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Tantric Buddhism, with its complex and fascinating rites, rose to its highest levels on the trans-Himalayan Tibetan plateau, where it had flowered since the eighth century. But now the small kingdoms - Sikkim and Ladakh among them - where the teachings and miracles of the great lamas were revered have been gobbled up by bigger powers.
The story of that loss is a prelude to Barbara Crossette's richly evocative journey into the historical past and courageous present of Bhutan, where the Buddhist world can still be seen intact, peaceful, harmonious - and threatened.
We enter a landscape of frozen peaks, high windy flatlands, and deep verdant valleys where, until the 1960s, the Bhutanese lived a medieval existence - where temples and monasteries, monks and lamas, provided not only spiritual but legal and even medical sustenance.
We move through farmlands, villages, and towns whose clusters of painted ornamental buildings and wooden half-timberings might be illustrations for old fairy tales, where thanks to Bhutan's devoted rulers change has thus far been gradual; where the tolerance, good humor, generosity - and gorgeous ritual - of Himalayan Buddhism continues to shine through.
Into this setting creep the tensions, deep and destructive, that threaten to wound Bhutan despite its best efforts to ward off the outside world. We see how open borders and recent air links have led to high-stakes smuggling of temple treasures and gold, as well as the ravages of AIDS; how tourism is importing dollars, distance from village roots, and a new urban phenomenon - burglary.
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Buddhism, Bhutan, East asia, description and travelPlaces
Himalaya Mountains Region, BhutanShowing 2 featured editions. View all 2 editions?
Edition | Availability |
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1
So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas
June 25, 1996, Vintage
Paperback
in English
0679743634 9780679743637
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2
So close to heaven: the vanishing Buddhist kingdoms of the Himalayas
1995, A.A. Knopf, Distributed by Random House
in English
- 1st ed.
067941827X 9780679418276
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Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-283) and index.
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- Created April 1, 2008
- 9 revisions
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July 17, 2024 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
November 18, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
May 19, 2019 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
July 31, 2010 | Edited by IdentifierBot | added LibraryThing ID |
April 1, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from Scriblio MARC record |