In the Shadow of the Buddha: One Man's Journey of Spiritual Discovery & Political Danger in Tibet

Description

For nearly a decade, Matteo Pistono smuggled out of Tibet evidence of atrocities by the Chinese government, showing it to the United States government, human rights organisations, and anyone who would listen. Yet Pistono did not originally intend to fight for social justice in Tibet - he had gone there as a Buddhist pilgrim. Pistono's quest led him to Tibet and to a meditation master whose spiritual brother is Sogyal Rinpoche, bestselling author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Pistono not only became the master's student but also couriered messages to him in Tibet from the Dalai Lama in India. This began an extraordinary, and ultimately vital, adventure. In the Shadow of the Buddha is a book about Tibet through the eyes of a devotee - a stranger hiding in plain sight. It's about how a culture's rich spiritual past is slipping away against the force of a tyrannical future. It's about how Tibetans live today, and the tenacity of their faith in the future in spite of dire repression and abuse. It's also about Pistono's own journey from being a frustrated political activist to becoming a practicing Buddhist mystic, a man who traveled thousands of miles and risked his own life to pursue freedom and peace.

Matteo Pistono is a writer, photographer, political activist and practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism. He lived and traveled throughout the Himalayas for a decade, bringing to the West first-hand accounts and photos of China's human rights abuses in Tibet. He is the founder of Nekorpa, a foundation working to protect sacred pilgrimage sites around the world. Pistono and his wife, Monica, divide their time between Colorado, Washington, DC, and Asia.

Part spy thriller, part Dharma travelogue, part spiritual autobiography, In the Shadow of the Buddha is one hundred percent page-turner... a real treat anyone can relish. Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence Matteo Pistono chose a journey that, inside and outside, would lead him into unfamiliar territory... It is this tension of opposite forces and Matteo's desire to transcend them that makes this story fascinating. Peter Gabriel, humanitarian, musician This story of Matteo Pistono's quest to visit places in Tibet associated with Terton Sogyal, the adept who was a companion of the thirteenth Dalai Lama, is revealing not only of the Terton's life but also of circumstances in contemporary Tibet. The Dalai Lama The incredible story of a life lived between faith and freedom fighting. OM Yoga magazine