Three Years in Tibet by Ekai Kawaguchi | Goodreads

Three Years in Tibet by Ekai Kawaguchi | Goodreads




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Three Years in Tibet

by
Ekai Kawaguchi
4.45 · Rating details · 29 ratings · 3 reviews
Reprint of the 1909 original, with a new introduction by H. K. Kuloy. Account of Kawaguchi s now legendary solo trip, beginning 1899, through a Tibet long hostile to all outside visitors.

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Hardcover
Published May 1st 2005 by Orchid Press
Original Title
Three Years in Tibet (Bibliotheca Himalayica)
ISBN
9745240141 (ISBN13: 9789745240148)
Edition Language
English

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May 12, 2017Owlseyes inside Notre Dame, it's so strange a 15-hour blaze and... rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: travelogue, tibet, buddhism, japanese-buddhist-monk, shojin-vows, ekai-jinko-new-name, ekai-kawaguchi-born-as, rector-of-tokyo-monastery, in1900-in-lhasa
"...I left Japan for Tibet in June, 1897, and returned to my country in May, 1903. Then in October, 1904, I again left Japan for India and Nepāl, with the object of studying Samskrit, hoping, if possible, again to penetrate into Tibet, in search of more manuscripts."






He just hadn't enough in Japan, this Buddhist monk; those "Chinese texts of the Tripitaka" weren't enough; he would rather go to the source to read the original sacred texts, learn the language and meet with the 13th Dalai Lama.

"He held a rosary in his left hand. He was then aged twenty-six. He is about five feet eight inches high, a moderate height in Tibet. The Dalai Lama looks very brave. His eyebrows are very high, and he is very keen-eyed."



So he went, in this long journey, through India, Nepal, Shigatze,...; reaching the Sera Monastery, enjoying the "dialectical debate"; and still returning home with some scriptures, to continue his translation work; one Annie Besant got to know.

It’s a journey against illness, the harsh weather, robbers, those “black-hearted Tibetans” (so said the Mongols), even, temptation from a young woman called Dawa. And yet, Ekai finds refuge in the composition of little “uta” poems; once in a while, he thanks the Japanese language for.

Ekai would lament the cruelty of animal killing; and concur on some filth, on the part of some Tibetans. Some had never washed since birth; then there were monks addicted to alcohol and drinks. Curious tales he got to know like this one lake whose waters were turned into red blood, by a spell of Sarat Chandra Das; yet, a Lama managed to change the waters (back to its prior) color, though the waters remained poisonous.

After the Shigatze temples, Ekai headed towards Lhasa, to meet the 26 year old, "brave" looking Dalai Lama. He writes though: from the 4th to the 9th Dalai Lamas, none reached the age of 25, because they were all poisoned.

By that time the Tibetans were fearing the British. Ekai was famous as a healing doctor.


("My poor sheep! They crept close to me and lay there in the snow, ….")

The book is indeed very thorough. So, you’ll find data on the economy (currency and commerce) and politics of Tibet (its 4 prime ministers, and 3 finances ministers), along with diplomacy (Tibet a protectorate of China) and the anthropology of its people (mainly their costumes/mores) .

Education and the castes system are approached, as well as different types of burials, festivals, calendar and the religions of Tibet. Ekai would mention the Mohammedans already there; the Christian missions had been a “failure”, in his expression.

To the western mind, but surely to the Japanese mind, the women’s situation was new to him; especially in what concerns polyandry (a woman having several husbands).
“Polyandry flourishes in Tibet even at the present time, and it is considered by the general public to be the right thing to follow …”.

Following the advice of a woman (“you are in danger”) he would leave Tibet, to get back to his nation, Japan. Yet with a Shakespearean sense of “all’s well when ends well”.

As I write these final lines, I cannot escape wondering about what would Ekai say on today’s Tibet. I just watched the video on the “demolishing and eviction” of the people and Larung Gar (a school of Tibetan Buddhism), and cannot refrain from saying: China’s will to destroy the Tibetan culture is relentless. That's sad.

At least we have the memory of those, like Ekai, who wrote about that culture and lived in it while it was alive.


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Aug 22, 2012John rated it really liked it
An amazing three year journey of a Buddhist monk from Japan making his way into Tibet which was closed to almost all foreigners at the time (1899- 1902). The book is initially very tedious as it takes almost 50 chapters to get into Tibet, with the narrative discussing day after day of travel through the rugged terrain. However, once he gets into Tibet he provides a fascinating view of the culture, society, justice, domestic relations, politics, religion, etc. Kawaguchi a very admirable and knowledgeable figure also provides insight to the politics of Japan, Britain, Russia and the international relationships in Central Asia. While Kwaguchi's motive was simply to learn Tibetan and more of Tibetan Buddhism, his motives are seen as sinister by the paranoid culture of Tibet making the endeavor dangerous and complex. (less)
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