Flight of the Bön Monks: War, Persecution, and the Salvation of Tibet's Oldest Religion
Autor Harvey Rice, Jackie Cole Cuvânt înainte de Dalai Lamaen Limba Engleză Paperback – 28 mar 2024
Providing an inside view into the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the tenets of Bon, one of the world’s oldest but least known religions, this book chronicles the true story of three Bon monks who heroically escaped occupied Tibet and went on to rebuild their culture through incredible resilience, determination, and passion.
After taking his vows to become a Bon monk and completing a pilgrimage around 22,000-foot Mt. Kailash, the holiest mountain in Tibet, Tenzin Namdak envisions a life of quiet contemplation at Menri, Bon’s mother monastery. Instead, he finds himself fleeing for his life across the highest and most difficult terrain on the planet. After being joined by a CIA-backed warlord, Tenzin’s escape party is ambushed and he is severely wounded. Narrowly escaping execution by Chinese soldiers, the dying Tenzin is taken to a concentration camp, where he is afforded special consideration because of his status as a monk. He overcomes his nearly fatal wound and makes an arduous escape from Tibet over the daunting Himalayas.
The other monks, life-long friends Samten Karmay and Sangye Tenzin, witness Tibet’s capital explode in a violent insurrection against Chinese rule. Escaping to Nepal, they worry about the survival of the Bon religion and begin collecting scattered works of Bon scripture. A chance meeting with British scholar David Snellgrove brings the three monks together again and dramatically changes their lives. Snellgrove invites Sangye, Samten, and Tenzin to spend three years in London on a Rockefeller Foundation grant. There, they hone their English and forge influential relationships, enabling Tenzin to answer the pleas for help from the Bon community by founding a settlement in exile in India. Sangye is chosen as the 33rd Menri Trizen, Bon’s highest office, and together the three monks help rebuild the nearly extinct Bon religion.
Aside from the escape of the Dalai Lama, no other Tibetan escape has been so consequential for so many.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781644118580
ISBN-10: 1644118580
Pagini: 296
Ilustrații: Includes an 8-page color insert
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 x 20 mm
Greutate: 0.39 kg
Editura: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Colecția Destiny Books
ISBN-10: 1644118580
Pagini: 296
Ilustrații: Includes an 8-page color insert
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 x 20 mm
Greutate: 0.39 kg
Editura: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Colecția Destiny Books
Notă biografică
Harvey Rice and Jackie Cole are a husband-and-wife team committed to bringing this story to the world. Rice is a journalist with more than 40 years of experience, working at both U.S. newspapers and international news agencies. Cole has studied Bön for more than two decades and has taken many retreats with the main characters of the book, who have given their blessings and permission to share their story. The authors live in Galveston, Texas.
Cuprins
Foreword by the Dalai Lama
Prologue
A Deadly Encounter at 15,000 Feet
1 Beginnings
2 An Artist Becomes a Monk
3 Four Years in a Cave
4 Invasion
5 Recluse Nation
6 Best Friends
7 Tibet’s Harvard
8 Broken Promises
9 Iron Hell
10 Flight
11 Forsaken Vows
12 Enter the CIA
13 Ambush
14 Prisoners
15 Tenzin’s Escape
16 Refugees in a Foreign Land
17 Snellgrove
18 London
19 Return
20 Promised Land
Epilogue
Where They Are Now
Main Characters and Glossary
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Prologue
A Deadly Encounter at 15,000 Feet
1 Beginnings
2 An Artist Becomes a Monk
3 Four Years in a Cave
4 Invasion
5 Recluse Nation
6 Best Friends
7 Tibet’s Harvard
8 Broken Promises
9 Iron Hell
10 Flight
11 Forsaken Vows
12 Enter the CIA
13 Ambush
14 Prisoners
15 Tenzin’s Escape
16 Refugees in a Foreign Land
17 Snellgrove
18 London
19 Return
20 Promised Land
Epilogue
Where They Are Now
Main Characters and Glossary
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Recenzii
“Flight of the Bön Monks is a magnificent achievement on many levels. Cole and Rice have not only preserved a vital piece of neglected history, but they present this enthralling tale—virtually unknown in the West—in the form of a riveting adventure story as thrilling as any Jack London ever wrote. I fell in love with the heroic Bön monks, the luminous religion they risked their lives to save, and the book that recounts their inspiring story.”
“This book presents the fascinating life stories of three Bön monks, Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, Samten Karmay, and Sangye Tenzin, who later became the thirty-third abbot of Menri Monstery, the seat of the Bön religion, the oldest religion of Tibet. The book, however, is much more than stories about their courage and resilience while escaping from war-ravaged Tibet. It is also a highly valuable historical record of the survival and development of Bön in exile. Being an old religion with a small number of followers, Bön has been shrouded in mystery, legends, and misunderstanding. In China, Bön was traditionally referred to as the ‘black religion’ due to the popular belief that its followers covered their heads with black cloth. Fortunately, through careful and meticulous research, the two authors recorded a new chapter of the ancient Bön religion and present it to general readers in a smooth and catching writing style. Reading this book helped me to better understand Bön religion and enriched my knowledge of the Tibetan diaspora. I am grateful to the authors and congratulate them for a book well written and work well done.”
“With six decades of going on adventures to wild places, I’m often asked if I have a favorite. The answer is easy—it’s the remote, high Changthang Plateau. Flight of the Bön Monks will take you there.”
“Flight of the Bön Monks is a riveting tale, skillfully layered with despair, adventure, terror, and hope, but ultimately a story of human triumph. This emotionally powerful book isn’t just a chronicle of courage, it is a poignant reminder of why Tibet needs to stay in our collective conscience.”
“Before Buddhism came to Tibet, the indigenous Bön culture had flourished for millennia, and much of what we know today as Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism has been directly influenced by that culture. So when the Chinese decided that it was in their best interests to eradicate religion from the Tibetan plateau, the Bön suffered every bit as grievously as the Buddhists. Flight of the Bön Monks tells the remarkable story of bravery confronted by darkness; it outlines the escape from Tibet of several of the most senior and important Bön monks and how they have courageously kept their religion alive even though they were so rudely expelled from their native land. A story for our troubled times that needs to be told and needs to be read.”
"For all its impressive scholarly scrupulousness, the book reads like a dramatic novel, filled with suspense and captivating tales of astonishing heroism. Many times, Tenzin Namdak nearly died carrying the reliquary to safety—he was shot and imprisoned and still refused to surrender his mission. It is heartbreaking to consider the moral predicament of the many monks who were spiritually committed to non-violence but were compelled to betrayed their vows to defend themselves, their religion, and the people they loved most. Rice and Cole should be credited for their own efforts to keep the Bön religion alive, and to do so in a way that is as dramatically consuming as it is intellectually edifying. A remarkable work of historical insight and dramatic power."
“This book serves as a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the importance of faith in times of turmoil, and the enduring legacy of traditions in the face of persecution and oppression. Through Tenzin Namdak's journey, readers are invited to reflect on themes of courage, perseverance, and the enduring power of spirituality in the midst of great challenges.”
“This book presents the fascinating life stories of three Bön monks, Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, Samten Karmay, and Sangye Tenzin, who later became the thirty-third abbot of Menri Monstery, the seat of the Bön religion, the oldest religion of Tibet. The book, however, is much more than stories about their courage and resilience while escaping from war-ravaged Tibet. It is also a highly valuable historical record of the survival and development of Bön in exile. Being an old religion with a small number of followers, Bön has been shrouded in mystery, legends, and misunderstanding. In China, Bön was traditionally referred to as the ‘black religion’ due to the popular belief that its followers covered their heads with black cloth. Fortunately, through careful and meticulous research, the two authors recorded a new chapter of the ancient Bön religion and present it to general readers in a smooth and catching writing style. Reading this book helped me to better understand Bön religion and enriched my knowledge of the Tibetan diaspora. I am grateful to the authors and congratulate them for a book well written and work well done.”
“With six decades of going on adventures to wild places, I’m often asked if I have a favorite. The answer is easy—it’s the remote, high Changthang Plateau. Flight of the Bön Monks will take you there.”
“Flight of the Bön Monks is a riveting tale, skillfully layered with despair, adventure, terror, and hope, but ultimately a story of human triumph. This emotionally powerful book isn’t just a chronicle of courage, it is a poignant reminder of why Tibet needs to stay in our collective conscience.”
“Before Buddhism came to Tibet, the indigenous Bön culture had flourished for millennia, and much of what we know today as Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism has been directly influenced by that culture. So when the Chinese decided that it was in their best interests to eradicate religion from the Tibetan plateau, the Bön suffered every bit as grievously as the Buddhists. Flight of the Bön Monks tells the remarkable story of bravery confronted by darkness; it outlines the escape from Tibet of several of the most senior and important Bön monks and how they have courageously kept their religion alive even though they were so rudely expelled from their native land. A story for our troubled times that needs to be told and needs to be read.”
"For all its impressive scholarly scrupulousness, the book reads like a dramatic novel, filled with suspense and captivating tales of astonishing heroism. Many times, Tenzin Namdak nearly died carrying the reliquary to safety—he was shot and imprisoned and still refused to surrender his mission. It is heartbreaking to consider the moral predicament of the many monks who were spiritually committed to non-violence but were compelled to betrayed their vows to defend themselves, their religion, and the people they loved most. Rice and Cole should be credited for their own efforts to keep the Bön religion alive, and to do so in a way that is as dramatically consuming as it is intellectually edifying. A remarkable work of historical insight and dramatic power."
“This book serves as a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the importance of faith in times of turmoil, and the enduring legacy of traditions in the face of persecution and oppression. Through Tenzin Namdak's journey, readers are invited to reflect on themes of courage, perseverance, and the enduring power of spirituality in the midst of great challenges.”
Descriere
An inside account of the Chinese invasion of Tibet told through the voices of three persecuted monks