Dalai Lamas of Tibet

Torrance, CA, U.S.A.: Heian International Publishing, Incorporated, 2000. Book. New. Pictorial Boards. First American Edition. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Torrance: Heian, 2000. First American edition. 4to. Pictorial boards. 125 pp., illustrated throughout. As new in dustjacket, protected with a mylar cover. Beautifully illustrated with color photographs and archival photos, this book traces the history of the Dalai Lamas back to Gedun Drub, the First Dalai Lama, in the 15th century. With their origins in the union of Mongol might with Tibetan wisdom (dalai is the Mongol word for ocean, lama the Tibetan for teacher, hence "ocean of wisdom"), the Dalai Lamas instituted an Asian power structure of religious leaders with military patronage, and often with temporal power over their homeland as well. Looking at Tibetan history in various contexts, the book provides capsule histories of each Dalai Lama, focusing on the achievements and leadership qualities of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, The Great Thirteenth, and the Nobel Prize-winning Fourteenth, who, though forced into exile in India by Chinese communists, has managed to both create a global power base for Tibetan Buddhism and to fast-forward the medieval structure of Tibetan leadership into a modern, democratic system. New in new dust jacket..