Yangzom Brauen

La joven monja Kunsang pensó que jamás abandonaría Tíbet. La simplicidad de su vida la llenaba por dentro: la unidad con la naturaleza, la espiritualidad -presente en todos los seres-, su matrimonio con un monje y sus dos hijos. Pero esta vida de paz y rezo iba a cambiar por completo. En 1950 China invadió Tíbet y este hecho cambió sus vidas. Cuando llegaron al monasterio no tuvieron más remedio que huir y ahí empezó su viaje por las nevadas cumbres del Himalaya en el que para Kunsang sería el invierno más duro de su existencia.… (mere)

There is a distinct lack of personal stories of Tibetan refugees, and with the population aging and dying off, it is vital that Yangzom took the time to document her grandmother's and mother's stories in this remarkable book. I will admit that I don't know much about Tibet and the Chinese invasion and occupation, other than the basics. I also don't know much about Tibetan culture and it's unique form of Buddhism, again, other than the basics.

Brauen takes pains to not only tell her family's story, but to explain to the reader Tibetan culture, beliefs, and societal structure. She spent the majority of the book on her grandmother and mother's story, focusing on their life in Tibet, their escape and subsequent life in India, and then in Switzerland. The writing was simplistic, but the story swept me away.

China has written the story of Tibet within its borders as one of liberation and progress, a jingoist picture that I think most outside of China know is false, but it is important that stories such as Across Many Mountains continue to be told, to counteract the Chinese re-interpretation of history. While reading, I came across a few lines in the book that made me pause and reach for a pen to underline it. "I think we have to find a solution that enables the Tibetans and Chinese to live together in such a way that both groups are guaranteed their respective rights and freedoms. Part of this must be a change in the Chinese attitude toward Tibet. The Chinese people know far too little about our culture and history, having for decades been fed a constant diet of misinformation and propaganda." This is key, but will be near impossible in a society as tightly controlled as China, where the government restricts access to information and has proven most adept at brainwashing the current generation of young people, who do not remember Tienanmen Square.

I applaud Brauen and her family for this book, and hope that it can influence some change. Either way, it is an important story that needs to be told.… (mere)

Thoughts: Ms. Brauen writes of her grandmother, Kunsang's escape from Chinese occupied Tibet in 1959 with her husband and two young daughters. The trek over the Himalayas to reach India was difficult and filled wth heartache. Life in India was not easy either, they were poor, sometimes homeless and not particularly welcome. None the less, through fortitude, hard work and the kindness of strangers they survive. A young student from Switerland changes their lives in a most fortuitous way still despite their new lives they desire to return to Tibet and keep their culture alive and relevant.… (mere)