His Holiness the Dalai Lama is an extraordinary example of a life dedicated to peace, non-violence, and unity. Why the Dalai Lama Matters explores why he has earned the world's love and respect, and how restoring Tibet's autonomy within China is not only possible, but also highly probable. The Dalai Lama could actually be China's best friend if the leadership would accept him as their ally.
Since the illegal Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950's, Tibetans have seen their religion, language, and culture repressed, their ecosystem compromised, and systematic oppression and violence against anyone who professes loyalty to the Dalai Lama. Despite all this, the Dalai Lama has been a consistent voice for peace, offering a Middle Way Approach that has garnered accolades from the Nobel Peace Prize to the US Congressional Gold Medal.
Robert Thurman details this approach in five steps that the Chinese leadership can easily accomplish now by granting Tibet true autonomy within China, mending relations with the Dalai Lama, and dedicating the Tibetan Plateau as the world's largest environmental preserve. Tibet's future as a "zone of peace" would offer untold benefi ts to China, Asia and the world and elevate China to a position of true greatness in the eyes of the global community.
Why the Dalai Lama Matters is not only a book about Tibet or the Dalai Lama. It offers revealing, provocative solutions for a world in conflict, dealing with the very fundamentals of human rights and freedoms.
Tibetan scholar Thurman paints a splendid portrait of the Dalai Lama and masterfully elucidates the 50-year-old conflict between Tibet and China in this timely analysis.
—Publishers Weekly
No one has worked harder to bring Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism and the special power of the Dalai Lama to American audiences than Robert Thurman. Long may he write and, as in this latest work, bring learning and spirit, great vigor and close knowledge, together.
—Pico Iyer, author of The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
In this moment of crisis, with the world's attention on Tibet and China, the huge significance of the Dalai Lama's role can scarcely be exaggerated, since this revered figure is pointing the way to world peace and environmental sanity. In his keen analysis of China's great chance to make history, Robert Thurman offers an urgent and very important book.
—Peter Matthiessen, author of The Snow Leopard
I could not put this book down. I found it powerfully inspiriting to imagine a positive alternative to the sixty-year long tragedy wrought by China in Tibet.
—Mia Farrow
Dr. Thurman clearly describes how the 14th Dalai Lama can forge a path to a far better world in our time. This wonderfully written, compelling book invites us to freedom.
