Non-Fiction Works
Avedon, John. In Exile from the Land of Shadows. New York: HarperPerennial, 1984.
This is the first book required by PVI of my trip to Tibet in July, a long account of the Dalai Lama and Tibet since the Chinese takeover in 1950. Though published in 1987, it remains one of the most definitive histories of the region. Compelling in its detail, especially in the vivid and complex portrayal of the various Tibetan peoples. The intermittent stories of the refugees themselves are most compelling. Chapters on slavery, Tibetan medicine, and the Dalai Lama's pilgrimages, in particular, stand out.
Chen, Michelle. "In Search of the Living Buddha." Clamor Nov./Dec. 2004: 38-40.
A Western student travels to Chinese Tibet to meet the Huo Fo, the living reincarnation of the Buddha. Stunned by the stoic poverty and rich faith contrasted with the need to play the monks' role of celebrity for visitors, Chen decides that our own Westernization has cut too deeply to be transformed through brief visits. "Maybe all of us, believers and nonbelievers alike, were working through the same riddle, caught up in the wish that we could return to a pure way of life, a more holistic society, despite being tainted by the pollutants of our atomized modernity."
Craig, Mary. Tears of Blood. New York: Counterpoint, 1999.
I found this while I was looking for the Avedon text. Craig is the author of Kundun (which was made into an exceptional film) and here reports the effects of Chinese occupation of Tibet with heavy documentation and interviews with refugees..
Donnet, Pierre-Antoine. Tibet: Survival in Question. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994.
A book off our Model UN library shelf, Donnet is a freelance writer based in Hong Kong and Taiwan who has written several books on Japan and China. With several appendices of actual political documents, statements, and agreements, his book focuses as much on US CIA operations and how the Chinese political situation affected its behavior toward the Tibetans, including the 1989 Tianneman Square massacre.
Goldstein, Melvyn. "The Dalai Lama's Dilemma." Foreign Affairs Jan./Feb. 1998: 83ff.
Goldstein argues that a new round of violence in Tibet may be inevitable due to the Dalai Lama's impotence to affect the changes in Tibet.
H. H. the Dalai Lama. The Four Noble Truths. London: Thorsons, 1997.
This is the Dalai Lama's introduction to Buddhism through the key Truths of the suffering, of the origin of suffering, of the end of suffering, and of the path leading to this end. This book, based upon his first sermon following his own enlightenment, comes from his two-day teachings in London in 1996.
-----. How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life. New York: Pocketbooks, 2002.
As simple and practical as Buddhism gets, I suspect. The Dalai Lama even offers some daily practices to test the consciousness!
-----. My Land and My People, NY: Potala, 1983.
This is an autobiographical account of the history of modern Tibet, told by His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the XIVth Dalai Lama.
Thurman, Robert. "The Realpolitik of Spirituality." Shambhala Sun, Nov. 1996.
Thurman, a professor at Columbia University, invites His Holiness to discuss the benefits of Tibetan Buddhism on the Chinese and calls on Tibetans to preserve their environment.
Fiction
Pattison, Eliot. The Skull Mantra. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.
A murder in Tibet is assigned to a Chinese detective who is exiled there. Kind of a potboiler, but it was recommended by our guide. Not full of action by any means, but a fascinating interplay between the Chinese and Tibetans through a number of characters of different social strata. The religious element insinuates itself unexpectedly, as well, which is compelling. The ending makes the novel worthwhile, as it plays upon American political sentiment well.
Media
Annaud, Jean-Jacques, Dir. Seven Years in Tibet, 1997.
Most of this film traces the fitful attitudes of Brad Pitt's Heinrich Harrer, the historical Austrian who eventually befriends the Dalai Lama before the invasion. Interesting on its own as a story, it isn't a good choice to better understanding of Tibetan culture or history. The bits of history we do see are so fragmented that if a viewer doesn't know the larger story (from Avedon, for instance) he is likely to misunderstand the events. A few anecdotes of Buddhist teachings are interesting, but the film feels "too Western" to be authentic.
Bertolucci, Bernardo, Dir. Little Buddha. Keanu Reeves. 1993.
What would happen if Tibetan monks found a reincarnation of a lama in the U.S.? A modern spiritual quest which includes the story of the original Siddhartha who becomes the Buddha. Not a very well-written or acted film, but entertaining and interesting in its artistic direction. Worth the rental for the layperson who wants a quick sense of the religion!
Free Tibet. Palm Pictures, 2000.
The concert video from the charity/awareness concert, the concert includes several bad performances from Bjork, The Foo Fighters, Yoko Ono, and a few better ones from Smashing Pumpkins and John Lee Hooker. What is most interesting, however, is not the few bits of historical perspective and testimony from Tibetan refugees but the "average concert-goer" interviews which reveal the varying levels of shallowness inherent in Americans.
Martini, Richard, Dir. Tibetan Refugee. Vanguard, 2004.
Brief documentary which traces the experience of refugees in their flight to Dharamasala to practice religious freedom. Robert Thurman greets one in New York. The interviews are both poorly-filmed and compelling in their sincerity. One of my favorites of the films, especially the bonus features which include a 20-minute view of a monastic prayer.
Saltmen of Tibet, The. Zeitgeist Video, 1997.
Simply filmed, this two hour documentary traces the annual nomadic journey across the plains by the Tibetan saltmen, an ancient custom by which an entire region of people make their livings. Unfortunately, modern trucking and industrialization threaten to destroy their fragile practice. The film is all subtitled and focuses primarily on the daily practices and simple dialogue of daily life, allowing that to create empathy in the viewer. Excellent production, though set aside time to watch it without interruption!
Scorsese, Martin, Dir. Kundun. Touchstone Pictures, 1998.
The story of the Dalai Lama and his efforts to confront a changing world, this film is ten times more powerful than Seven Years in Tibet and far more accurate. Music by Philip Glass earned an Oscar nomination, rightfully so. Scorsese had been inspired by the historical footage he saw as a child and then recreated those scenes, all with the real Dalai Lama's approval.
Thurman, Robert. Robert Thurman on Tibet. Wellspring, 2002.
Peace scholar Thurman provides a four hour exploration of Tibet's history and culture, emphasizing its essential pacifist nature. "The Ancient Kings and the Arrival of the Dharma," "Saints, Sages, and Adepts," and "The Dharma State: Lamas and the 21st Century." Difficult to follow all of it so quickly; I prefer the texts for history.
Thurman, Robert. Robert Thurman on Buddhism. Wellspring, 2002.
Another four-hour series of lectures on the religion. While I find his voice kind of painful after too long, the explanations work pretty well for the lay-American. The discussion is thick enough that it's a good work to end with. His explanation of the Buddha and the Buddha nature is especially helpful.
Thurman, Robert. Ethics and The World Crisis: A Conversation with the Dalai Lama. Tibet House, 2004.
Susan Sarandon, Robert Thurman, Al Sharpton, Ben Cohen (from Ben & Jerry's) and several others hold a public panel on moving from external efforts at revolution to internal ones. Discussed are the media, criticism, the Iraq war, the individual's roles, nuclear weapons, poverty, the nature of ethics. Many of the other panelists read prepared statements, poorly. His Holiness speaks impromptu and speaks powerfully! Brief one-hour film.
Tibet: Cry of the Lion. Martin Sheen, narrator. New Yorker Video, 2003.
This documentary combines incredible interviews of refugees with rare archive images as well as contemporary scenes of Tibetans coping with Chinese occupation; most fascinating to me is the kind of life the Chinese have built in Tibet and the battle of symbols there, secular vs. religious. In addition, the DVD has several extras, including another 90 minutes of just film from the daily lives of Tibetans and Nepalese, beautiful enough to cause me to buy the film.
Tibet: Windham Hill. Mark Isham, composer. Wellspring, 1988.
This is basically a long New Age music video of images and original music by Isham. The music is rather trite and, to my ears, singularly wrong for the culture. The images are nice enough (scenery to gompas to simple objects from the traditional country), but stripped of context as they are, they are simply images, decoration, offering a Romanticized and stylized view of the country. Avoid the video if you want to learn anything at all about Tibet. Fortunately, I barely wasted an hour on it.
Tibetan Book of the Dead. Wellspring, 2003.
This is a great examination of Tibet's beliefs in death, drawn from the ancient text. In two parts, it examines the traditional practices and contemporary use of the text in aiding the dying as they prepare for their next journey. If you can get past the narrator's overly-deep and dramatic voice, the ideas of spiritual guides and angry internal demons is fascinating.
Valli, Eric. Himalaya. Kino International, 2001.
A terrific story of a a caravan trip over the mountains which should determine if young pride will triumph over pride and tradition in the selection of the new Dolpo chief. The mountains and gods have a different idea. A nice variation in resolution from what we might predict from a Western film. An amazing soundtrack makes this film memorable.