"THE FLIGHT OF THE LITTLE BUDDHA"

Why he made this brave gesture

of Massimo Dusi


On New Year's Eve at the start of the new  millennium, a 15 year old Tibetan Lama, Orgyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa, escaped from Chinese-controlled Tibet through the snow-covered Himalayas to rejoin his guru in India. This courageous escape, a sensational gesture, put the 17th Karmapa on the front pages of newspapers all over the world.

This book gives the inside story of the young Karmapa and the reasons why he was forced to flee.  Massimo Dusi had known the "little Buddha"  since his enthronement in 1992.  A few days after the Karmapa's adventurous flight he was in Kathmandu, where he had access to  exclusive information and  photographs. He has written a very moving book, the unique story of one of the most important figures in Buddhism, who is now a symbol of the struggle for the political independence of Tibet.

 

The XVII Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje in India after the escape of January 2000

In an appendix, the book includes The Mahamudra Aspiration Prayer written by the 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, in the 14th century, translated from Tibetan and with a commentary by Renato Mazzonetto. This prayer gives the essence of the highest teachings of Mahayana Buddhism.

MASSIMO DUSI lives in Verona.  He works as a ski instructor, a tour guide in the Himalayas and an interpreter of Tibetan. Marsilio Editori has already published his book of short stories "Il Lago delle Visioni" (2nd edition 1996), and the novel "Eudora" (1999).

RENATO MAZZONETTO (1961) grew up in Vicenza. He studied meditation with important masters in Tibet, India and Nepal and took a degree in philosophy at the University of Padova, writing his thesis on the 3rd Karmapa's Mahamudra Aspiration Prayer. He did the traditional 3 year meditation retreat at Samye Ling Buddhist Centre in Scotland, and has been their official representative in Italy since 1997. He is an editorial consultant and teaches meditation courses.

Karmapa with Massimo Dusi in Tsurphu (Tibet - 1992)

Karmapa blesses little reincarnate Lama Pawo Rinpoche, by him recognized in Tibet (copyright Tsurphu Foundation)

Buddhism in Italy

Padmanet: www.padmanet.com 

Deualing: web.tiscalinet.it/deualing 

Karmapa in the net

Tsurphu Foundation: http://www.maui.net/~tsurphu/karmapa/

Naladabodhi : http://www.nalandabodhi.org/

Publisher (info@marsilioeditori)

Author (m.dusi@intesys.it)