The Search for the Panchen Lama

This is a wonderful book to introduce some of the basic issues and history that lead to the current state of Tibet, its government, its people and its religion. Hilton walks you through some historical passages so that by the time she is delving into the search for the 11th Panchen, you have a good sense of the urgency of the situation and why both the Tibet government in exile and China were desparately trying to control the outcome. The fact that Hilton was privy to some top secret information and met with a variety of other key figures allows her to provide more emotion and intimacy to the story than perhaps otherwise. While we all now know the terrible outcome of the search, reading the details and chronology are still suspenseful and gripping. I felt so hollow at the end, knowing that little has changed in Tibet and wondering if it ever will. Where is the true Panchen (I can't believe China has not been forced to free him) and what is the fate of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism after the passing of the 14th Dalai Lama??? Reading about China's cruelty made me wonder if Tibet can survive even the next thirty years but yet, there is hope when thinking of the courage Tibetans have demonstrated thus far.

This outstanding book covers not just the search for the Panchen Lama - currently the biggest struggle in Tibet/China relations, but offers an extensive history of Tibetan Buddhism's struggle with the Chinese communists. Isabel Hilton has become a trusted correspondent of the Dalai Lama, and has gained his confidence in accurately reporting his conflicts with China. Thus Hilton not only gets many interviews with the big guy himself, but also extensive access to the intricate world of Tibetan Buddhism. The search to find the current Panchen Lama, the reincarnation of the previous Panchen Lama who died in 1989, is not covered in detail until you are two-thirds through the book. In the meantime, Hilton interrupts descriptions of her travels through Tibet, China, and India (which serve as an enjoyable travelogue in themselves) with extensive forays into the history of the numerous Dalai and Panchen Lamas, as well as Tibetan Buddhism itself and the Chinese invasion and continuing suppression of the religion. The late Panchen Lama is covered in great detail, and his lifetime of persecution by the Chinese government occupies much of the book. Hilton delivers many keen revelations about the current situation. She debunks the view of our American celebrity Buddhists that Tibet is a shangri-la in which everyone deeply meditates in pure devotion, and a serene life of deep thought is enjoyed by all. We learn instead that they have their factionalism and infighting like everyone else. We also learn that the Dalai Lama does not have the universal devotion of all Tibetan Buddhists (there are some dissidents), and that he may be losing his spiritual grip on his people, from his continuing exile in India. The heartbreaking conclusion of the book reveals the cruel fate of the little boy who was found by the Dalai Lama to be the reincarnated Panchen Lama. He was taken into custody by the Chinese and hasn't been seen since. The Chinese have spent the past fifty years suppressing all religious activity, but now are trying to convince the world that they are better able to perform a profoundly religious ritual, the search for the Panchen's reincarnation, than the spiritual leader himself (the Dalai Lama). The actions of the Chinese have lead to scorn and derision from the rest of the world, as they have imprisoned one small boy indefinitely and installed another boy as the spiritual leader of a religion that doesn't accept him, and condemned him to life as a puppet. Yes, the Chinese government has egg on its face, but that doesn't alleviate the sad fate in store for those two young boys.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in Tibet or the surrounding areas--Nepal and Bhutan. As is often the case, the story of Tibet is much more complex than the "Free Tibet" slogan would suggest. Tibet was never a united country with a central government, but a fuedal society in need of reform, ill-equipped to deal with the great powers that surrounded it--the Soviet Union, China and Britain/India. One learns in this clear and well-written account that the Chinese, who had close and positive historical ties to Tibet, were invited in by the Panchen Lama--a choice he lived to regret. One also learns that for a time the Dalai Lama was leaning in favor of the Soviet Union--also not a good choice. Interestingly, the predecessors to the current Dalai and Panchen lamas had a serious falling out over whether Tibet should have a modern army to defend itself, with the Dalai Lama opposing the idea. In reading this book, one gets an all too clear picture of the devastation China has visited upon this country--in some ways worse than in parts of China itself, and one cannot help being deeply moved by the heroism of the monks, who are a very human and fallible group until their entire lives, culture, and religion come under attack. Perhaps most compelling, this is a story that is just beginning--the whereabouts of the current Panchen Lama is unknown, but the focus of international attention, and as you will learn, his fate bears directly on the issue of who will be the next Dalai Lama. A compelling read!

Although Hilton's SEARCH FOR THE PANCHEN LAMA is not easily classified, it is outstanding. Since the 7th century, the Dalai and Panchen lamas have acted as Tibet's spiritual and temporal leaders, the Panchen Lama second in importance to the Dalai Lama. When the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, fled Tibet in 1959, the Chinese government then recognized the 10th Panchen Lama, Bskal-bzang Tshebrtan, as the leader of Tibet.Based in part on Hilton's own interviews with the Dalai Lama and others, on one hand her book follows the fascinating search for the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, who died at age 50 on January 28, 1989, a search "of the keenest religious and political importance inside and outside Tibet" (p. 7). On the other hand, Hilton's book provides a well-researched, scholarly history of Tibet and its political struggle with communist China. It is a fine book in both respects, and allows the reader challenging access to one of the most inaccessible areas of the world, giving Tibet's political and religious struggles the attention they have long deserved.Hilton's own access to Tibet can be enjoyed also as an adventurous travel narrative, as she invites her reader to accompany her on rattling buses and taxis, down the dirty roads of the highest region on earth, and then into cold, damp hotels, some barely clinging to the mountains on which they're built. High mountain passes separate the people of Tibet from the spiritual authority of the Dalai Lama, now living in exile in Dharamsala, India. Travelling with Hilton, we find old Tibet demolished by the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and absorbed "into the uniformity of China" (p. 1), where it is now an offense to possess even a photo of the Dalai Lama. We discover the simple, whitewashed buildings of old Lhasa, Tibet's capital, are now karaoke bars (p. 30).Hilton's SEARCH is filled with many memorable details, ranging from interesting (e.g., we learn the Dalai Lama wears Doc Martens and flip flops), to curious (e.g., reports of a talking fetus). When Hilton's SEARCH ends with one Tibetan boy enthroned in 1995 as the 11th Panchen Lama, and another boy held as "the world's youngest political prisoner" by the Chinese government, we realize the end of this book is only the start of another chapter in Tibet's unfolding history. More troubling, however, is the real question raised by Hilton's book: who will now have the political and spiritual authority to select the successor to the 14th Dalai Lama upon his death, the repressive Chinese government that prompted his flight from Tibet, or the Tibetan people, many of whom now live in exile?G. Merritt

Have you ever read a book and afterwards felt like jumping up from the sheer joy of enjoyment? This book did that. It is part Tibetan history, part travelogue, part adventure story, part politics. But the sum is greater than the parts. Ms. Hilton's unprecedented access to some of the main protagonists and her meticulous research show in her insightful writing. This is such a timely book in understanding the tragedy that is modern-day Tibet. My only wish is that the author had provided a glossary and a timeline because some of the Tibetan terms and names can be quite confusing.