labour camps. He was forced to participate in barbarous reeducation classes and was brutally tortured, leading to irreversible physical damage. During this time, he continued to abide by the Dharma (Buddha's teachings).
In 1992 Palden Gyatso was released. He escaped to Dharamsala, India, the place of the Tibetan exile government. There he wrote his autobiography Fire Under The Snow in Tibetan, since translated into many other languages and the subject of the film by the same name.
During his following visits in America and Europe he became politically active as an opponent of the Chinese occupation in Tibet and as a witness of many years under Chinese confinement. In 1995, he was heard by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
These days Palden Gyatso is living in Dharamsala and following his Buddhist studies.
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April 17, 2019
4,25 sterren - Nederlandse paperback - I heb dyslexie - Ik denk dat het verhaal van Palden Gatso; zijn taaiheid en toewijding weinig lezers onberoerd zullen laten. - De Dalai Lama -
Ik wist wel iets van het China welke hun buurland Tibet, totaal onder de voet had gelopen, de dwang, gevangenschap, marteling, mishandeling en verraad van het Tibetaanse volk en hun prachtige land maar dit boek kwam binnen. Ik heb het al een twee weken uit maar kon maar niet bedenken wat voor een recensie ik hierover kon schrijven. Het heeft me beroerd op manieren die ik niet in woorden kan omschrijven: petje af voor u meneer Gatso!
- we werden continu van gevangenis naar gevangenis geplaatst. Alsof ze bang waren dat we de bewaarders zouden kunnen bekeren tot ons geloof en onze waarden en dat ze ons zouden helpen ontsnappen. Waar dat dan ook vandaan kwam? -
Ik wist wel iets van het China welke hun buurland Tibet, totaal onder de voet had gelopen, de dwang, gevangenschap, marteling, mishandeling en verraad van het Tibetaanse volk en hun prachtige land maar dit boek kwam binnen. Ik heb het al een twee weken uit maar kon maar niet bedenken wat voor een recensie ik hierover kon schrijven. Het heeft me beroerd op manieren die ik niet in woorden kan omschrijven: petje af voor u meneer Gatso!
- we werden continu van gevangenis naar gevangenis geplaatst. Alsof ze bang waren dat we de bewaarders zouden kunnen bekeren tot ons geloof en onze waarden en dat ze ons zouden helpen ontsnappen. Waar dat dan ook vandaan kwam? -
Read
December 31, 2017Ha.
In the introduction by the translator he reveals that he is in fact the ghost writer of this book. Palden Gyatso, the notional author, had compiled a list of people who had suffered, those he had seen killed, while in prison and presumably all he wished to do was to bear witness. The translator though had other thoughts and sat Palden down and recorded long conversations with him these become the basis of the book - whether Palden himself read it or approved we don't know. Curiously one of the things he comes to do in prison is to retell his life story repeatedly to the authorities when accused, I feel in some way as a reader the translator is putting us in position of the Chinese prison warder, we are complicit, possibly in many ways with those who abused him, because of the language barrier Gyatso says the relationship was always between the prisoner and the translator rather than with the interrogator.
Perhaps then it is unsurprising that I began to feel sympathy for the Chinese involved in this prison system, Gyatso was in prisons and labour camps for most of his life and he ends up seeing the same wardens over the years, invariably yellow fingered chain smokers, and it felt as though they the wardens had been sentenced too, having to work in prisons for years, repetitive strain injuries from abusing prisoners with electric prods - though at least less a strain on the physique than old fashioned methods of abuse. What kind of life is that? What do you say to the wife and children once you get home from the prison, or are you too bitter from the work to be able to maintain relationships? There's a pension I suppose, and the memories.
Anyhow the narration initially felt quite flat, this worked well as the first instance of torture came across all the more brutally.
There's a fair amount of humour, for instance a classic clash of cultures, People's Liberation Army soldiers angrily question monks in Gyatso's monastery in the 50s - were do your robes come from? 'Wool', wrong answer. Were do your robes come from? 'Sheep', wrong answer. It is like a nightmare quiz show, perhaps criminal justice systems are intrinsically nightmare quiz shows and the reason why quiz shows are popular is because they pander to such sadistic tendencies as we have, for the audience at home the mystery voice will now reveal the correct answer , later in the book prison authorities try to brush off a prisoner shouting "Free Tibet" which he especially learnt how to say in English, in front of a delegation of Swiss International Prison Inspectors, by claiming that he was mad. This amused me considerably, since although I am not (spoiler alert!) a Swiss International Prison Inspector I am fairly sure that they would not have been reassured to find an old man with mental health problems locked up with the rest of the prison population.
Gyatso originally was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, all the monks were imprisoned, and Lewis Carroll style - the trial came well after he had completed his first prison sentence. Lewis Carroll, horrendously absurd would make a reasonable two word review of the entire book. Particularly as the Chinese have a charming naivety about them and never seem to appreciate that forced labour projects, a system of mass incarceration or the advent of electrical instruments of torture are not seen as signs of glorious modernisation by the Tibetans, they seems quite hurt that all such labours to transform the country are not welcomed.
Any way, long ago and far away Gyatso was born in Tibet, his family are wealthy by Tibetan standards, but not wealthy and powerful enough - Gyatso was passed over for becoming a Lama incarnate apparently because the family lacked the appropriate contacts in Lhasa - despite all the relevant signs, Old Tibet, we feel, was not perfect. When he gets to an age he joins the local monastery for reason that seemed familiar - his family had a long association with the local monastery, they were big donors there and excess sons were regularly enrolled there, Gyatso was relatively old when he joined, he was an ambitious novice and runs away to join a more cutting edge monastery were he believes he can study Buddhism to a more profound extent than in the 'family' monastery. His father and uncle (a monk at the aforementioned) were not amused and trick the young Gyatso into coming back.
Imprisonment and freedom then are already established as themes in his life even before the Chinese march in and take over Tibet. Gyatso in the power of the Chinese has bad and good luck. Once they establish that he is a member of the exploiting landlord class his existence is a crime and he gets sentence after prison sentence and eventually even a trial. This experience naturally turns him into a vicious criminal and once released he is quickly found cruelly making posters denouncing China and Chinese policy in Tibet - and such rampant recidivism lands him back in prison.
Particularly with the advent of the Cultural Revolution ones feels that the Chinese presence is itself faith based, and there is a strong sense that 'this here Tibetan plateau ain't big enough for the two of us' and after the brief shoot out obvious adherents of the old regime have to be done way with - two universal faith systems can't exist harmoniously in this this case.
Something which I found interesting is despite the stress laid in the monastery on learning Buddhist texts by heart, scripture and teachings are not mentioned as a source of comfort to him and although he mentions teaching several others to read and write (nasty things like Free Tibet! of course) there are no mentions of religious ministrations, spiritually he does mention suicide and his sense of the sacredness of life and he is impressed by a layman facing death with the words "thank you":
it strikes me that Pema was a layman, with no training in meditation and Buddhist philosophy. How could he have faced death with such courage while a learned monk who had devoted his life to the contemplation of death and the belief that his physical being was nothing but an impermanent mass became so distraught, pleading for mercy? (p.141)
Equally given the description of the prison experience how could one not accept death with gratitude was what I wondered. And there is an incarnate Lama at one stage that Gyatso has great respect for. Given indeed that there are many monks and in one establishment nuns too, Buddhism or even monastic practise seems curiously absent - although plainly explicit devotion would have got them into trouble - but considering they already were in prison and subject to beatings and abuse...
Gyatso has one great stroke of good fortune - a warder chooses him to learn how to become a weaver which at several points gets him easier conditions - it is hard to operate a traditional loom while shackled for instance. Also at several points he gets given tea and interviews in which his health is kindly inquired over - this because apparently Amnesty International took up his case, and if you are one of those kind hearted persons who writes on behalf of prisoners of conscience or who demonstrates outside of foreign embassies - Gyatso believes that such actions definitely helped him on several occasions and saved him from the premature gift of death. Naturally the nature of such an account and the ongoing nature of the China- Tibet relationship means that he can't be forth coming about how he came to know that such outside influences saved his life, but perhaps it can be taken on trust.
Cruelly and cleverly most of the punishment beatings were carried out by prisoners on each other and as a result, it is not until late in the book when Gyatso is among a solid cadre of 'political' prisoners that there is a strong sense of mutual solidarity and an ability to act collectively, although throughout the prisoners are kindly to one another, helping each other eat, tending to each other's wounds and so on.
Gyatso does get to spend most of his life in prison, but with apologies for the spoiler, he does survive and get to tell his tale in the end and to bear witness.
Finally Gyatso's his life was contained within a series of institutions that felt like variations upon a theme: family, monastery, work commune, prison. All had their rules, sanctions and hierarchies. Of these prison was perhaps the most liberating as it's demands were the most absolute, one's desires were the most sharpened and one was the most responsible for actions at variance with the will of the institution and during the book we see Gyatso becoming more political, although one could argue that the Chinese made him, as institutions do, into what he became, they declared him to be an enemy of their regime, so that is what he becomes.
In the introduction by the translator he reveals that he is in fact the ghost writer of this book. Palden Gyatso, the notional author, had compiled a list of people who had suffered, those he had seen killed, while in prison and presumably all he wished to do was to bear witness. The translator though had other thoughts and sat Palden down and recorded long conversations with him these become the basis of the book - whether Palden himself read it or approved we don't know. Curiously one of the things he comes to do in prison is to retell his life story repeatedly to the authorities when accused, I feel in some way as a reader the translator is putting us in position of the Chinese prison warder, we are complicit, possibly in many ways with those who abused him, because of the language barrier Gyatso says the relationship was always between the prisoner and the translator rather than with the interrogator.
Perhaps then it is unsurprising that I began to feel sympathy for the Chinese involved in this prison system, Gyatso was in prisons and labour camps for most of his life and he ends up seeing the same wardens over the years, invariably yellow fingered chain smokers, and it felt as though they the wardens had been sentenced too, having to work in prisons for years, repetitive strain injuries from abusing prisoners with electric prods - though at least less a strain on the physique than old fashioned methods of abuse. What kind of life is that? What do you say to the wife and children once you get home from the prison, or are you too bitter from the work to be able to maintain relationships? There's a pension I suppose, and the memories.
Anyhow the narration initially felt quite flat, this worked well as the first instance of torture came across all the more brutally.
There's a fair amount of humour, for instance a classic clash of cultures, People's Liberation Army soldiers angrily question monks in Gyatso's monastery in the 50s - were do your robes come from? 'Wool', wrong answer. Were do your robes come from? 'Sheep', wrong answer. It is like a nightmare quiz show, perhaps criminal justice systems are intrinsically nightmare quiz shows and the reason why quiz shows are popular is because they pander to such sadistic tendencies as we have, for the audience at home the mystery voice will now reveal the correct answer , later in the book prison authorities try to brush off a prisoner shouting "Free Tibet" which he especially learnt how to say in English, in front of a delegation of Swiss International Prison Inspectors, by claiming that he was mad. This amused me considerably, since although I am not (spoiler alert!) a Swiss International Prison Inspector I am fairly sure that they would not have been reassured to find an old man with mental health problems locked up with the rest of the prison population.
Gyatso originally was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, all the monks were imprisoned, and Lewis Carroll style - the trial came well after he had completed his first prison sentence. Lewis Carroll, horrendously absurd would make a reasonable two word review of the entire book. Particularly as the Chinese have a charming naivety about them and never seem to appreciate that forced labour projects, a system of mass incarceration or the advent of electrical instruments of torture are not seen as signs of glorious modernisation by the Tibetans, they seems quite hurt that all such labours to transform the country are not welcomed.
Any way, long ago and far away Gyatso was born in Tibet, his family are wealthy by Tibetan standards, but not wealthy and powerful enough - Gyatso was passed over for becoming a Lama incarnate apparently because the family lacked the appropriate contacts in Lhasa - despite all the relevant signs, Old Tibet, we feel, was not perfect. When he gets to an age he joins the local monastery for reason that seemed familiar - his family had a long association with the local monastery, they were big donors there and excess sons were regularly enrolled there, Gyatso was relatively old when he joined, he was an ambitious novice and runs away to join a more cutting edge monastery were he believes he can study Buddhism to a more profound extent than in the 'family' monastery. His father and uncle (a monk at the aforementioned) were not amused and trick the young Gyatso into coming back.
Imprisonment and freedom then are already established as themes in his life even before the Chinese march in and take over Tibet. Gyatso in the power of the Chinese has bad and good luck. Once they establish that he is a member of the exploiting landlord class his existence is a crime and he gets sentence after prison sentence and eventually even a trial. This experience naturally turns him into a vicious criminal and once released he is quickly found cruelly making posters denouncing China and Chinese policy in Tibet - and such rampant recidivism lands him back in prison.
Particularly with the advent of the Cultural Revolution ones feels that the Chinese presence is itself faith based, and there is a strong sense that 'this here Tibetan plateau ain't big enough for the two of us' and after the brief shoot out obvious adherents of the old regime have to be done way with - two universal faith systems can't exist harmoniously in this this case.
Something which I found interesting is despite the stress laid in the monastery on learning Buddhist texts by heart, scripture and teachings are not mentioned as a source of comfort to him and although he mentions teaching several others to read and write (nasty things like Free Tibet! of course) there are no mentions of religious ministrations, spiritually he does mention suicide and his sense of the sacredness of life and he is impressed by a layman facing death with the words "thank you":
it strikes me that Pema was a layman, with no training in meditation and Buddhist philosophy. How could he have faced death with such courage while a learned monk who had devoted his life to the contemplation of death and the belief that his physical being was nothing but an impermanent mass became so distraught, pleading for mercy? (p.141)
Equally given the description of the prison experience how could one not accept death with gratitude was what I wondered. And there is an incarnate Lama at one stage that Gyatso has great respect for. Given indeed that there are many monks and in one establishment nuns too, Buddhism or even monastic practise seems curiously absent - although plainly explicit devotion would have got them into trouble - but considering they already were in prison and subject to beatings and abuse...
Gyatso has one great stroke of good fortune - a warder chooses him to learn how to become a weaver which at several points gets him easier conditions - it is hard to operate a traditional loom while shackled for instance. Also at several points he gets given tea and interviews in which his health is kindly inquired over - this because apparently Amnesty International took up his case, and if you are one of those kind hearted persons who writes on behalf of prisoners of conscience or who demonstrates outside of foreign embassies - Gyatso believes that such actions definitely helped him on several occasions and saved him from the premature gift of death. Naturally the nature of such an account and the ongoing nature of the China- Tibet relationship means that he can't be forth coming about how he came to know that such outside influences saved his life, but perhaps it can be taken on trust.
Cruelly and cleverly most of the punishment beatings were carried out by prisoners on each other and as a result, it is not until late in the book when Gyatso is among a solid cadre of 'political' prisoners that there is a strong sense of mutual solidarity and an ability to act collectively, although throughout the prisoners are kindly to one another, helping each other eat, tending to each other's wounds and so on.
Gyatso does get to spend most of his life in prison, but with apologies for the spoiler, he does survive and get to tell his tale in the end and to bear witness.
Finally Gyatso's his life was contained within a series of institutions that felt like variations upon a theme: family, monastery, work commune, prison. All had their rules, sanctions and hierarchies. Of these prison was perhaps the most liberating as it's demands were the most absolute, one's desires were the most sharpened and one was the most responsible for actions at variance with the will of the institution and during the book we see Gyatso becoming more political, although one could argue that the Chinese made him, as institutions do, into what he became, they declared him to be an enemy of their regime, so that is what he becomes.
May 5, 2021
Palden Gyatso relates his fascinating story of his life, as a Tibetan monk and his 33 years in a hellish Chinese Communist prison, where he was, starved, subjected to horrific tortures, leading to irreversible physical damage and barbaric reeducation classes.
Born in the Tibetan village of Panam in 1933 he entered the Gadong monastery at the age of ten, and during the Chinese invasion of Tibet he was fully ordained as a monk.
Arrested by the Chinese, along with thousands of monks and nuns,during his hellish incarceration from 1959 to 1992, he saw the destruction by the Chinese Communists of the Tibetan people and their culture and religion.
Monasteries were destroyed, books burned and thousands of Tibetans arrested and executed by the Commuinist Chinese determined to destroy everything of Tibetan identity and culture, and replace it with Chinese Communism.
Of the group of monks Palden was ordained with he was the only one that survived.
By the time Palden was arrested the Chinese had woven a strangling web around Tibet, and the hapless Tibetan people could do nothing about it.
Palden describes the barbarous "struggle sessions" in which thousands were murdered or beaten to death, the Chinese propaganda that turned reality inside out, claming they were "freeing"' the Tibetan people from "Feudalism" and forcing them to abandon " the four olds "- their culture, customs, habits and thoughts.
Ii is horrific to read of the Communist Chinese prison methods.
On a brief leave, during 1983, shortly before being re arrested, Palden describes the sight of thousands of Tibetan children starving to death as a result of the famine deliberately created by the Chinese to subjugate the Tibetan people,
Many children from the wrong "class backgrounds" were deliberately starved to death by the Communist authorities.
Thousands of arrested nuns were stripped, humiliated and often raped by the Chinese Communists.
China and it's apologists claim that China introduced progress to Tibet and freed it's people from "feudalism".
It does not matter to them that the Tibetan people did not want any part of Communist 'progress' and were happy with the life they lived before the Chinese invasion and genocide.
After his release in 1992, Palden went into exile and swore to bear testament to the crimes of Communist China against the Tibetan people.
Born in the Tibetan village of Panam in 1933 he entered the Gadong monastery at the age of ten, and during the Chinese invasion of Tibet he was fully ordained as a monk.
Arrested by the Chinese, along with thousands of monks and nuns,during his hellish incarceration from 1959 to 1992, he saw the destruction by the Chinese Communists of the Tibetan people and their culture and religion.
Monasteries were destroyed, books burned and thousands of Tibetans arrested and executed by the Commuinist Chinese determined to destroy everything of Tibetan identity and culture, and replace it with Chinese Communism.
Of the group of monks Palden was ordained with he was the only one that survived.
By the time Palden was arrested the Chinese had woven a strangling web around Tibet, and the hapless Tibetan people could do nothing about it.
Palden describes the barbarous "struggle sessions" in which thousands were murdered or beaten to death, the Chinese propaganda that turned reality inside out, claming they were "freeing"' the Tibetan people from "Feudalism" and forcing them to abandon " the four olds "- their culture, customs, habits and thoughts.
Ii is horrific to read of the Communist Chinese prison methods.
On a brief leave, during 1983, shortly before being re arrested, Palden describes the sight of thousands of Tibetan children starving to death as a result of the famine deliberately created by the Chinese to subjugate the Tibetan people,
Many children from the wrong "class backgrounds" were deliberately starved to death by the Communist authorities.
Thousands of arrested nuns were stripped, humiliated and often raped by the Chinese Communists.
China and it's apologists claim that China introduced progress to Tibet and freed it's people from "feudalism".
It does not matter to them that the Tibetan people did not want any part of Communist 'progress' and were happy with the life they lived before the Chinese invasion and genocide.
After his release in 1992, Palden went into exile and swore to bear testament to the crimes of Communist China against the Tibetan people.
April 13, 2009
This is a very, very special book.
The Dalai Lama said that "Palden Gyatso's testimony is one of the most extraordinary stories of suffering and endurance... His story is an inspiration to us all" and I can only agree wholeheartedly. The story of this man and the systematic brutal destruction of his country by the Chinese made me weep hard and bitter tears. The fact that this situation continues to this day both astounds and disgusts me more than words can explain. Perhaps the worlds powers think that Tibet has nothing of value to bother themselves over - no oil, no natural resources, no nuclear capabilities (though it does have uranium deposits and is being used as a dumping ground for nuclear waste by the PRC) no fabricated weapons of mass destruction - but Tibet does have something of incredible value - their spiritual wisdom, gleaned over the centuries, is priceless. This knowledge could advance our society into a new age of enlightenment, but instead it has been brutalised and destroyed. It must end.
The Dalai Lama said that "Palden Gyatso's testimony is one of the most extraordinary stories of suffering and endurance... His story is an inspiration to us all" and I can only agree wholeheartedly. The story of this man and the systematic brutal destruction of his country by the Chinese made me weep hard and bitter tears. The fact that this situation continues to this day both astounds and disgusts me more than words can explain. Perhaps the worlds powers think that Tibet has nothing of value to bother themselves over - no oil, no natural resources, no nuclear capabilities (though it does have uranium deposits and is being used as a dumping ground for nuclear waste by the PRC) no fabricated weapons of mass destruction - but Tibet does have something of incredible value - their spiritual wisdom, gleaned over the centuries, is priceless. This knowledge could advance our society into a new age of enlightenment, but instead it has been brutalised and destroyed. It must end.
July 19, 2022
4,25 sterren - Nederlandse paperback
In 1960 werd de Tibetaanse monnik Palden Gyatso gevangengenomen door de Chinese bezetters van zijn land. Hij was toen in de twintig en zou meer dan dertig jaar in gevangenissen doorbrengen,vernederd, gemarteld en steeds onder de meest erbarmelijke omstandigheden.
Nadat hij door Amnesty International was geadopteerd als gewetens gevangene, werd Palden Gvatso in 1992 eindelijk vrijgelaten. In Het vuur onder de sneeuw vertelt Palden Gyatso het verhaal van zijn land en zijn volk, en van hun lange onderdrukkingen verhaal dat gruwelijk maar ook fascinerend en inspirerend is: hoe een klein, afgesloten land te lijden krijgt onder een grote agressor.
En vooral hoe een koppig individu zich ondanks alles staande houdt en geestelijk groeit.
Beangstigend, fascinerend en vooral indrukwekkend.
In 1960 werd de Tibetaanse monnik Palden Gyatso gevangengenomen door de Chinese bezetters van zijn land. Hij was toen in de twintig en zou meer dan dertig jaar in gevangenissen doorbrengen,vernederd, gemarteld en steeds onder de meest erbarmelijke omstandigheden.
Nadat hij door Amnesty International was geadopteerd als gewetens gevangene, werd Palden Gvatso in 1992 eindelijk vrijgelaten. In Het vuur onder de sneeuw vertelt Palden Gyatso het verhaal van zijn land en zijn volk, en van hun lange onderdrukkingen verhaal dat gruwelijk maar ook fascinerend en inspirerend is: hoe een klein, afgesloten land te lijden krijgt onder een grote agressor.
En vooral hoe een koppig individu zich ondanks alles staande houdt en geestelijk groeit.
Beangstigend, fascinerend en vooral indrukwekkend.
August 14, 2008
This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It brought me to tears more than once. After reading it, I decided to fast for 5 days. Few things I have encountered in my life have ever had that kind of effect on me.
I met the author after one of his lectures at Central Michigan University. He brought to the event some of the instruments of torture which were used on him. He wrote something inside of the book I bought from him...if you can read Tibetan, please let me know because I would love to know what it says.
I met the author after one of his lectures at Central Michigan University. He brought to the event some of the instruments of torture which were used on him. He wrote something inside of the book I bought from him...if you can read Tibetan, please let me know because I would love to know what it says.
March 28, 2010
Seeing Tibet through the eyes of a common monk really brought things into focus. Rather than a quick flood of Chinese soldiers taking everything over at once, it was more like an ideological noose slowly tightening. Those who failed to embrace the new Maoist brand of socialism where arrested, beaten and thrown into prisons for years. If you organized a protest to the new oppressive authority you may simply be executed. If you were from a rich family you were now from the "exploitive class" and were subjected to public beatings and the loss of all your property. I don't understand how humans can think that this is a means to an end. Perhaps it is because fear is the easiest way to control people.
Read
July 19, 2011Palden is a friend and a man who holds no regret for 33 years of wrongdoing he sustained by the chinese while in prison, serving time for being a monk during a time when the chinese do not and will not allow such deviation from chinese thought. I admire him and am a better person to have had him in my life. At 34 years old, I when I told him of my relationship with my parents and how difficult things had been, he said "and you live with them of course". My reply was of course not and he looked at me with such wonder that I could live in self imposed shackles though free. We should all be as settled and internally resolved as my friend Palden.
December 18, 2017
This is a horrible story, but at the same time a wonderful one. It presents the horror that human beings can inflict to others, the evil that we are capable of. However, at the same time, and mostly, it is a book about resilience, about the indestructible core of love that Gyatso Palden is capable of and that he shares with us. It inspired me and reinforced my conviccion that there is only place for a Free Tibet!
July 2, 2015
This book is revealing tour through the living hell that is a Marxist regime. Palden Gyatso was a political prisoner for over thirty years and was repeatedly beaten, tortured, starved, and abused by the Chinese Communists. It is a miracle that he survived and finally escaped to tell his story. Every left-leaning American should read this book to see where we are heading.
October 23, 2015
This book is a moving and powerful story about a Tibetan monk who endured the better part of his life in communist prisons within his native Tibet. I found myself unable to put the book down, as evidenced by the fact that I had it completed in about 24 hours (with several breaks in between).
August 22, 2023
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
A beautifully narrated and heartwrenching account of Tibet's oppression and suffering at the hands of the People's Republic of China (PRC). This book is not only the story of Tibet and Gyatso, but also that of the strength of the unwavering human spirit; bold, fierce, and unbroken, even when faced with the toughest of adversities. It is a reminder to stand up against oppression, injustice, and tyranny, no matter what the cost.
After finally being freed from decades of imprisonment and torture, Palden Gyatso would later state in an interview that he had compassion for his torturers and forgave them for hurting him out of their own ignorance. Despite the trials and hardships he faced throughout his life, he remained a peaceful and happy soul until the time of his death. Palden Gyatso was no doubt an enlightened being and a living testament to the timeless teachings of Buddhism. Rest in Peace, oh unbroken one.
A beautifully narrated and heartwrenching account of Tibet's oppression and suffering at the hands of the People's Republic of China (PRC). This book is not only the story of Tibet and Gyatso, but also that of the strength of the unwavering human spirit; bold, fierce, and unbroken, even when faced with the toughest of adversities. It is a reminder to stand up against oppression, injustice, and tyranny, no matter what the cost.
After finally being freed from decades of imprisonment and torture, Palden Gyatso would later state in an interview that he had compassion for his torturers and forgave them for hurting him out of their own ignorance. Despite the trials and hardships he faced throughout his life, he remained a peaceful and happy soul until the time of his death. Palden Gyatso was no doubt an enlightened being and a living testament to the timeless teachings of Buddhism. Rest in Peace, oh unbroken one.
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November 20, 2020This book made me leave my body, ngl. The fact that prison narratives are an entire genre of Tibetan literature should say enough about the brutality of chinese colonialism because what gen la describes is literally unfathomable. His retelling makes me think about the depth of tibetan realities & the impossible choices that we're faced with, and what it means that we continue to be alive.
August 31, 2009
Oh dear Palden, what an amazing soul. What cruelty he and many other tibetan monks have endured under the decades of Chinese might, and yet remain more centered than most coddled humans ever are. Inspiring book.
February 29, 2008
Heartbreaking.
February 8, 2019
This is a heartbreaking yet brave story of a Tibetan monk and other monks during the 1950's and beyond when the Chinese decided to take Tibet away from the Tibetan people. It tells of the horrific conditions the monks had to live with, the beatings they had to endure, and how the Chinese tried to indoctrinate the monks with their socialist/communist belief system.
This particular story was about the monk Palden Gyatso. He was the first one to talk in front of the United Nations about the conditions and brutality he endured along with his comrades for 30 years, and yet the Chinese officials who heard this speech denied it all calling this innocent monk a "criminal".
Such an amazing yet horrific story. You have to read it for yourself to even understand the innocence of these monks. A peaceful people minding their own business with their religious studies and prayers, all to be taken over by China and their political system.
I'm still at a loss for words. It's quite a brutal story to read. It talks about how the Chinese used verbal and beating tactics to brainwash these innocent Tibetan monks into believing they were criminal, yet the Tibetans remained strong and endured years of verbal abuse, physical abuse, every kind of abuse known, seemingly never wavering in their hope to be released and in seeing the freedom of their country once again.
I'm glad Palden was able to escape to India, but 30 years of hell in several prisons and labor reform camps is what you will read about. It's painful to read at times, but I couldn't stop reading it because I love to read heroic stories.
This particular story was about the monk Palden Gyatso. He was the first one to talk in front of the United Nations about the conditions and brutality he endured along with his comrades for 30 years, and yet the Chinese officials who heard this speech denied it all calling this innocent monk a "criminal".
Such an amazing yet horrific story. You have to read it for yourself to even understand the innocence of these monks. A peaceful people minding their own business with their religious studies and prayers, all to be taken over by China and their political system.
I'm still at a loss for words. It's quite a brutal story to read. It talks about how the Chinese used verbal and beating tactics to brainwash these innocent Tibetan monks into believing they were criminal, yet the Tibetans remained strong and endured years of verbal abuse, physical abuse, every kind of abuse known, seemingly never wavering in their hope to be released and in seeing the freedom of their country once again.
I'm glad Palden was able to escape to India, but 30 years of hell in several prisons and labor reform camps is what you will read about. It's painful to read at times, but I couldn't stop reading it because I love to read heroic stories.
April 4, 2019
This is a book about resilience and the incredible power of the human mind to overcome immense suffering and torture. While this is a biography on the life of one Tibetan monk, Palden Gyatso, it could be a story of any other. Following the annexation of Tibet by China, monks were targeted as a political influencers, representatives of old ideals and for benefitting from a feudalist economy. Virtually all monks were imprisoned, and considered prisoners of conscience. The intent of the Chinese was to use force and intimidation to change their mindset. In prison, the monks, as well as all prisoners, lived in inhumane conditions with lack of food, lack of sanitary conditions, lack of sufficient warmth and subject to torture and intimidation in an attempt to reform their way of thinking in support of China. This is not an enjoyable story, but it does provide insight into a history that deserves to be heard.
February 23, 2018
Definitely a heart-breaking and inspiring book. It walks you through 40 years in Tibet, since before the occupation of the Chinese. I am impressed by Palden's endurance and philosophy; he as a human being has a lot to teach us. As a side benefit, it was also interesting to learn some aspects of Tibetan culture.
I recently read an interview he gave a couple of months ago (December 2017), and I am amazed by his words and was also truly happy to learn he is still today a very strong and good person.
I felt frustrated at some parts of the book. Many, due to the abuse of power and lies, but also due to Tibetans reactions (or lack of it); of course, I realize it's easier said than done. And sadly, many of the behaviors portrayed are easily traceable back to many other events or cities even nowadays... we can't deny reality.
This book would open your eyes in so many ways, you must read it!
I recently read an interview he gave a couple of months ago (December 2017), and I am amazed by his words and was also truly happy to learn he is still today a very strong and good person.
I felt frustrated at some parts of the book. Many, due to the abuse of power and lies, but also due to Tibetans reactions (or lack of it); of course, I realize it's easier said than done. And sadly, many of the behaviors portrayed are easily traceable back to many other events or cities even nowadays... we can't deny reality.
This book would open your eyes in so many ways, you must read it!
February 14, 2019
I cannot possibly imagine all the immense sufferings Palden Gyatso has gone through during his time in prison. This book is incredibly difficult to read, as so many emotions arise. For us, Westerners, it seems almost impossible that somewhere in the world such oppressive regime still exists, and so many human beings suffer for no reason on a daily basis at the hands of vile perpetrators. Nevertheless, as difficult as it is to read, this book must be read by as many people as possible, to raise awareness about the situation in Tibet. I believe Palden Gyatso's sufferings and efforts were not in vain and that one day Tibet will be free.
September 7, 2017
I was assigned this book for a class. Before I read this book, I had no idea that this was happening in Tibet. Being able to follow the author through his life gave personal perspective to the troubles that are happening in Tibet. The only thing about this book is that it does not give a point of view for the Chinese. I firmly believe that both sides need to be given a fare representation regardless of how they are treating or have been treating others. I also thought that Gyatso did a great job in portraying his story to readers of all levels.
May 26, 2020
A heartbreaking account of the corruption power brings into humans and society.
It is hard to believe, to accept close to impossible, that an entire world stands by, idly, watching the struggle of a people under the iron fist of Socialism.
A lesson in perseverance and human values, this book brought tears in my eyes several times, swelled rage and compassion in my mind and made me think with great reverence at Tibet’s exiles and their mission, especially to Dalai Lama with his never-ending goodness.
It left me with a question: what can be done to better the world?
It is hard to believe, to accept close to impossible, that an entire world stands by, idly, watching the struggle of a people under the iron fist of Socialism.
A lesson in perseverance and human values, this book brought tears in my eyes several times, swelled rage and compassion in my mind and made me think with great reverence at Tibet’s exiles and their mission, especially to Dalai Lama with his never-ending goodness.
It left me with a question: what can be done to better the world?
December 5, 2019
What a beautifully written, powerful and inspiring story! I have to admit, my knowledge of Tibet prior to reading this book, was rather limited. It is however, a very important story and a fascinating insight into the opression and hardship but also the perseverance and unwavering determinations and spirit of the Tibetan people. What a beautiful and interesting culture, and one that I would like to learn a lot more about.
January 8, 2024
Intense, important.
The oppressors split the oppressed into two arbitrary categories to pit against each other (so they will never work together to overthrow them).
Your-ancestors-were-poor-so-you’re-on-top-now
VS
your-ancestors-(not you yourself)-were-well-off-so-we’ll-punish-you-for-things-you-never-did.
But!
As long as they can keep the Tibetans fighting each other, the Tibetans will never fight the real enemy.
The oppressors split the oppressed into two arbitrary categories to pit against each other (so they will never work together to overthrow them).
Your-ancestors-were-poor-so-you’re-on-top-now
VS
your-ancestors-(not you yourself)-were-well-off-so-we’ll-punish-you-for-things-you-never-did.
But!
As long as they can keep the Tibetans fighting each other, the Tibetans will never fight the real enemy.
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May 20, 2024"Paldon Gyatso's testimony is one of the most extraordinary stories of suffering and endurance. He was arrested when he was a twenty-eight year old monk, in the early years of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, and was not released until 1992, when he was nearly sixty." from the Forward by the Dalai Lama
"My story is not a glamorous one of high lamas and exotic ritual, but of how a simple monk succeeded in surviving the destructive forces of a totalitarian regime."
"My story is not a glamorous one of high lamas and exotic ritual, but of how a simple monk succeeded in surviving the destructive forces of a totalitarian regime."
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December 2, 2019An account of the horrors of Chinese rule in Tibet from the 1950s until 1992. Anyone interested in the personal ordeal of the political prisoners in Tibet should read this book. I grew up learning briefly about the movement for independence but had no understanding of what it was like in the country. Gyotsa is a hero and the people of Tibet deserve our attention.
August 15, 2024
This is a fascinating tale of a young monk who's imprisoned by the Chinese for 30 years. Over this time, he describes the terrible treatment and condition of the Tibetan prisoners, and also how the treatment changed over the years, partly as results of political changes in China. Written from tapes of the author, and translated. Not for the squeamish.
March 14, 2025
I've become fascinated by the story of Tibet since the 1950s, it's one of cruel occupation and suffering. And underneath that, incredible resistance and solidarity among the people of Tibet. The story of Palden Gyatso is endlessly heartbreaking and endlessly uplifting. I am left with a similar awe for the human capacity for resistance that I got from 'Man's Search for Meaning'. Free Tibet.
July 22, 2017
A sobering memoir of the struggle of Tibet told through the eyes of a monk who witnessed the rise of Chinese Communism.
History retold from a candid and different perspective than the mainstream narrative.
History retold from a candid and different perspective than the mainstream narrative.
December 29, 2019
This book was recommended to me by a very good friend of mine and it gave me such a great view of her people, her history and her culture. This book was moving. I had to read it in doses. The writing was humbling and succinct. I recommend this to anyone willing to hear his voice.
February 1, 2021
Ho finito il libro in lacrime talmente tante sono le emozioni che mi ha trasmesso. Una persona spettacolare e ammirevole, da ringraziare con tutto il cuore per la testimonianza che ci ha lasciato e per la sua lotta per il Tibet
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