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FPMT Mandala magazine Editor's Choice review of In the Shadow of the Buddha

FPMT Mandala Magazine Book Review
Editor’s Choice April-June 2012

Author Matteo Pistono skillfully tells the interweaving stories of his spiritual quest, political work and travels to remote areas of Tibet in his book In the Shadow of the Buddha, recently released in paperback. The author’s high-stakes adventures, which take place over the course of a decade, are by themselves riveting. But add to the mix a fascinating profile of an historic Tibetan master and a frank account of human rights abuses and you get a page-turner that has real substance.

In his twenties, Pistono launches into a pilgrimage in Tibet to trace the steps of Terton Sögyal (1856-1926), a highly regarded Buddhist spiritual master who also advised and taught the 13th Dalai Lama. Terton Sögyal’s ability to combine high-level Dharma practice with politics attracts Pistono, who had been deeply involved in political campaigns in his young twenties. As Pistono goes about his pilgrimage in Tibet, seeking to develop his Buddhist practice, he encounters many Tibetans asking him to smuggle out documentation of Chinese oppression and human rights abuses, which he does. As the years unfold, Pistono manages to both continue with his pilgrimage while also helping reveal the harsh conditions that contemporary Tibetans face. But it’s not an easy journey for Pistono. One of the most compelling aspects of Pistono’s book is his honesty, both about his spiritual practice and also about the doubts and challenges he faces.

More than anything else, In the Shadow of the Buddha tells how a sincere Dharma student becomes inspired to courageously take on the difficult work of self-transformation, and in the process, helps to make a difference for Tibetans living in Tibet. Not all of us can trek to the remote high plateaus of Tibet, but we can become inspired to see how our Dharma practice can happen off the cushion and in the world around us.

As a side note, Pistono’s early encounters with Buddhism took place at Kopan Monastery, where he did a meditation course in the ‘90s. Currently, Pistono serves as the executive director of Nekorpa, a nonprofit organization that seeks to support pilgrimage through the preservation of sacred sites, stories and texts as well as through the recognition and support of individuals who ensure this ongoing spiritual heritage.
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