Portrait of a Dalai Lama: The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth

Rating:
Summary: Sir Charles and the Great Thirteenth
Review: Sir Charles Bell was a career diplomat in the service of the British raj, the personification of the grandeur of an empire that spanned the world. The Great Thirteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet was the spiritual and temporal leader of a remote and isolated theocracy in the heart of the Himalayas. Sir Charles represented the power and limitless potential of the new century. The Dalai Lama was the literal embodiment of an ancient lineage, an incarnation of the Buddha of Compassion, the ruler of one of the most inaccessible and forbidding places on earth. That the two men should find so much in common and develop a bond of deep and lasting friendship is a wonder that does credit to them both. `Portrait of a Dalai Lama : The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth' is the story of that friendship.

Sir Charles takes us into a bygone Tibet, fearful of and hostile to outsiders. He brings to life the cold and dusty streets of Lhasa, a capital hundreds of years out of step with the modern world, and introduces us with remarkable sensitivity to a culture that is so alien to our own that it could easily belong on another planet. He describes the hardship, the inconvenience, the discomfort of life on the cold, arid Tibetan plateau in a way that emphasises the dignity of the people who flourish there. That hygiene in Tibet at the turn of the 20th Century was low by the standards of a cultured European is not ignored; but through his eyes we see that the comparison is unimportant in a near arctic climate; the dustiness of a noble's home is insignificant when measured against the hospitality and warmth of a noble spirit. We see that what Tibet lacked in material development it made up for in a level of ethics and philosophical sophistication that might have been the envy of the world.

The Great Thirteenth (The present Dalai Lama of Tibet is the fourteenth emanation) brought his country to terms with the new age. He modernised government, the judiciary, and Tibet's tiny army through sheer hard work and unflinching determination, in the face of fierce opposition from monks and aristocrats. Sir Charles shows us a lonely man driven by a powerful vision. The Dalai Lama desperately tries to redefine Tibet's relationship with its powerful neighbours, Russia, British India, and China, which looms menacingly on the horizon. Both men clearly saw the impending Chinese onslaught, and both recognised the tragedy of what was to befall Tibet.

Sir Charles Bell gives us a unique insight into the personality of the man behind the ritual and pageantry of the Dalai Lama's high office. He shows us a man of profound intelligence and sensitivity, a man of wit and humour, a man quick to anger, a man of compassion. This man, who ruled with absolute authority and was revered as a living god, gave Sir Charles Bell his friendship; and, through his eyes, we see a man of warmth and charm, who loved his dogs and his garden. This is a moving book one should feel very privileged to read.

Rating:
Summary: Sir Charles and the Great Thirteenth
Review: Sir Charles Bell was a career diplomat in the service of the British raj, the personification of the grandeur of an empire that spanned the world. The Great Thirteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet was the spiritual and temporal leader of a remote and isolated theocracy in the heart of the Himalayas. Sir Charles represented the power and limitless potential of the new century. The Dalai Lama was the literal embodiment of an ancient lineage, an incarnation of the Buddha of Compassion, the ruler of one of the most inaccessible and forbidding places on earth. That the two men should find so much in common and develop a bond of deep and lasting friendship is a wonder that does credit to them both. 'Portrait of a Dalai Lama : The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth' is the story of that friendship.

Sir Charles takes us into a bygone Tibet, fearful of and hostile to outsiders. He brings to life the cold and dusty streets of Lhasa, a capital hundreds of years out of step with the modern world, and introduces us with remarkable sensitivity to a culture that is so alien to our own that it could easily belong on another planet. He describes the hardship, the inconvenience, the discomfort of life on the cold, arid Tibetan plateau in a way that emphasises the dignity of the people who flourish there. That hygiene in Tibet at the turn of the 20th Century was low by the standards of a cultured European is not ignored; but through his eyes we see that the comparison is unimportant in a near arctic climate; the dustiness of a noble's home is insignificant when measured against the hospitality and warmth of a noble spirit. We see that what Tibet lacked in material development it made up for in a level of ethics and philosophical sophistication that might have been the envy of the world.

The Great Thirteenth (The present Dalai Lama of Tibet is the fourteenth emanation) brought his country to terms with the new age. He modernised government, the judiciary, and Tibet's tiny army through sheer hard work and unflinching determination, in the face of fierce opposition from monks and aristocrats. Sir Charles shows us a lonely man driven by a powerful vision. The Dalai Lama desperately tries to redefine Tibet's relationship with its powerful neighbours, Russia, British India, and China, which looms menacingly on the horizon. Both men clearly saw the impending Chinese onslaught, and both recognised the tragedy of what was to befall Tibet.

Sir Charles Bell gives us a unique insight into the personality of the man behind the ritual and pageantry of the Dalai Lama's high office. He shows us a man of profound intelligence and sensitivity, a man of wit and humour, a man quick to anger, a man of compassion. This man, who ruled with absolute authority and was revered as a living god, gave Sir Charles Bell his friendship; and, through his eyes, we see a man of warmth and charm, who loved his dogs and his garden. This is a moving book one should feel very privileged to read.