The Wisdom Of Forgiveness [bp]

Victor Chan met the Dalai Lama for the first time in 1972 after a narrow kidnapping escape brought him to the door of the Dharamasala home of the exiled Tibetan Buddhists in northwestern India. Thus began a decades-long friendship that culminates in this moving series of biographical observations and autobiographical memoirs. The narrative swings easily between Chan's journeys with the Dali Lama on his many tours for world peace and to raise awareness of the Tibetan situation, to scientific experiments--such as allowing his brain to be scanned during meditation and having his facial muscles studied--that attempt to analyze just what makes him such a unique and magical figure. Especially inspiring are the Tibetan leader's thoughts of forgiveness regarding China, the nation that conquered Tibet, dismantled the monasteries, and turned him into an exile. His merriness of heart, endless tolerance, and patience in the light of these circumstances is profoundly inspiring, and this book is life-affirming.