The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age [Paperback]

Sakyapa Sonam Gyaltsen (Author), McComas Taylor (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

A rich blend of history, legend, poetry, adventure, and romance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Just as China is stepping up its repression of Tibet by, among other deeds, identifying its own candidate for Panchen Lama in defiance of the exiled Dalai Lama's choice, comes Gyaltsen's admirable collection of folk materials that record a people's memory of itself when it was master of those who now master it. The Golden Age of Tibet, like the golden ages of so many peoples, was a time of giants who conquered, created and established a nation. Taylor and Yuthok present this history, originally written in 1328, in an admirable new translation for English students of Tibetan Buddhism and culture. The task of translating Tibetan into English is difficult even for contemporary Tibetan texts; it is daunting for texts from the 14th century. This is an important text, beautifully rendered in readable English.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

A rich blend of history, legend, poetry, adventure and romance, The Clear Mirror is a treasure-trove of traditional Tibetan narrative and folk wisdom. It presents in full the often-cited but elusive accounts of the origins of the Tibetan people, the coming of the Dharma to Tibet, and the appearance of Avalokiteshvara as the patron deity of Tibet. The text treats the era during which Buddhism came to Tibet, Lhasa became the capital, and the Jokhang and Ramoche temples were founded. Written to inform and entertain, the book has a pre-eminent position in Tibetan society and is popular today.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Snow Lion Publications (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559390484
• ISBN-13: 978-1559390484
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poetical history, April 28, 2000

By 

peter mcguire - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age (Paperback)

The Clear Mirror, a traditional account of Tibet's Golden Age, is a great story. The histories of kings and kingdoms are probably always accounts of human beings at their worst, with self seeking, skull duggery and outright criminality. But the Tibetan view of history looks past this mean spiritedness and sees the soaring of the human spirit, in a broad sweep of poetic understanding which provides us with another dimension which gives great dignity to human beings. This mythic account of the creation of the universe according to the Tibetans, takes us through the introduction of Buddhist to Tibet, and the rise of the kings of Tibet. This is a political book of great significance, indicated by the opening verse from a 9th century Sino-Tibetan Treaty wishing Tibetans happiness in their own country, and the same to Chinese in their own country. It is a good historical sourcebook for the stories of the Chinese and Nepali princesses, and a strong affirmation of the vaidilty Tibet's rule over Tibet.