Kundun: A biography of the family of the Dalai Lama - Softcover

Craig, Mary

4.25

122 ratings by Goodreads

9780006280804: Kundun: A biography of the family of the Dalai Lama

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006280803 ISBN 13: 9780006280804

Publisher: Fount, 1998

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It was during the writing of her critically acclaimed book Tears of Blood, chronicling the terrible oppression of Tibet under Chinese occupation, that Mary Craig’s friendship with the Dalai Lama’s family began.

The story of how a four year old Tibetan farmer’s boy was chosen by divination to become the fourteenth Dalai Lama – ‘Kundun’ means ‘Presence of the Buddha’ – is a fascinating one, but less known is the story of his family, and their extraordinary destiny. This ordinary peasant family had to cope with the fame and greatness thrust upon them, only to be in flight a decade later from the Chinese army of ‘liberation’. Meticulously researched, and supplemented by personal interviews with the Dalai Lama and his family, this is a tale of a people wrenched from their land by force and of their fight for survival. Those who were impressed by Tears of Blood, will be deeply moved by this epic tale of triumph in adversity.

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Review:

‘Mary Craig’s intelligent and sensitive story... suggests in how extraordinary a way this deeply religious and peaceful people on the roof of the world have become a parable for the end of the twentieth century... .This gripping book tells one of the most painful and dramatic stories of history.
‘
The Tablet

‘Mary Craig’s book offers both a vivid, human-scale view of a decisive chapter in the Tibetan story and a poignant sense of how it feels for individuals to be marginalized in a history it once seemed they were destined to make.’
The Scotsman

From the Back Cover:

No 'rags to riches' story is more remarkable that the tale of how a young Tibetan farmer's son was plucked from obscurity to become the Dalai Lama. Mary Craig's compelling account is the first to portray in detail how his extraordinary destiny affected his parents, four brothers and two sisters. Two-year-old Lhamo Dhondup's life and that of his family changed dramatically as they adjusted to the fact that he was now His Holiness, or Kundun – meaning the Presence – a reincarnation of thirteen previous Dalai Lamas, and the most autonomous spiritual and political ruler of any nation in the world. In later years the family were to lose everything, when China invaded Tibet in 1951, forcing them to flee as exiles to India.

This is the tale of a people wrenched from their land by force, their stubborn fight for survival and their integral role in their country's turbulent history. Mary Craig's vivid and intimate storytelling provides great insight into an epic and heart-rending episode of the twentieth century.

Mary Craig is an author and former broadcaster: Her books include 'Blessings; Man From a Far Country, A Portrait of John Paul II; Candles in the Dark' and 'The Crystal Spirit.' It was during the writing of her critically acclaimed book 'Tears of Blood', chronicling the plight of the Tibetan people after the Chinese invasion, that her friendship with several members of the Dalai Lama's family began.

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