cover image The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age

The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age

Sakyapa Sonam Gyaltsen. Snow Lion Publications, $16.95 (336pp) ISBN 978-1-55939-048-4

Just as China is stepping up its repression of Tibet by, among other deeds, identifying its own candidate for Panchen Lama in defiance of the exiled Dalai Lama's choice, comes Gyaltsen's admirable collection of folk materials that record a people's memory of itself when it was master of those who now master it. The Golden Age of Tibet, like the golden ages of so many peoples, was a time of giants who conquered, created and established a nation. Taylor and Yuthok present this history, originally written in 1328, in an admirable new translation for English students of Tibetan Buddhism and culture. The task of translating Tibetan into English is difficult even for contemporary Tibetan texts; it is daunting for texts from the 14th century. This is an important text, beautifully rendered in readable English. (Apr.)