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EXPOSÉ
Vicctor and Victoria
Trimondi
The Shadow of the
Dalai Lama
In March 1999
“The Shadow of the Dalai Lama: Sexuality, Magic and Politics in Tibetan
Buddhism” by Victor und Victoria Trimondi appeared in Germany. The book
looks in detail at the cultic background of Tibetan Buddhism and its
clerical leader, the Dalai Lama. In this original work of analysis,
interpretation and critique, the authors not only provide surprising,
previously largely ignored factual information; they also undertake a
philosophically well-grounded interpretation of Lamaism, rendering the
Tibetan-Buddhist worldview understandable for Western readers through a
comparison with European religious traditions. V. and V. Trimondi have
succeeded in combining history, politics, religion and psychology in an
impressive cultural-historical presentation.
 The German
edition of the book was published by the Patmos Group (Düsseldorf and
Zurich) in the spring of 1999. The Patmos Group consists of four of the
most reputable German-language publishers (Walter; Benzinger; Artemis and Winkler; Patmos) and specializes in the
fields of psychology, mythology, comparative religion, classical antiquity,
world literature, cultural analysis and contemporary history. Walter published the complete works
of C. G. Jung. THE SHADOW OF THE DALAI LAMA thus appeared in the company of
international classics. The authors hold all foreign rights.
Although this
is a well-grounded and scholarly work, the language of the text is fluid
and enlivening. The authors have paid particular attention to rendering
Tibetan culture understandable to “laypeople” who have not dealt with it
before. This study by V. and V. Trimondi measures up to all the criteria of
a classic reference text and could well be described as a seminal work on
the topic.
Of the book’s
reception, the Berner Zeitung (a
Swiss newspaper) reported that THE SHADOW OF THE DALAI LAMA "struck
like a thunderbolt". To date (Oct. 2000) the work has been reviewed in
over 200 different media outlets. Opinions have alternated between pro and
contra, but virtually no review remains unemotional. Despite numerous
initial calls for a boycott by the pro-Lamaist wing, the book has led to a
fierce, ever-expanding discussion, and has in the meantime become a standard
work on the critical examination of Lamaism and the metapolitics of the
Dalai Lama. The major press organs (AZ;
Focus; NZZ; Zeit; Facts; SZ; Presse; Standard; Badische Zeitung; Die Woche;
Berner Zeitung; WOZ, etc.), numerous radio and television stations
(ORF; 3SAT; BR; HR; SFB; WDR; SW; DRS2, etc.), and many “scene” magazines (Tattva Viveka; Women World Wide; Idea;
Factum; Topic; Ab 40; Hier & Jetzt; Spuren; Novalis) have all run
stories on the book. Within a very short time, THE SHADOW OF THE DALAI LAMA
became a discussion topic in four other books.
In the
German-speaking world, the book by Victor und Victoria Trimondi appeared in
the middle of an already begun reconsideration of the Dalai Lama and his
religious system. In 1998, the Scottish author June Campbell’s book (Traveller in Space: In Search of Female
Identity in Tibetan Buddhism, Athlone Press) had appeared, in which she
reported on the system’s secret sexual practices and the sexual abuse of
women, along with two explosive film reports on German — ARD (Panorama) — and Swiss— SFR (10 vor 10) — television, about the
human rights violations associated with the suppression of the Tibetan
Shugden religious community by the XIV Dalai Lama. These fuelled intensive
discussion and opened the gateway for a critical debate. Nonetheless, THE
SHADOW OF THE DALAI LAMA caused quite a furor when it appeared, and was not
without its successors. Within a few months several other books with a
critical content came onto the market. There was Colin Goldner’s Dalai Lama. Fall eines Gottkönigs
[Dalai Lama: The Fall of a God-King] (Allibri Verlag), likewise a critical
title, which confirmed factual material. The theology professor Michael von
Brück picked up essential facts from the Trimondis and wrote a critical
book on the topic himself (Religion
und Politik im tibetischen Buddhismus [Religion and Politics in Tibetan
Buddhism], Kösel Verlag). Then the former Buddhist, Martin Kamphuis, told
of his disappointing experiences with the Lamaist system (Ich war Buddhist [I was a Buddhist],
Pattloch Verlag).
THE SHADOW OF
THE DALAI LAMA has also not been without a direct influence on public
opinion about Tibetan Buddhism and its "god-king". When at the
invitation of German Interior Minister Schily and the SPD (the governing
party) the XIV Dalai Lama attended a public discussion in Munich in May
2000, a critical body had already formed. Not only did the press report
critically and reservedly about the Nobel Peace Prize winner for the first
time, there were also protests in front of the hall where he was appearing
and the posters for the event were pasted over with protest notes. The
chief critics were the Munich University Student Committee, the Forum for
Critical Psychology, and SPD members. The accusations against the Dalai
Lama in the media could no longer be overheard. Here are some examples from
the press headlines. (Translations of such critical opinions are provided
in a separate information flyer.)
"A system
that despises women!" (AZ) — "Loved, honored and avoided!" —
(AZ) "Free Tibet from the Lamas" (ASTA) — "Fuss about a cult
figure" (Deutscher Freidenker Verband [German Freethinkers
Association]) — "The Dalai Lama is no saint!" (Idea -
Informationsdienst) — "Pretty lame: Dalai Lama and the Munich
SPD" (AZ) — "Row in the SPD about Dalai Lama visit!" (SZ) —
"The Dalai Lama - Welcome to Munich?" (AZ) — "A
controversial guest" (SZ) - "The Dalai Lama rumpus" (SZ) -
"The Entertainer!" (FAZ).
Politicians,
journalists, artists, theologians — no one who deals with the Dalai Lama
and his religion will be able to ignore the facts and arguments in this
sensational yet sound study. It is a
standard critique of Tibetan Buddhism. The subject areas encompassed by
V. and V. Trimondi’s book, which also reveal potential target audiences,
include the history of culture and religion, cross-cultural comparison,
comparative religious studies, philosophy, political theory, international
politics, state theory, interreligious dialogue, the sociology of religion,
Buddhism, fascism, anarchism, ecological studies, feminism, gender studies,
postmodernism, ethics, occultism, esotericism , mysticism, ritualism,
mythology, magic, Oriental studies, history, anthropology, psychology,
sexual theory, and consciousness studies.
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