The seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is the leader of the Karma Kagyu School, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Born in 1985 in eastern Tibet to nomadic parents, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the sixteenth Karmapa who passed away in the US in 1981. He became the first Tibetan reincarnation to be recognized by both the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Government. The 15-year-old monk made headlines when he escaped to India in 2000. Currently living near Dharamsala (in Himachal Pradesh, India), the Karmapa is widely seen as an important spiritual leader of the twenty-first century. Over the past decade and a half, he has grown up into a formidable leader and an impressive orator.

Behind the facade of scandals and controversies surrounding the Karmapa is an extraordinary young man, full of charisma and intelligence. Yet few know who the Karmapa is and what he believes in. What are his teachings and what is his vision for the world? How is he restoring his 900-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution of which he is the head?

In a unique mixture of biography, travelogue and reportage, the author brings alive the life of the Karmapa, who is grappling with immense challenges to modernize spirituality, while keeping its essence alive.

Here is a timely volume that is highly relevant today given the worldwide attention on the developments in Tibet and its impact on Beijing.
His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, Tsering Namgyal Khortsa, Hay House India, Paperback, 292 pp, $19.00

Tsering Namgyal has worked as a journalist, writer and editor for over 15 years, which makes him the most widely published journalist of Tibetan origin. His articles have appeared in the Asian Wall Street Journal, Asia Times, Himal South Asia, Harvard Asia Pacific Review, Far Eastern Economic Review, amongst others. He holds an MA in Mass Communication and history from University of Minnesota and another MA in Journalism from University of Iowa, where he also studied creative writing. In 2007, he was awarded the Dorothy Mueller Writing Scholarship from University of Iowa. He is currently based in New York and works at a non-profit organization dedicated to education, healthcare and cultural preservation of the Tibetan refugees.

CONTENTS: His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
Preface	9
Acknowledgements	11
Chapter 1 The Sun Rises Again	15
Chapter 2 Journeys and Pilgrimages in China and Tibet	31
Chapter 3 From Tibet to India	41
Chapter 4 Tibetan Buddhism: From the Past to the Present	57
Chapter 5 The Holder of the Vajra Crown: The Sixteenth Karmapa	79
Chapter 6 When Compassion meets Devotion	93
Chapter 7 A Rain of Gold	109
Chapter 8 The Karmapa Spreads His Wings	125
Chapter 9 The Patron Saint of Himalayan Ecology	147
Chapter 10 Weathering the Storm	163
Chapter 11 "We Are All the Same ..."	171
Chapter 12 A Journey to the West	181
Chapter 13 The Bodh Gaya Experience	189
Chapter 14 When the 'Buddha' Danced	199
Chapter 15 The Seeker of Perfection	211
Chapter 16 The Hope of His Disciples	217
Chapter 17 Attachment and Detachment	225
Chapter 18 Keeping Alive the Essence of Tibetan Buddhism	231
Chapter 19 A Borrowed Homeland	239
Chapter 20 The Call of the 'Hidden Land'	253
Chapter 21 A Unique Phenomenon	271
Chapter 22 Tibet's Gift to the World	277
Index	285