The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
If you've ever wondered what it's like to walk in the shoes of a Tibetan monk, you're in for a shocker. Palden Gyatso followed his heart into the monastery at the age of 10 to study under his uncle, also a monk. By his mid-20s, when he should have been preparing for a higher degree, he instead found himself behind the bars of a Chinese communist prison. For the next 30 years, he would endure interrogations, deprivation, starvation, beatings, and psychological torture. When he was finally released in 1992, he fled the country, managing to smuggle out not only the names of his fellow prisoners but Chinese instruments of torture to show the world.
With the help of translator Tsering Shakya, Palden Gyatso has crafted his story into a fluid yet surprisingly dispassionate account of his time in prison. Still, it is almost impossible not to be swept along on waves of pity, horror, and compassion as he suffers unspeakably at the hands of his tormentors. To understand the plight of one Tibetan monk is to step behind the eyes of an entire people. --Brian Bruya
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
The New York Times Book Review, Judith Shapiro
Tibet's suffering exerts a profound claim on the world's compassion, but this suffering is often romanticized by outsiders. With this memoir by a "simple monk" who spent 33 years in prisons and labor camps for resisting the Chinese, a rare Tibetan voice is heard. Palden Gyatso's Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk ... provides a devastating rebuttal to China's reports of having improved the lives of Tibetans, and a deeply disturbing look at terror and repression within the Chinese prison system.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk
The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk,Palden Gyatso,Tsering Shakya,Grove Press,0802135749,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,Biography / Autobiography,Biography/Autobiography,Buddhism,Buddhism - Tibetan,China,Ethnic Cultures - General,Lamas,Palden Gyatso,Political prisoners,Religious,Tibet
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