Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World »

Robert Thurman is the author of the critically acclaimed, popular original books Inner Revolution and Infinite Life and a translator of sacred Tibetan texts, including The Essence of True Eloquence and The Tibetan Book of the Dead. He teaches at Columbia University and holds the first endowed chair in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in America. Cofounder of Tibet House US and Menla Mountain Retreat Center, he lives in New York City and Woodstock, New York.

The suppression of Tibet’s cultural heritage has the potential to set a precedent for all oppressed peoples of the world. Perched on the top of the world, changes in Tibet’s ecosystem affect the entire global climate. And, most importantly, Tibet is the spiritual and physical home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, though he can never return.

But why should Tibet matter to you? Tibet is more than its mountains, its monks, and its martyrs. Robert Thurman, renowned Tibetan scholar, teacher, and activist, presents his provocative, five-point plan that will enable China to win the respect of the entire world by allowing Tibet to regain its cultural, economic, and political autonomy. Thurman shows how the Dalai Lama’s tireless work is the harbinger of peace for the world and essential for human survival.

The book outlines several key factors that will educate and empower readers to take action: What is the history of Tibet, and how do the political, religious, ecological, and social factors affect each other?- Who is the Dalai Lama, and why does his work matter to the world? What does the China-Tibet relationship mean to the global community? What can individuals do to bring attention to this issue, and make a change where they are? How can the five-point plan be used as a model of peaceful change throughout the world?

Publishers Weekly

Tibetan scholar Thurman paints a splendid portrait of the Dalai Lama and masterfully elucidates the 50-year-old conflict between Tibet and China in this timely analysis. The author presents an eloquent introduction to Buddhism and the Tibetan concept of the Dalai Lama before focusing on the current "living embodiment of the Buddha"—a man born as Tenzin Gyatso—the 14th Dalai Lama. Thurman sympathetically renders his lifelong friend as a "simple Buddhist monk," a teacher, philosopher, scientist and the political representative of the Tibetan people, who has achieved renown for holding together a large refugee community and preserving its culture. Promulgating a "common human religion of kindness," the Nobel Peace laureate lobbies for a peaceful resolution to the question of Tibetan autonomy within China, while espousing love, altruism and spirituality as the forces that will lead mankind into a "kinder, happier twenty-first century." The book concludes with a five-step plan to broker peace between Tibet and China—an agenda simultaneously pragmatic and idealistic, demonstrating truly the talent and power of faith. (June)

Pt. I Who Is the Dalai Lama and Why Is He the Key? 1

1 Who Is the Dalai Lama? 3

2 What Has the Dalai Lama Accomplished? 35

3 The Dalai Lamas Call for an Ethical and Spiritual Revolution 99

Pt. II The Solution for China and Tibet 123

4 A Middle Way for China and Tibet 125

5 A Plan for President Hu and the Dalai Lama 137

Pt. III Tibet Solved, Freed, Restored 153

6 Envisioning the Goal 155

7 The Bod Autonomous Region Internal System of Government 169

8 The Dedication of Tibet as a Nature Preserve 185

9 Freeing Tibet: A Great Win for China and Tibet, Ecologically and Economically 209

Conclusion 221

Afterword Ten Points of Hope 227

Resources 229

Tibetan Flag Key 232