Product Description
Tibet-o-Rama: Self and Other in a Tale from the Edge of Tibet, is an ethnography and a story of an anthropologist working in the Tibetan diaspora and the Inner Asian homeland. It is about Westerners looking for epiphanies through exotic Others, and refugees trying to find meaning in Western consumerism and global culture. Tibet-o-Rama examines the international icon of the Dalai Lama as the ultimate Otherness, and the paradox of his position. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Life's Unfurling
Tibet-O-Ramais a journey into the unfurling and weaving of the intricate vine of personality and character a person is. Each revelation a window into the puzzle components that mold an ever-evolving dynamic human being.I see Eric as a never stagnant, always changing-morphing person.There is never really an end to growing, for new information affects perspective. Eric's quest is revealed through a quilt of lived experiences,deep and honest, but never crass, and Eric sustains humor,integrating and learning about life. Eric's experiences touched me, made me laugh, feel the sadness and frustrations, and joy.His honesty, reminded me we are not alone, we all share in the journey of self-growth and awareness of life.

The Personal AND the Political
Tibet-O-Rama is a very refreshing book whose author is not afraid to blur the genres of ethnography and personal memoir (after all, Klieger shows, aren't our interests and observations informed by who we are?!).The protagonist, Eric, has a passion for Tibet -- is it just another case of the Westerner's Orientalist gaze/desire, or is it devoted political activism...or both?There is much to be learned here about those who readily give and receive aid, about the dilemmas that face those born with everything and those born with nothing, and about the commonalities they share.

Recollections of a professional and personal life
Tibet-O-Rama by cultural anthropologist P. Christiaan Klieger (California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco) is the recollections of a professional and personal life intertwined with the amazing beauty and rich culture that characterizes the nation of Tibet. From 1978 to the present day, and encompassing the paradox of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan exiles, Tibet-O-Rama is a wonderfully presented ethnographical and historical work celebrating the author's admiration and appreciation for Tibet, its people, and their courage in spite of all of the social and political dilemmas they face. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection of photographs from the British Library, taken by two British diplomats in the early twentieth century, shows traditional Tibetan culture before Chinese rule was imposed.In Lhasa, a noble family take a picnic in a park, the women's elaborate headdresses adorned with pearls. Travelling folk-opera singers pose in costumes and masks. Tibet covers an area as large as the UK, France and Germany combined, with a landscape that includes magnificent glaciers and Himalayan peaks, but also high plateaux and valleys with farmland, all of which are atmospherically evoked. These were the final decades of a society that had changed little since the Middle Ages, but was about to be savagely oppressed. The photographs, caught in a window of time, form a treasured record of the true spirit of Tibet.John Claude White was Political Officer in Sikkim for nearly twenty years, and photographed extensively in the border regions of Tibet. The earliest photographs in this volume are his taken when he joined the British military expedition to Lhasa in 1904. His pictures of mountains and glaciers give a geographical context for his more intimate shots of towns and people. White was succeeded as Political Officer in 1908 by Sir Charles Bell. Bell became a good friend of the thirteenth Dalai Lama when he fled to India to escape the Chinese pressure in Lhasa and this friendship later afforded him privileged access to Tibetan society during two extended visits to the capital at the invitation of the Dalai Lama in 1921 and 1933. His photographs reveal an ancient and complex civilization, dominated by the power of monastic religion. Bell, who spoke Tibetan fluently, went on to publish a wide range of scholarly titles on Tibetan culture and campaigned for its independence. His photographs and diaries are held in British Library Oriental and India Office Collections. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Valuable History, Delightful Read
Tibet- Caught In Time By John Clarke, Foreword by the Dalai Lama: For anyone interested in the Himalayas or Buddhism, this book is so interesting. It features the collection of photos made by two British diplomatsto Tibet in the early 1900's, John Claude White and Sir Charles Bell. Bell lived in Sikkim for two decades and photographed there and the majestic top of the world mountains. He documented life among the Tibetan people as it had been almost unchanged for many centuries before the Chinese occupation.Bell, who came after White, also lived in region for decades and spoke fluent Tibetan.He became a close friend of the 13th Dalai Lama and his family and, as such, was privy to many private events before the Dalai Lama had to seek refuge in India and was able to photograph and describe these occasions.The historic commentaries comprise a special window in time and a place and way of life which are gone.Their photographs and diaries and notes arepriceless collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum where Clarke is a curator.

Amazing photos of Tibet 80 years ago
I'm more into photography than anything else, which is why I read thisbook. The photos are fabulous -- Tibet is so complex and fascinating andfunny! Not just monks and solemn things, also farmers having picnic luncheswith beer, kids playing, markets, festivals, fabulous costumes andheaddresses. Really, if you want to see how extraorinary and intricateTibetan culture was (before the Chinese, at least!) this is the book tobuy. Fab fab fab! ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Bhavacakra, Tibetan Culture, Seven Years in Tibet, Sandpainting, Tibetan Calendar, Dzi Bead, Thangka, Buddhist Prayer Beads, Music of Tibet, Little Buddha, Shambala, Buddhist Symbolism, Kalachakra Stupa, Arnaud Desjardins, Dung-Dkar, Norbulingka Institute, Tibetan Art, Tibetan National Anthem, Tibetan Festivals, Tree of Physiology, Monlam Prayer Festival, Cham Dance, Portrait of Yutog Yontan Gonpo, Dramyin Cham, Khata, the Cup, Samsara, Tibetan Incense, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, Lhabab Duchen, Dungchen, Kayla Komito, Gar. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 154. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Tibetan culture developed under the influence of a number of factors. Tibet's specific geographic and climactic conditions- its altitude, short growing season, and cold weather- have encouraged reliance on pastorialism, as well as the development of a different cuisine from surrounding regions. Contact with neighboring countries and cultures- including India, China, and Mongolia- have influenced the development of Tibetan culture, but the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinctive local influences. Buddhism has exerted a particularly strong influence on Tibetan culture since its introduction in the 7th Century. Art, literature, and music all contain elements of Buddhist religion, and Buddhism itself has adopted a unique form in Tibet, influenced by the Bön tradition and other local beliefs. Tibetan art is deeply religious in nature, a form of sacred art. Yama, Dharmapala, the Lord of Death, is revered in Tibet as a guardian of spiritual practice, and was likely revered even before the conversion of Tibet from Bön to Buddhism in the 40th century Field Museum, Chicago.Thangka paintings, a syncrestism of Chinese scroll-painting with Nepalese...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=2224021 ... Read more

Product Description
The name Tibet traditionally conjures up a kaleidoscope of timeless images: extraordinary and dramatic landscapes, snow-capped mountains, Buddhist monks and monasteries. But stark new images have now been created by the tide of political events: Chinese soldiers outside the Potala Palace, young Tibetan refugees, the struggles of a nation in exile. This new title in the acclaimed New Horizons series explores the cultural and historical roots of the Tibetan people, their customs and beliefs, and their relations with the wider world, in order to give a fuller understanding of this remarkable land and its indomitable spirit. ... Read more

Product Description
From Monumental Templates To Vivid Wall-Paintings - A Richly Illustrated Showcase For The Art Of Tibet In All Its Glory Tibet Is An Eye-Opening Introduction To This Extraordinary Culture Covering Themes That Have Long Preoccupied The Popular Imagination, Including: The Intricate, Multicoloured Mandalas, Which Are A Vision Of The Entire, Unfolding Universe; The Hero-Saints, Who Travelled Through Tibet Fighting The Spirits Of The Mountains And Valleys; The Dalai Lamas, Eternally Reborn Incarnations Of The Great Bodhisattva Of Compassion; And The Ferocious, Sword-Wielding, Multilimbed Gods That Act As Guardians To The Land And Its Religions. These Major Themes, And Many More, Are Interpreted Visually Through Iconography, Pattern, Motif And Symbolism, As Well As In Terms Of Their Underlying Historical And Spiritual Significance. A Superb Addition To Any Library Of Art And Imagination, Tibet Sets New Standards In Capturing The Achievements Of This Awe-Inspiring Civilization Through The Marriage Of Word And Image. This Book Feautres A Foreword By His Holiness The Dalai Lama. ... Read more

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Shows and describes modern Tibet, recommends hotels and restaurants, and provides information on sightseeing and Tibetan culture, climate, and geography. ... Read more

Product Description
Explore Tibet through the Tibetans with Hannue, a Han traveller, in this travelogue and book of dialogues.

Find out what the Tibetans and Hannue have to say to each other on: the Dalai Lama, polyandry, sky & water burials, the Muslims, the Han, Tibetan mastiffs, aweto, languages, thangka, Buddhism, independence and more.

Read about a young Tibetan torn between life as a herder and life as a merchant, a Tibetan blogging monk, a Tibetan living buddha and his one million yuan dream car, differences between the Tibetans and the Han as explained by a Tibetan tibetolgoist, a Han-Tibetan couple, Han-Tibetans and their cultural identities, a thangka artist and his works, Tibetan critics of China's human rights record, the work of Tibetan monks and more.

A book of original info from Tibet, in its purest form.

Containing dozens of casual chat and deeper conversations with Tibetans from all walks of life in Tibet, Dialogues Tibetan Dialogues Han is the most revealing, democratic and down-to-earth book to have come out of Tibet in decades. ... Read more

Product Description
Drawn from inscriptions and texts among the primary sources of Tibet, India, China and Central Asia, as well as a wealth of secondary sources through the ages and the authors' personal experiences, this is a definitive survey of Tibetan history, religion and its rich, complex culture. In Snellgrove's words, the book serves to "keep in public view the clear historical right of the Tibetan people to self-determination". It contains a new preface and an obituary describing the life and career of Hugh Richardson (1905-2000), by co-author David Snellgrove. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

May complement Samuel's "Civilized Shamans"
This earlier work seems mostly trumped by Geoffry's Samuel's more recent and comprehensive (and apparently more accurate) "Civilized Shamans". I'm just a lay reader so my assessment could be wrong, but Samuels provides evidence of a much richer non-clerical influence than Snellgrove and Richardson do.

Both books acknowledge the role of the Bon religion, but Samuels is more inclined to be skeptical of Bon claims to pre-date Buddhism. Samuels also seems more inclined to acknowledge at times limitations in our knowledge of Tibetan history.

Whereas Snellgrove and Richardson make only mention once of Dzogchen, Samuels refers to it in a number of passages, including one that ties it to Bon. To be fair to a "Cultural History of Tibet", it is less than half the length of Samuel's book.

What I don't know is how much has been learned since "A Cultural History of Tibet" was written around 1968 that might conflict with it. My impression is that most of it would withstand the test of time except the big challenge that Samuels presents in "Civilized Shamans" by digging into Tibetan history and uncovering a stronger non-clerical influence than Richardson and Snellgrove present.

Again, I am only a layman and I'm trusting that Samuels' presentation is based on the high level of scholarship it seems to reflect. There may be no "either/or choice" here: "A Cultural History of Tibet" is organized well and packed with facts and assessments.

A well-balanced History of Tibet
This is the best book I have read on the history of Tibet, especially as it pertains to religion.It fairly treats the BON as well as all four Sectsof Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism equally.Unlike other histories or recent art books on Tibet written by western converts, this work does not reflect a personal political agenda. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is from 1921 and is a personal memoir of a medical missionary working in Tibet; contains many fascinating stories about his experiences in dealing with the customs, culture and superstitions of the Tibetan people.

Some excerpts from the book:
After a few days spent at Batang, we started on our
return journey, travelling very quickly because we did
not wish to leave the women alone at Tachienlu for too
great length of time. We got on well until we reached
Litang, which was thirteen thousand two hundred feet
above sea level, and which is so high that neither barley
nor wheat will mature, and the country round about is
entirely given over to grazing and to the washing of
gold which is found in considerable quantities along the
banks of the shallow streams.

After our arrival there was a great snowfall and we
were snowed in for two days. The houses were very
low, badly excavated and badly built with sod above the
surface level. The fires are of yak dung and some wood,
which is brought from a considerable distance. The
chimney is a thing about which they do not trouble.
As a consequence the smoke is exceedingly irritating, and
sore eyes are very prevalent among the Tibetans.

It was impossible for Mr. Ogden and me to endure
this smoke; finally we succeeded in securing a small
quantity of charcoal with which to keep ourselves warm.
We had provided ourselves before leaving Tachienlu
with sheepskin garments, so we were not greatly incon-
venienced.
...............................................................................

Just the day before we left Tachienlu for Batang,
a man had come in to see me, with a great row of
enlarged glands around his neck and had asked
me to remove them. He had come from Lichang in the
Province of Yunnan, some twenty-five days to the south
west, for the express purpose of having me operate on
him. Arriving as he did, just as we were departing for
Batang, it was impossible to operate because many of my
instruments and supplies had gone on. I told him that it
would be impossible to attend to him now but that if he
could come on five hundred miles to Batang, I would be
glad to take care of him. He said he would but I hardly
expected it. However, we had been in Batang only two
days when he arrived and insisted that he was ready for
the operation. We had not had time to unpack or in
any way to prepare for taking care of the sick, but I had
promised him that I would take care of him as soon as
he came to Batang. So there was nothing else to do
except to unpack the boxes containing the instruments
and do the best we could.

It is always a mistake among these superstitious, in
credulous people to do things behind closed doors, be-
cause all sorts of stories get out. In Tachienlu I was
greatly puzzled for a long time as to why, when I would
go on the street, small children would see me and take
to their heels and never stop till they were safely inside
their own doors. Upon inquiry, we found that they
were told, and it was believed by many people, that we
would catch children and take out their livers and eyes
and use them for medicine.
..............................................................................

Another custom that they have in treating the sick is
to never allow them to sleep. Day and night some one
will sit beside the person who is ill, and he eventually
becomes almost dead for lack of sleep, but he will be
roused, stuck with a pin or in some other manner roused
again to wakefulness. They think that if a person is
allowed to go to sleep he may not wake up again, and it
is with the greatest difficulty that they can be convinced,
and sometimes not at all, that sleep is a very necessary
thing for a person who is ill.

... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Archaeological Sites in Tibet, Zhangzhung, Guge, Tsaparang, Karuo Culture, Buchasergyi Lakang Monastery, Gajiu Monastery. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 31. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Zhang Zhung, Shang Shung, or Tibetan Pinyin Xang Xung, was an ancient culture and kingdom of western and northwestern Tibet, which pre-dates the culture of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. Zhang Zhung culture is associated with the Bön religion, which in turn, has influenced the philosophies and practices of Tibetan Buddhism. The Zhang Zhung are mentioned frequently in ancient Tibetan texts as the original rulers of central and western Tibet. Only in the last two decades have archaeologists been given access to do archaeological work in the areas controlled by the Zhang Zhung. Recently, a tentative match has been proposed between the Zhang Zhung and an Iron Age culture now being uncovered on the Chang Tang plateau of northwestern Tibet. Kingdoms in 565 AD.According to Annals of Lake Manasarowar (Lake Manasarovar), at one point the Zhang Zhung civilization consisted of 18 kingdoms in the west and northwest portion of Tibet. The Zhang Zhung culture was centered around sacred Mount Kailash and extended west to Sarmatians and present-day Ladakh ... Read more

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Covers a wide panorama of Tibetan life, traditions and more. This book gives a bird's eye view of what Tibet was before the Chinese communists brutalized the country and its people. ... Read more

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In this fascinating study, Dagyab Rinpoche not only explains the nine best-known groups of Tibetan Buddhist symbols, but he also shows how they serve as bridges between our inner and outer worlds. Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture is a fascinating and fun book, offering us entry points into the layers of meaning that may be found in the common (and not-so-common), pointing the way to ultimate reality and transmitting a reservoir of deep knowledge formed over thousands of years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

wanted more
I really was hoping for more with this book. Some background to the symbolism, but very light on the interesting stories. I have better information on my website.

A wonderful short introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
I'm not a practicing Tibetan Buddhist, but I've acquired a fair amount of knowledge through osmosis:I do volunteer work for a Tibetan refugee relief organization.One slow afternoon in our shop, I picked up this bookto improve my knowledge of the iconography in the graphics we sell, and wasblown away.Not only has the author written a clear, readable explicationof the symbolism, but the book is also a terrific introduction tofundamental Tibetan Buddhist beliefs.The average Tibetan may not be ableto elucidate the intricacies of the sacred texts, or practice the stylizedform of debate that forms an important part of a monk's training.But thebook gives great insight into what this average Tibetan actually believes. Now I feel I have a better understanding of how the Tibetans' Buddhism hassustained them through persecution, exile, and attempts by the Chinesegovernment to stamp out their culture.(And the Fur-Bearing Fish isn't arefugee from a Dr. Seuss book, but a symbol with profound meaning.)Thisis a great little book, and I recommend it enthusiastically.

UNDERSTANDABLE
I'm 52 years old and was fairly smug about what I had learned after 20 years or so of pretty serious reading. Then into my life, through the miracle of "amazon.comm" comes by Dagyab Rinpoche: hold on to your beliefs folks: get ready for a roller-coaster ride through Tibetan philosophy as translated from that philosophical language: German. And at the end there are instructions on how to take care of and treat the book and other books of similar nature. Scary ... Read more

Product Description
Filling a gap in the literature, this volume explores the struggles and accomplishments of women from both past and present-day Tibet. Here are queens from the imperial period, yoginis and religious teachers of medieval times, Buddhist nuns, oracles, political workers, medical doctors, and performing artists. Most of the essays focus on the lives of individual women, whether from textual sources or from anthropological data, and show that Tibetan women have apparently enjoyed more freedom than women in many other Asian countries. The book is innovative in resisting both romanticization and hypercriticism of women's status in Tibetan society, attending rather to historical description, and to the question of what is distinctive about women's situations in Tibet, and what is common to both men and women in Tibetan society. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book
This is an excellent book about Tibetan women.For those that are interested in the book let me suggest the Women of Tibet documentary films as well: http://womenoftibet.org/I saw"A Quiet Revolution" - about the experiences of women during the Tibetan occupation and exile.Think about the stretch between parents who lived an agrarian life (until forced into exile) and belonging to a generation forced out into the modern world.There's something about the Tibetan character, because the strength and wisdom of the young women is astounding.I highly recommend the film. One of the older women interviewed in this film spent SEVENTEEN years in what basically amounts to a concentration camp - of the THREE HUNDRED women in this prison/work camp - only FOUR survived. The younger women - as both the film and this book discuss - live a life without a passport - trying to pass on a heritage they've only experienced in exile.The film and book tell a story that really has never been told, the women interviewed have such rare stories to tell, I'm thankful that someone is preserving them.
... Read more

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Based upon the collection of Tibetan art and artefacts housed in the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, this book focuses not only on Tibet's artistic tradition, but also on the everyday life of the nomadic people. The collection comprises of a diverse assortment of clothing, jewelry, weapons, agricultural implements, household utensils, musical instruments, tools, armour, amulets and religious objects to give insight into Tibetan culture. The illustrations include original photographs taken in Tibet in the 1920s. ... Read more

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This collection of articles by international academic brings together new studies of places and space in trligious or ritual aspects of Tibetan culture. ... Read more

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In her compelling memoir of personal transformation, Jane Bay takes us on apilgrimage to India where we meet Tibetans, both exiles and those now suffering under Chineseoppression, and experience with her the liberating lessons of impermanence, compassion,commitment, and love. In this inspiring story, Bay's own metamorphosis is inextricably linkedwith the heroic struggle of the Tibetan people, and the Buddhist faith that is the source of theirstrength--and her own.

On her trip through India, Bay is accompanied by a Tibetan Buddhist monk, Lobsang Samten,through a series of adventures and spiritual passages that will change her life forever.While inDharamsala, the present home of the Dalai Lama, she becomes the foster mother of a teenage girlat the Tibetan Children's Village.Unable to have children of her own, Bay becomes deeplyinvolved in the life of her foster daughter, Namgyal, whose own mother had died in Tibet.Astrong bond is forged between mother and daughter through many months of correspondence andJane is devastated when she learns the Chinese government has forced Namgyal and otherchildren studying in India to return to the "motherland."To refuse would endanger Namgyal'sremaining family in Lhasa; ironically, going back to her homeland will endanger her ownidentity--the Chinese regime ruthlessly suppresses the study of Tibetan language, culture andreligion.

In the hope of finding her foster daughter, Bay embarks on a journey to Tibet, again travelingwith her spiritual friend, Lobsang, who returns at great personal risk after thirty-eight years inexile.He hopes to find his older brothers who were unable to escape when the Chinese armyswept across the high Tibetan plateau in 1959.Their search takes them from the temples ofLhasa to towns brutalized by Chinese occupation, to destroyed monasteries, and remote nomadicoutposts.

The author interweaves her own story with the experiences of the Tibetans she came to know andwith Buddhist teachings that have helped to illuminate her contemporary personal odyssey.Hercandid observations as well as her informative descriptions of current conditions in Tibet makethis book a poignant and emotionally gripping story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A journey of surprises revealing a heroic struggle.
"Woven through a stimulating journey, filled with the surprises oftravel in such an exotic land, are the wonderful pearls of Pablo Neruda,the Vajra-and-Bell Initiation, words from one of my favorites ChiefSeattle, teachings of the Great Perfection and many more.Jane Bay'sjourney and narrative is the thread that holds the "Jewels" ofthis necklace as one piece.But most important of all, I gained from herbook a new appreciation for the heroic struggle of the precious Tibetanpeople."

a heartfelt and emotional journey - well worth the read
"Precious Jewels of Tibet" speaks to us from the heart as JaneBay shares with the reader her innermost thoughts and feelings on her lifeas she embarks on an incredible journey of transformation. We are lucky tohave Jane share her story with us. As we feel her joy and sorrow, we get intouch with our own painful and joyous journeys of self discovery.

Highly recommended to anyone seeking inspiration.
Jane Bay has written a poignant memoire about her mystical journey to Tibet.How insightful it is for us to observe the allegory of her spiritual unfoldment, from her wounded life to wounded Tibet.Indeed, modernism has resolved a number of vicissitudes at the superficial realm of existence, but it has simultaneously magnified a piercing existential dismemberment, while escaping the most fundamental plight of the human being: the aspiration to surpass oneself, like The Buddha. Jane Bay has experienced an intimate experience of felicity.I recommend "Precious Jewels of Tibet" to anyone probing the same everlasting question : Who am I ? Graciously echoed by Jane Bay' s gifted prose, this book is a window to the quintessential matters of the soul, a longing that is invested right now, for each of us, with a very vital meaning. ... Read more