Buddha's Warriors: The Story of the CIA-Backed Tibetan Freedom Fighters, the Chinese Communist Invasion, and the Ultimate Fall of Tibet
Mikel Dunham
Language: English
Pages: 416
ISBN: 2:00268191
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Buddha's Warriors is the first book that brings to life Tibet before the Chinese communist invasions and depicts the transition of peaceful monks to warriors with the help of the CIA.
Tibet in the last sixty years has been so much mystified and politicized that the world at large is confused about what really happened to the "Rooftop of the World" when Mao Tse-tung invaded its borders in 1950. There are dramatically conflicting accounts from Beijing and Dharamsala (home of the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile). Adding to the confusion is the romanticized spin that Western writers and filmmakers have adopted in an effort to appease the popular myth of Shangri-La.
Buddha's Warriors is no fairy tale. Set in a narrative framework but relying heavily on the oral transcripts of the Tibetan men who actually fought the Chinese, Buddha's Warriors tells, for the first time, the inside story of these historic developments, while drawing a vivid picture of Tibetan life before, during, and after Mao's takeover. The firsthand accounts, gathered by the author over a period of seven years, bring faces and deeply personal emotions to the forefront of this ongoing tragedy. It is a saga of brave soldiers and cowardly traitors. It's about hope against desolation, courage against repression, atheism against Buddhism. Above all, it's about what happens to an ancient civilization when it is thrust overnight into the modern horrors of twentieth-century warfare.
Though it had been Ngabo’s task to act as a go-between at the Chinese headquarters, this was the final insult. Presumably Ngabo thought the time for keeping up pretence had passed.”416 For nearly ten minutes the Tibetan cabinet ministers were left standing. Not once did the Chinese look up to acknowledge the ministers’ presence. Finally, just as the conference seemed to be breaking up, General Tan strode into the room. If the Tibetans had any hopes their discussion might be amicable, those hopes
Strickler; Army cooks Joe Slavin and Bill Toler on “special assignment.” Supplementing the training staff were Harry Archer and Ken Knaus who occasionally traveled to Camp Hale from my Tibetan Task Force at Langley, as did John Greaney (my deputy), Clay Cathey (who would be headed for Calcutta a year hence), and Joe Murphy. Joan Kiernan, the talented and capable TTF intelligence/researcher, was already on the ‘Desk,’ having worked with Frank Holober from the early days of the project. In addition
slowly upgraded Riwoche into a first-rate army outpost. Drawupon, Athar, the Prince of Derge, and the brothers Wangdu and Kalsang adapted to the influx of Chinese troops as best they could. They brushed their ponies, oiled their saddles, and sharpened their swords. Ngabo was escorted back to Chamdo, where he became the communists’ greatest Tibetan collaborator. Gompo Tashi, who had been with one of his trade caravans during the brief war, didn’t learn of the disaster until he returned to
recognized reincarnation of the Panchen Lamas had to be approved by the Lhasan government, the Kuomintang circumvented tradition by “discovering” their own Tibetan candidate. They proclaimed their new Panchen Lama in Beijing, in 1949. A few months later, when Mao sent Chiang Kai-shek running to Formosa, he regarded the eleven-year-old Panchen Lama, ensconced in luxury in Beijing, as part of his political inheritance. (The Lhasan government refused to accept the boy as the Tenth Panchen Lama. But
pistols.357 Having concluded this business, Gompo Tashi hopped on his motorcycle (also imported from India) and headed south for Lhoka to join up with his army: I had decided that [my motorcycle] was the most secure way, for it was not likely that a bored, half-asleep Chinese guard would concern himself with a lone motorcyclist—nor could he have stopped or caught me even if he wished. I then headed for Lhoka on horseback. On the way we were joined by hundreds of others who were on their way to