Buddha's Not Smiling : Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today
In 1981, the 16th Karmapa—leading lama of the Karma Kagyu branch of Tibetan Buddhism—died. In a highly biased but fascinating account, first-time author Curren describes the controversy over the Karmapa's succession that still rages today. After the 16th Karmapa's death, two different factions arose, each naming a different boy the 17th Karmapa: Ogyen Trinley, supported by several Karma Kagyu leaders and the Dalai Lama, and Trinley Thaye, whom the second-ranking Kama Kagyu lama, Shamar Rinpoche, believes to be the true Karmapa. While most previous accounts of the controversy have favored Ogyen Trinley, Curren—who acknowledges early on that he is a student of Shamar Rinpoche—believes Ogyen Trinley to be a fraud. Curren is quite critical of the Dalai Lama, suggesting that His Holiness should never have gotten involved in the dispute to begin with. The bulk of the book lays out the power struggles and court battles that have marked the succession controversy. Unfortunately, Curren's journalistic account is not only highly partial but often badly written, filled with melodrama and purple prose. It will please Trinley Thaye and Shamar Rinpoche's partisans, but it is too one-sided to truly illuminate the Karmapa controversy.(Dec.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.