Customer Reviews

The Search for the Panchen Lama

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Have you ever read a book and afterwards felt like jumping up from the sheer joy of enjoyment? This book did that. It is part Tibetan history, part travelogue, part adventure story, part politics. But the sum is greater than the parts. Ms. Hilton's unprecedented access to some of the main protagonists and her meticulous research show in her insightful writing. This is such a timely book in understanding the tragedy that is modern-day Tibet. My only wish is that the author had provided a glossary and a timeline because some of the Tibetan terms and names can be quite confusing.

This outstanding book covers not just the search for the Panchen Lama - currently the biggest struggle in Tibet/China relations, but offers an extensive history of Tibetan Buddhism's struggle with the Chinese communists. Isabel Hilton has become a trusted correspondent of the Dalai Lama, and has gained his confidence in accurately reporting his conflicts with China. Thus Hilton not only gets many interviews with the big guy himself, but also extensive access to the intricate world of Tibetan Buddhism.

The search to find the current Panchen Lama, the reincarnation of the previous Panchen Lama who died in 1989, is not covered in detail until you are two-thirds through the book. In the meantime, Hilton interrupts descriptions of her travels through Tibet, China, and India (which serve as an enjoyable travelogue in themselves) with extensive forays into the history of the numerous Dalai and Panchen Lamas, as well as Tibetan Buddhism itself and the Chinese invasion and continuing suppression of the religion. The late Panchen Lama is covered in great detail, and his lifetime of persecution by the Chinese government occupies much of the book.

Hilton delivers many keen revelations about the current situation. She debunks the view of our American celebrity Buddhists that Tibet is a shangri-la in which everyone deeply meditates in pure devotion, and a serene life of deep thought is enjoyed by all. We learn instead that they have their factionalism and infighting like everyone else. We also learn that the Dalai Lama does not have the universal devotion of all Tibetan Buddhists (there are some dissidents), and that he may be losing his spiritual grip on his people, from his continuing exile in India.

The heartbreaking conclusion of the book reveals the cruel fate of the little boy who was found by the Dalai Lama to be the reincarnated Panchen Lama. He was taken into custody by the Chinese and hasn't been seen since. The Chinese have spent the past fifty years suppressing all religious activity, but now are trying to convince the world that they are better able to perform a profoundly religious ritual, the search for the Panchen's reincarnation, than the spiritual leader himself (the Dalai Lama). The actions of the Chinese have lead to scorn and derision from the rest of the world, as they have imprisoned one small boy indefinitely and installed another boy as the spiritual leader of a religion that doesn't accept him, and condemned him to life as a puppet. Yes, the Chinese government has egg on its face, but that doesn't alleviate the sad fate in store for those two young boys.

This is a wonderful book to introduce some of the basic issues and history that lead to the current state of Tibet, its government, its people and its religion. Hilton walks you through some historical passages so that by the time she is delving into the search for the 11th Panchen, you have a good sense of the urgency of the situation and why both the Tibet government in exile and China were desparately trying to control the outcome. The fact that Hilton was privy to some top secret information and met with a variety of other key figures allows her to provide more emotion and intimacy to the story than perhaps otherwise. While we all now know the terrible outcome of the search, reading the details and chronology are still suspenseful and gripping. I felt so hollow at the end, knowing that little has changed in Tibet and wondering if it ever will. Where is the true Panchen (I can't believe China has not been forced to free him) and what is the fate of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism after the passing of the 14th Dalai Lama??? Reading about China's cruelty made me wonder if Tibet can survive even the next thirty years but yet, there is hope when thinking of the courage Tibetans have demonstrated thus far.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in Tibet or the surrounding areas--Nepal and Bhutan. As is often the case, the story of Tibet is much more complex than the "Free Tibet" slogan would suggest. Tibet was never a united country with a central government, but a fuedal society in need of reform, ill-equipped to deal with the great powers that surrounded it--the Soviet Union, China and Britain/India. One learns in this clear and well-written account that the Chinese, who had close and positive historical ties to Tibet, were invited in by the Panchen Lama--a choice he lived to regret. One also learns that for a time the Dalai Lama was leaning in favor of the Soviet Union--also not a good choice. Interestingly, the predecessors to the current Dalai and Panchen lamas had a serious falling out over whether Tibet should have a modern army to defend itself, with the Dalai Lama opposing the idea. In reading this book, one gets an all too clear picture of the devastation China has visited upon this country--in some ways worse than in parts of China itself, and one cannot help being deeply moved by the heroism of the monks, who are a very human and fallible group until their entire lives, culture, and religion come under attack. Perhaps most compelling, this is a story that is just beginning--the whereabouts of the current Panchen Lama is unknown, but the focus of international attention, and as you will learn, his fate bears directly on the issue of who will be the next Dalai Lama. A compelling read!

I ordered this book despite a scathing review in the NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS which inaccurately trashed the author's objectivity and writing style. The book turns out to be interesting, engaging, and extremely well written.

Wow! - non fiction paced like a mystery novel. I could not put the book down. Yes, it helps to have an interest in Tibet/China however this is a masterfully written book and if nothing else, a great read. If only it weren't true. Enjoy!

A number of people have written excellent reviews of this book so I'm just here to say that they're all right! This book is a must read if you're the least bit interested in Chinese-Tibeten relationship of the past, present and future...

This is a true life account of the search for the panchen lama that reads like a novel. It is full of twists and intrigue and is immensely easy to read. This explains the heritage of the panchen lama exceptionally well, as well as currents events surrounding his discovery and capture by the Chinese. A fascinating read about an important Lama to all Tibetans.

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This true story of the behind the scenes intrigue surrounding the finding of the Eleventh Panchen Lama in 1995 is far more exciting than any fiction writer could dream of. The author details the history of the Panchen Lama and its relationships with the Dalai Lama and the Chinese.

Hilton offers a compelling biography of the Tenth Panchen Lama, who remained in Tibet after the Chinese occupation. He naively presented his frank review of the Chinese policies on Tibet to the Chinese government, but was imprisoned and not released until after Mao's death. He continued to fight for Tibet's rights and mysteriously died in 1989.

Both the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama looked for his reincarnation, but identified different children. The Dalai Lama's choice was immediately taken into Chinese custody, and is often called the youngest political prisoner in the world.

Just a small bit of contrary opinion, to balance out all the enthusiastic reviews. In particular, I wanted to disagree with the reviewer below who wrote "This book is a must read if you're the least bit interested in Chinese-Tibeten (sic) relationship."

Fair warning: this book will tell you all you every wanted to know about the relationship between China and Tibet, and much, much more. If you aren't likely to be overwhelmed by details and a lot of rather complicated and dry history of Tibet, then this is the book for you. If you want more of an introduction, then perhaps better is HH the Dalai Lama's "My Country, My People."