Author: Sun Shuyun
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780007265121
Back Cover text
Sun Shuyun grew up in China and has always been fascinated by Tibet and by Buddhism. Accompanied by a television crew, she spent a year in a remote town in the Tibetan mountain area and recorded what life is like for the people there.
Despite half a century of Communist rule, the residents of the town of Gyantse have been returning to religion and much of the traditional way of life. But as Sun Shuyun follows the daily lives of a shaman and his family, of monks, a village doctor, a Party worker, a hotel manager and a ricksaw driver, it becomes clear that the community is facing the pressure of change.
Capturing the tensions between Chinese and Tibetans, between an ancients and an alien culture, and between continuity and modernization, this is a rare and vivid insight into Tibet's isolated communities.
Contents
The Shaman, The Gun and Mao's Red Book
Sky Burial
Journey to the Next Life
The Learning Curve
Cold Feeling
I'm Getting Married?
One Wife, Three Husbands
The Woman, the Goat and Chang
Three Million Prayers
Crime is Its Own Punishment
Keeping the Faith
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Why I liked:
I just loves everything related to the Tibetans especially the culture and religions, Buddhism. One of my friend told me about this book after I told her about Sky Burial by Xinran.
I think I should start on Tibetan Buddhism which is simply fascinating, mystical and full of rituals. Here in the book, we can see that the Tibetan can recite their mantras more than hundred times a day. How Padmasambhava, an Indian master who brings Buddhism into Tibet.
Another chapter where I love is Sky burial. Sky burial is a common funeral practice in Tibet where the dead body being cut into pieces and fed to the vultures. Beside that, another shocking chapter is One Wife, Three Husbands. I was really shocked that it's common for brothers to share a wife or sisters share a husband. Funny!!
Another thing I like this book as there were many beautiful pictures served between the book. Almost all the characters are portrayed in this book, colorful yet beautiful. A Year in Tibet is a book for someone who loved Tibet. Worth reading it.
Very hard to get this book in KL. But finally manage to get the last copy from Times Bookstore Sunway Giza.
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