Kundun: A Biography of the Family of the Dalai Lama [Hardcover]

Mary Craig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

Here is the story of Tibet as told by its remarkable first family--a story of reincarnation, coronation, heartbreaking exile, and finally the tenacious efforts of a holy man to save a nation and its people.. Kundun is a story of reincarnation, coronation, heartbreaking exile, and finally, the tenacious efforts of a holy man to save a nation and its people. This is the first work to focus on the Dalai Lamas family--his parents, four brothers, and two sisters. Particularly compelling are Mary Craigs portraits of the Dalai Lamas siblings, who have negotiated with China on behalf of their country, enlisted the aid of international allies to spearhead Tibetan Resistance, and worked tirelessly to help thousands of sick and starving refugee children. This remarkable book opens in 1933 with the death of the thirteenth Dalai Lama and the frantic effort among Tibetan authorities to find his reincarnation. In their search for a baby boy displaying the characteristic marks of a Dalai Lama--tiger striped legs, wide eyes, large ears, and palms bearing the pattern of a sea shell--officials were led to a tiny village in northeastern Tibet, home of Lhamo Dhondup, a smart, stubborn toddler already known for his tantrums.Responding calmly when a group of high lamas and dignitaries tested his memory of a previous life, the child easily recognized a rosary, walking stick, and drum belonging to the thirteenth Dalai Lama at the age of three, and was known from that point on as His Holiness or Kundun (the Presence), titles even his family members were obliged to use. A few years later the young Dalai Lama and his family were faced with Chinas invasion of Tibet. Living in exile since the late 1950s, they have waged a decades-long struggle for the freedom of their country.Mary Craigs intimate portrayal is the first to focus on the Dalai Lamas family--his parents, four brothers, and two sisters--all of whom have played integral roles in Tibets resistance to Chinese occupation. Particularly compelling are Craigs portraits of the Dalai Lamas siblings, who have negotiated with China on behalf of their country, enlisted the aid of international allies to spearhead Tibetan Resistance and worked tirelessly to help thousands of sick and starving refugee children. Kundun brings new warmth and insight to one of the centurys most heartrending stories, the epic of a people wrenched from their land by force and stubbornly fighting for survival.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Dalai Lama isn't the only religious icon in his family. He has two brothers who are also tulkas, or reincarnated religious leaders, and his parents and other siblings became revered by dint of their relationships to him. Mary Craig chronicles this intriguing web of familial, religious, and national loyalties that bind these people to a destiny unsought and unshakable.

Craig presents this god-king and his family in plain, human terms: from poor peasant upbringing, to tedious and isolated education, to bewilderment at the utter complexity of the political affairs he and his family are fated to confront. In Kundun, you enter the daily life of this family to experience the simple beauty of Tibetan culture, the trauma of brutal oppression and exile, and the protracted hope of redemption through nonviolent resistance.

Controversy plays no part in Craig's depiction, and the few sensitive areas that she does expose are glossed over as unresolved. She reveals the weaknesses of the tulka system and relates how even tulkas may question the truth of their own supposed reincarnation.

From Library Journal

Books on Tibetan Buddhism are gaining a growing readership. Craig (Mother Theresa, Trafalgar, 1991) takes a different approach by dealing with the lives of the family of the Dalai Lama. "Kundun" means the Presence or spiritual power of the Dalai Lama. Beginning with the death of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1933, Craig describes the search for the child who in Tibetan Buddhist belief would be his reincarnation. Craig then profiles the family of the 14th Dalai Lama and shows how each sibling grew to adulthood and contributed to the struggle to gain Tibet's freedom. Along the way, Craig explains many Tibetan Buddhist beliefs and various cultural aspects of the area. Her specialized book may appeal mostly to those deeply interested in Tibetan Buddhism, but the information provided is comprehensive and difficult to find elsewhere. Recommended for libraries serving readers with a strong interest in the Dalai Lama. [Note: Martin Scorsese's Kundun debuts simultaneously with this book's publication.?Ed.]?David Bourquin, California State Univ., San Bernardin.
-?David Bourquin, California State Univ., San Bernardino
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887178643
• ISBN-13: 978-1887178648
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,944,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The story of one of the greatest peace makers in modern time, November 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Kundun: A Biography of the Family of the Dalai Lama (Hardcover)

The Dalai Lama is leading the greatest David and Goliath struggle in world history and he doesn't even own a sling shot. His weapons of choice against China, the most brutal government on the planet, are words and truth. This book is worth a read as is Tears of Blood by Mary Craig. Forget trying to pit one religion against another or saying your god is better than my god. That is all foolishness. This book and Tears of Blood are stories of trying to save the human soul...And the human spirit and neither have a religion.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very detailed, but readable, recent history of Tibet, August 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Kundun: A Biography of the Family of the Dalai Lama (Hardcover)

I've read 5 books on Tibet recently, and this one was perhaps the best. It is full of factual history of life before, during and after the Chinese occupation of Tibet, but it also includes personal recollections of the Dalai Lama and his family members, and anecdotes from other key individuals. The story itself is fascinating. If you're interested in finding out what happened to the Tibetan people, you will be well-informed by reading "Kundun." By the way, it is not the same as the movie "Kundun," which was based very closely on the Dalai Lama's autobiography. Very enjoyable to read. Thanks, Mary!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent biography, but lacking in warts!, January 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Kundun: A Biography of the Family of the Dalai Lama (Hardcover)

Mary Craig has done a wonderful job in depicting the family struggles of the present Dalai Lama. How DOES a peasant family resolve the situation of having an enlightened being born into their simple abode? In any culture this would be a great honor, but in Tibet this was honor beyond belief - a pressure which the family do not appear to have fared well from. While Mary Craig depicts the already known information in an efficient and succinct manner, she does avoid the controversial issues surrounding the Dalai Lama's brothers and their present artificially 'elevated' positions. Craig would have done well to read the wonderful and recently published "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton. In this, she would have seen how another great writer deals with a parallel situation, yet instead of avoiding the controversies, Patton meets the bull head on and delivers! If only you had gone that extra mile Mary? It is great to see how Hollywood has finally woken up to the people's need for material beyond mere bubble-gum for the eyes. I hope all those writers keep these exceptional books coming. In the meantime, I'm off to see how they work out on screen!