Eat the Buddha

Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town by Barbara Demick, Random House, 2020. 

Summary

The main topics in this book:

• Mei Kingdom

• Succession of the Panchen Lama, who died in 1989

• Self-immolations of Tibetan monk as a protest against Chinese Han rule

• Tibetan Exiles in Kathmandu in Nepal and Dharamsala in India

China and Tibet

First some background. Tibetans live not only in Tibet, but also parts of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan. In 1950 the PLA invaded Tibet and defeated the Tibetan Army. In 1951 Tibet signed aways its independence in the Seventeen-Part Agreement. The PRC is trying to eliminate the Tibetan language. 

Mei Kingdom

Mei Kingdom had both kings and queens. Ngaba was the capital of the Mei kingdom. Ngaba, Sichuan. A major figure in this book, Princess Gonpo Tso Mevotsang, was the daughter of the last King (Palgon Tinley Rapten, who jumped from a bridge in Wenchuan) and Queen (Tashi Dolma, who disappeared) of the Mei Kingdom. Gonpo speaks Mandarin and Tibetan.  Her husband is Xiao Tu. She was exiled to Xinjiang

Panchen Lama

The Panchen Lama is 2nd ranking Tibetan lama, after the Dalai Lama. The current and 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, lives in exile in India. The Panchen Lama successor, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was hidden by the Chinese Communist Party, and replaced by a docile substitute Panchen Lama under their control.