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Dalai Lama My Son
 
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Dalai Lama My Son [Mass Market Paperback]

Diki Tsering (Author), Khedroob Thondup (Foreword, Editor)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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The Dalai Lama's mother was illiterate but was a natural storyteller. When her granddaughter asked her to talk about her life, the stories began to roll out. She told of her wedding at the age of 16, her state of virtual servitude as a married woman, murderous ghosts, and her two dead sons left for the birds. Then, after a three-year drought and other strange events preceding the birth of her fifth child, the lamas came from Lhasa, and her Cinderella future was cinched. With her son the Dalai Lama ensconced in his palace, this nondescript peasant woman whose 16 children yielded three incarnate lamas, strolled her garden estate and hobnobbed with the aristocracy. And yet the intrigue, the perils of domestic and international politics, would soon take her husband's life, drive her remaining children into exile, and have her yearning for the quiet drudgery of her former life. Diki Tsering speaks with the unadorned simplicity of an ordinary country girl about a life that was anything but ordinary. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

This spare, fascinating autobiography by the Dalai Lama's mama addresses issues as diverse as faith, political intrigue and the harsh demands of rural life. Born at the turn of the century to a hardworking peasant family in a frontier region of Tibet, Diki Tsering (her married name) entered an arranged marriage at 16 and found herself entirely under the thumb of a brutal, sometimes violent mother-in-law. She bore 16 children, but only seven survived their toddlerhoods (four of these deaths were blamed on a malevolent family ghost). One of her sons, of course, was recognized at age four as the incarnation of the Dalai Lama, the highest religious and political leader in Tibet. Diki Tsering followed him to urban Lhasa, where she traded her dawn-to-dusk working life for the leisured, and sometimes bewildering, social role as Tibet's "Mother of Compassion." She accompanied the youthful lama on his travels to India and on a year-long expedition to China, where officials attempted to coax the Tibetan entourage into capitulating to Chinese leadership. When the party arrived home, however, they discovered that the Chinese had already infiltrated Tibet, taking over Diki Tsering's homeland and other areas. The family managed to escape to India in 1959, sneaking out at night dressed as soldiers. The story is enthralling, although the writing (edited from taped interviews with Diki Tsering before her death in 1980) is choppy and the narrative sometimes confusing. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
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2 star:    (0)
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4.6 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Dalai Lama, My Son, Nov 17 2003
By 
smartnurse123 (Slidell, LA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dalai Lama My Son Unabridged (Audio Cassette)
A serious, yet interesting audio book about the story of the Dalai Lama as told from his mother's perspective. Only 4 cassettes long, this unabridged version of the book drew me into the unique culture of Tibet in the early 20th century. The music was peaceful as well as the voice of the reader. In addition, I recommend the breath-taking video "Kandu"; also about the upbringing of the Dalai Lama.
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3.0 out of 5 stars ..., Feb 26 2001
This review is from: Dalai Lama My Son (Hardcover)
I beleave this book was insightful. It was fairly simple to read, and was worded well. however, reading this, and several other books for an honors project, i must say that it takes a different reader to enjoy. i also read invading tibet, which i thought was much more fun to read. Dalai lama my son is a good book, but to me it seemed flat.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Tibet in a Different Light, Feb 1 2001
This review is from: Dalai Lama My Son (Hardcover)
This is a magnificent autobigraphy. Also, a very upsetting one. The "Tibet in Exile" website claims that Tibet had women's rights. This book by the Dalai Lama's mother claims otherwise. In Amdo, which is Eastern Tibet, they had a custom that seemed to work for adultery. But not for women. The family of the woman who was the offender were required to kill her. Dike Tsering goes into more detail. Also, if a man died leaving his wife alone, she was required not to marry for three years. Then the family would conduct "secret negotiations" for profit. This caused many Tibetan women to commit suicide. The book also displays the tremendous impact of astrology. How you got married, who you married, and so forth. The astrologer was consulted on all matters of importance in the family. And there were ghosts. One ghost was resposible for the deaths of four of her children. In Lhasa, there were tremendous class distinctions! And Diki Tsering displays them simply as horrible snobs. This applys to the aristocrats who lived off their "bonded laborers". And wouldn't even call them by name. They also acted like Diki Tsering was nothing but "a farm hand". The two regents who controlled Tibet while the Dalai Lama was growing up were Reting Rinpoche and Taktra Rinpoche. Reting was the first regent, until he was supposedly assasinated by Taktra Rinpoche. The author also believes, as did the people of Tibet, that Taktra Rinpoche poinsoned her husband, the father of the Dalai Lama, because he was friends with Reting Rinpoche. Nevertheless, Reting Rinpoche was not without violence. A Tsipan Lungshar led a movemovement for reform. Reting Rinpoche had his eyes goughed out as punishment. I find the testimony of Diki Tsering very good. She is really strong and seems to speak with great truth. I believe her about the ghosts and the astrology. But about the other issues, and as a follower of Tibetan Buddhism, I am more depressed than usual! But I do feel that this is a must read for people who do want to save Tibet. We have to know our "weakspots" so that they don't come back later to haunt us. And I don't mean ghosts! Please buy and read the book. Thank you very much.
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