The first authoritative biography of the Dalai Lama--a story by turns inspiring and shocking--from an acclaimed Tibetan scholar with exceptional access to his subject. The Dalai Lama's message of peace and compassion resonates with people of all faiths and none. Yet, for all his worldwide fame, he remains personally elusive. At last Alexander Norman--acclaimed Oxford-trained scholar of the history of Tibet--delivers the definitive, unique, unforgettable biography. The Dalai Lama recounts an astonishing odyssey from isolated Tibetan village to worldwide standing as spiritual and political leader of one of the world's most profound and complex cultural traditions. Norman reveals that, while the Dalai Lama has never been comfortable with his political position, he has been a canny player--at one time CIA-backed--who has maneuvered amidst pervasive violence, including placing himself at the center of a dangerous Buddhist schism. Yet even more surprising than the political, Norman convinces, is the Dalai Lama's astonishing spiritual practice, rooted in magic, vision, and prophecy--details of which are illuminated in this book for the first time. A revelatory life story of one of today's most radical, charismatic, and beloved world leaders.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is renowned the world over for an unswerving dedication to non-violence in his efforts to achieve justice for Tibet. In the twenty years he has known and worked with him, Alexander Norman has seen at first hand this extraordinary man's courage, compassion and honesty. But the current Dalai Lama is fourteenth in a lineage whose history is every bit as bloody and intrigue-laden as that of the Papacy. The 'first' Dalai Lama was in fact the third; the second described himself as 'a mad beggar monk'; the fourth was not Tibetan at all but a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. The sixth was a notorious womaniser, while four successive Dalai Lamas were almost certainly murdered. The present Dalai Lama has himself been the target of attacks that resulted in the brutal murder of a close colleague. He readily admits that Tibet never was Shangri La. HOLDER OF THE WHITE LOTUS gives a fast-paced and absorbing insight into the real story of Tibetan culture, politics and spirituality
Impressive in its clarity this biography [is] the most detailed and accurate to date. Written in an engaging prose, [it] ends with an insightful prediction of the legacy of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, and a cleareyed assessment of the challenges that the fifteenth will face' The New York Times The Dalai Lama’s message of peace and compassion resonates with people of all faiths and none. Yet, for all his worldwide fame, he remains personally elusive. Now, Alexander Norman, acclaimed Oxford-trained scholar of the history of Tibet, delivers the definitive biography—unique, multi-layered, and at times even shocking. The Dalai Lama illuminates an astonishing odyssey from isolated Tibetan village to worldwide standing as spiritual and political leader of one of the world’s most profound and complex cultural traditions. Norman reveals that, while the Dalai Lama has never been comfortable with his political position, he has been a canny player—at one time CIA-backed—who has manoeuvred amidst pervasive violence, including placing himself at the centre of a dangerous Buddhist schism. Yet even more surprising than the political, Norman convinces, is the Dalai Lama’s astonishing spiritual practice, rooted in magic, vision, and prophecy—details of which are illuminated in this book for the first time. A revelatory life story of one of today’s most radical, charismatic, and beloved world leaders.
A bracing and essential modern-day polemic from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Beyond Religion is a blueprint for all those who yearn for a life of spiritual fulfillment as they work for a better world. This is HHDL's new model for mutual respect and understanding - rooted in our shared humanity - between religious believers and non-believers. Ten years ago, in his bestselling Ethics for a New Millennium, His Holiness the Dalai Lama first proposed an approach to ethics based on universal rather than religious principles. Now, in Beyond Religion, the Dalai Lama, at his most compassionate and outspoken, elaborates and deepens his vision for the nonreligious way. Transcending the mere "religion wars," he outlines a system of secular ethics that gives tolerant respect to religion - those that ground ethics in a belief in God and an afterlife, and those that understand good actions as leading to better states of existence in future lives. And yet, with the highest level of spiritual and intellectual authority, the Dalai Lama makes a claim for what he calls "a third way." This is a system of secular ethics that transcends religion.
Saved by the Flame of Love, reveals differences between God and humanity that are difficult and even impossible at times to reconcile. We pray the Our Father saying, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." If only it were that simple to submit our wills to the will of God. Water and fire, necessary for salvation and capable of destruction, they are instruments used by God to save souls. This book speaks of how the Lord destroys in order to save, and the will of God is always the salvation of souls. As contempt and distrust for God intensifies in the hearts of humans, God responds with love and mercy. The gift of the "Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" is an instrument in the hands of missionaries, for the purpose of saving souls.
The Complete Story of the Dalai Lamas His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama is known to the world for his efforts to preserve Tibetan culture and for his inspiring spiritual teachings. Often unnoticed, however, is the long, colorful history from which this most beloved of holy men has emerged. In Secret Lives of the Dalai Lama, Alexander Norman tells this story in full for the first time, from Tibetan Buddhism’s foundational narratives to the present-day crisis faced by Tibet. And what a story it is. Along with dedicated monks selflessly serving the Tibetan people, among His Holiness’s spiritual forebears there are a Dalai Lama who waged wars, a womanizing and inebriated poet, and several who wound up dead following disputes over temporal power. Also, while Western practitioners focus on Tibetan Buddhism’s liberating vision of enlightenment, it simultaneously contains ritual practices of prophecy and magic, as well as a vivid pantheon of deities and demons. In the end, although Tibet falls short of the Western myths of a Himalayan utopia, by illuminating the historical struggle toward compassion and selflessness embodied in the Dalai Lama lineage, Secret Lives of the Dalai Lama ultimately reveals a reality that is vastly more compelling than any romance of “Shangri-La” and provides deeper reasons for admiring Tibetan tradition.
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