Jamyang Wangmo, The Lawudo Lama: Stories of Reincarnation from the Mount Everest Region. Boston: Wisdom. 2004. Summary by Scarlett Bach Abstract The Lawudo Lama: Stories of Reincarnation from the Mount Everest Region captures the lives of two Lawudo Lamas: Kunzang Yeshe, born in approximately 1865, and his successor, Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, born in 1946, both in the … [Read more...]
A Golden Swan in Turbulent Waters: The Life and Times of the Tenth Karmapa Choying Dorje
Shamar Rinpoche. A Golden Swan in Turbulent Waters: The Life and Times of the Tenth Karmapa Choying Dorje. Lexington, Virginia: Bird of Paradise Press, 2012 Summary by Mariah Johnson Abstract The biography of The Tenth Karmapa Choying Dorje (1604 - 1674) titled A Golden Swan in Turbulent Waters: The Life and Times of the Tenth Karmapa Choying Dorje (2012) by Shamar … [Read more...]
Tales of a Mad Yogi: The Life and Wild Wisdom of Drukpa Kunley
Monson, Elizabeth L. Tales of a Mad Yogi: The Life and Wild Wisdom of Drukpa Kunley. Shambhala Publications, 2021. Summary by Leif Wood Abstract The Tales of the Mad Yogi is the story of Drukpa Kunley (1455-1529), reconstructed by Elizabeth Monson from the four volumes of The Liberation Tales. The Liberation Tales are episodic, non-chronological, writings about … [Read more...]
Lion of Speech: The Life of Mipham Rinpoche
Khyentse, Dilgo, and Jamgon Mipham. Lion of Speech: The Life of Mipham Rinpoche. Shambhala Publications, 2020. Summary by Michael Deng Abstract Lion of Speech recounts the life of Mipham Rinpoche (1846–1912), one of the greatest 19th-century masters. It was written by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who taught many renowned Tibetan figures including the Dalai Lama. Dilgo … [Read more...]
The Life of One Merit Intellect, Summarized
D. L. Snellgrove. Four Lamas of Dolpo, Autobiographies of Four Tibetan Lamas (15th–18th Centuries). By Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1967. Summary by Michaela Sawyer Abstract MERIT INTELLECT (bSod-nams blo-gros) 1456-1521, Abbot of Margom (dMar-sgom). A biography constructed by Merit Intellect's favorite disciple and eventual successor Religious … [Read more...]
The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava
Bsam gtan gling pa (b.1655). The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava the Indian consort of Padmasambhava, Lama Chonam and Sangye Kandro (trans). Boston, Mass: Wisdom Publications, 1998. Summary by Jeffrey Khau Abstract The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava recounts the different manifestations of Pandaravasini with a focus on the life of Mandarava, a … [Read more...]
The Life of My Teacher: A Biography of Ling Rinpoché
His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama. The Life of My Teacher: A Biography of Kyabje Ling Rinpoché. Translated by Gavin Kilty, Wisdom Publications, 2017 [Tibetan text published 1989]. Summary by Jeffrey Khau Abstract Written by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, The Life of My Teacher: A Biography of Ling Rinpoché honors the memory and work of Kyabjé Ling Rinpoché … [Read more...]
Enlightened Vagabond: the Life and Teachings of Patrul Rinpoche
Patrul Rinpoche 1808-1887: Ricard, Matthieu, Enlightened Vagabond: the Life and Teachings of Patrul Rinpoche. Shambhala Publications: Boulder, Colorado, 2017. Summary by Darius Rubin Abstract Enlightened Vagabond is a biography of Patrul Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist monk who was given the name Orgyen Jikme Chokyi Wangpo. He lived from 1808 to 1887 and was a … [Read more...]
Delog: Journey to Realms beyond Death.
Delog: Journey to Realms beyond Death. Composed by Delog Dawa Drolma and Translated by Richard Barron (2002 [1995]). Summary by Gaskin Karlton Abstract In Delog: Journey to Realms Beyond Death, Dawa Drolma provides her account of her journey through the various realms that exist after death. Born in the early 20th century, Dawa Drolma lived most of her life in … [Read more...]
Gendered Change: The Rise in Status of Female Monastics in the 1980s & 1990s
The sharp increase in opportunities in female monastics to earn higher Buddhist degrees after the Cultural Revolution reveals the reframing of Tibetan modernity through Buddhist morals: Larung Gar, Kala Rongo, Yarchen Gar, and Jangchub Choeling monasteries provide female monastics with the means to obtain Khenmo degrees, signaling a shift in Tibetan Buddhists. Elena Salzmann … [Read more...]
Pema, Jetsun. Tibet: My Story. Element Books, 1996.
Jack A. Waddell Abstract Tibet: My Story is the autobiography of Jetsun Pema (born July 7th, 1940), the sister of the 14th Dalai Lama and the President of the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV). Written at the age of fifty-six years-old, Jetsun Pema uses her autobiography not only to recount her life from her birth in Lhasa in 1940 to her 2006 retirement from … [Read more...]
Choedrak, Tenzin & Grasdorff, Gilles Van. The Rainbow Palace. London: Bantam Books, 2000.
A Review of The Rainbow Palace By Jia Zeng Abstract The Rainbow Palace is the autobiography of Tenzin Choedrak, who was a Tibetan Lhamenpa, i.e. the physician, of the 14th Dalai Lama. The story of Dr. Tenzin Choedrak covers 74 years from 1922 to 1996, during which he moved from his birthplace Niertchen in Shigatse to Lhasa, from Lhasa to several places … [Read more...]
Tsarong, Paljor. The Life and Times of George Tsarong of Tibet, 1920–1970: A Lord of the Traditional Tibetan State. Rowman & Littlefield, 2022.
The Life and Times of George Tsarong of Tibet, 1920-1970 Written by Paljor Tsarong (2022). Abstract Paljor Tsarong’s book “The Life and Times of George Tsarong of Tibet, 1920-1970” is a very recent addition to the writings on the history of twentieth century Tibet. The author portrays to us a detailed biographical account of his father Dundul Namgyal Tsarong (wylie: bdud … [Read more...]