Rating: 
Summary: Dalai Lama, My Son
Review: A serious, yet interesting audio book about the story of the Dalai Lama as told from his mother's perspective. Only 4 cassettes long, this unabridged version of the book drew me into the unique culture of Tibet in the early 20th century. The music was peaceful as well as the voice of the reader. In addition, I recommend the breath-taking video "Kandu"; also about the upbringing of the Dalai Lama.
Rating:
Summary: I know this is not a bulletin board but...
Review: as someone mentioned "The last Buddhism in the World ": I would like to tell you that you are behind the hill. There are many kinds of Buddhism. Tibet is just the one and it's named because Chinese-- tried to colonize it in the past. I am not saying Tibet Buddhism is bad, instead, I love it. Please do not just write something you want, but make it useful too. Some error can be memorized by someone naive in the area and it will damage the story itself.
Rating:
Summary: I know this is not a bulletin board but...
Review: as someone mentioned "The last Buddhism in the World ": I would like to tell you that you are behind the hill. There are many kinds of Buddhism. Tibet is just the one and it's named because Chinese-- tried to colonize it in the past. I am not saying Tibet Buddhism is bad, instead, I love it. Please do not just write something you want, but make it useful too. Some error can be memorized by someone naive in the area and it will damage the story itself.
Rating:
Summary: A facinating window into a lost world.
Review: Dalai Lama, My Son is the autobiography of his late mother, Diki Tsering. It is a fascinating story told with unpretentious dignity to her granddaughter and edited with reverence and respect by her grandson. We learn firsthand what it was like to be a mother, daughter, bride, wife, and daughter-in-law in the traditional world of Tibet at the beginning of this century. Diki Tsering began life as a commoner, and while her husband's family was not poor, her role as a wife was arduous. After the recognition of her son, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, she became a public figure of the highest order in her society, but she maintained her values and perspective. Diki Tsering disclosed things about her children's personalities that only a mother would know, and added humanity to her description of momentous and terrible events by giving us homely details like the foods they ate during their climactic state visit to China, the appearance of the wives of Chinese government officials, and the disguises she helped to sew for their escape into India. Readers of other books by or about the Dalai Lama and his family (Freedom in Exile, Seven Years in Tibet, Kundun, etc.) will appreciate seeing this saga through the eyes of his mother. Everyone will enjoy the physical beauty of the book itself, with it's dramatic cover, elegant layout, and historical photographs.
Rating: 
Summary: ...
Review: I beleave this book was insightful. It was fairly simple to read, and was worded well. however, reading this, and several other books for an honors project, i must say that it takes a different reader to enjoy. i also read invading tibet, which i thought was much more fun to read. Dalai lama my son is a good book, but to me it seemed flat.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting and honest (except title) account.
Review: If you're looking for an in-depth portrait of the Dalai Lama as a child, you will probably be disappointed here. This is not the story of "Dalai Lama, My Son," but of the mother. The first almost half of the book tells of her youth and married life in Ambo, or Qinghai Province. A few pages in the middle do describe the Dalai Lama's early character leading to his selection. From there on, his mother refers to him as "His Holiness" and says little about him, but tells her personal and family story after fate plunged them into politics. I did enjoy the book, though, especially the first part. I've lived and traveled in the Himilayan foothills of southern China. Reading the author's description of her familie's life style -- celebrations, marriage, story telling, being snowed in during winter -- made me want to go back and see more. A famous missionary doctor, Dr. Paul Brand, once said his ideal lifestyle, apart from a need for modern medicine, would be that of an Indian villager. This account of the Tibetan lifestyle, and my own travels through the minority areas of Yunnan Province, confirm how much that is human and natural we lose in our surrender to technology: rhythms of the seasons, traditions, the hard pleasure of sowing and reaping, and what it means to depend on family and community. The later part of the book is interesting sometimes, but is a bit like the story of a pawn who wanders onto a chessboard by mistake and gets moved around by both sides without quite knowing what is going on. Despite the quarrel below, there is little about what Westerners call Buddhism in this book. What most Asians call Buddhism is a mixture of polytheism, various superstitions, practical concern about evil spirits, and a cycle of annual festivals, with priests occupying a respected but mostly ceremonial position. One of the most surprising things about this very open and simple account is that the Dalai Lama's mother is allowed to speak as a typical Asian in this respect. In fact, there may be more about ghosts here than about the author's most famous son. Tsering blamed them for the loss of four of her children (out of sixteen), and did not seem embarrassed by the odd character of the stories she told. Her stories set me thinking. One of the foundational myths of Tibetan Buddhism is the tale of how the monk Phadmasambhava conquered the demons of Tibet, and having conquered them, put them to work for the forces of good. Tsering's experiences with ghosts might cause some to reconsider the relative merits of the "tolerant" Buddhist approach and the more confrontational Christian approach to powers and principalities. One also wonders, of course, what relationship these spirits bare to the diseases that marred the lifestyle of such peasants. Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man d.marshall@sun.ac.jp
Rating:
Summary: An interesting and honest (except title) account.
Review: If you're looking for an in-depth portrait of the Dalai Lama as a child, you will probably be disappointed here. This is not the story of "Dalai Lama, My Son," but of the mother. The first almost half of the book tells of her youth and married life in Ambo, or Qinghai Province. A few pages in the middle do describe the Dalai Lama's early character leading to his selection. From there on, his mother refers to him as "His Holiness" and says little about him, but tells her personal and family story after fate plunged them into politics. I did enjoy the book, though, especially the first part. I've lived and traveled in the Himilayan foothills of southern China. Reading the author's description of her familie's life style -- celebrations, marriage, story telling, being snowed in during winter -- made me want to go back and see more. A famous missionary doctor, Dr. Paul Brand, once said his ideal lifestyle, apart from a need for modern medicine, would be that of an Indian villager. This account of the Tibetan lifestyle, and my own travels through the minority areas of Yunnan Province, confirm how much that is human and natural we lose in our surrender to technology: rhythms of the seasons, traditions, the hard pleasure of sowing and reaping, and what it means to depend on family and community. The later part of the book is interesting sometimes, but is a bit like the story of a pawn who wanders onto a chessboard by mistake and gets moved around by both sides without quite knowing what is going on. Despite the quarrel below, there is little about what Westerners call Buddhism in this book. What most Asians call Buddhism is a mixture of polytheism, various superstitions, practical concern about evil spirits, and a cycle of annual festivals, with priests occupying a respected but mostly ceremonial position. One of the most surprising things about this very open and simple account is that the Dalai Lama's mother is allowed to speak as a typical Asian in this respect. In fact, there may be more about ghosts here than about the author's most famous son. Tsering blamed them for the loss of four of her children (out of sixteen), and did not seem embarrassed by the odd character of the stories she told. Her stories set me thinking. One of the foundational myths of Tibetan Buddhism is the tale of how the monk Phadmasambhava conquered the demons of Tibet, and having conquered them, put them to work for the forces of good. Tsering's experiences with ghosts might cause some to reconsider the relative merits of the "tolerant" Buddhist approach and the more confrontational Christian approach to powers and principalities. One also wonders, of course, what relationship these spirits bare to the diseases that marred the lifestyle of such peasants. Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man d.marshall@sun.ac.jp
Rating:
Summary: The last Buddhism in the World
Review: Real Buddhism died when the Chinese dictators invaded, raped and killed Tibet. This book about the life of Diki Tsering, the mother of the Dalai Lama is the last voice you will hear from the Buddhist world. Diki Tsering's values, words and thoughts are the same as those expressed by people during the Gupta Dynasty in India, the T'ang and Sung Dynasties in China, and in Japan until 1850, when Perry invaded Japan. It is therefore a valuable book worthy of intense study.
Rating:
Summary: The last Buddhism in the World
Review: Real Buddhism died when the Chinese dictators invaded, raped and killed Tibet. This book about the life of Diki Tsering, the mother of the Dalai Lama is the last voice you will hear from the Buddhist world. Diki Tsering's values, words and thoughts are the same as those expressed by people during the Gupta Dynasty in India, the T'ang and Sung Dynasties in China, and in Japan until 1850, when Perry invaded Japan. It is therefore a valuable book worthy of intense study.
Rating:
Summary: Miraculous
Review: This book I skimmed through in a few hours. I was suprised at its simplicity. Through this miraculous, simple, earthy MOTHER came a miracle. This story and it is a STORY has many levels. Simple, basic GOOD people live all over the world and give birth...
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