The Story of Tibet

What a wonderful book this is - it traces the history of Tibet in conversations between the Author and the 14th (current) Dalai Lama. The book winds it way slowly through the generations of Dalai Lamas and their strong influence on Asia - both the politics and the religion and weaves into it the story of the people of Tibet - their beliefs, their acceptance of the Chinese invasion, their religious achievements and trials. But most interesting for me was the unusual way in which the Dalai Lama view life and events - the author terms this as Stereo Vision wherein the Dalai Lama view all events and history at two levels - the common level which we all perceive and the uncommon level which is perceived by people with higher spiritual realization. If anything this book shows how the Dalai Lama first looks inward - at himself and his people and his religion - even at the times when history dealt them the harshest hand - really inspiring.