Tulku (novel)

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Tulku
Tulku cover.jpg
First edition (UK)
Author Peter Dickinson
Cover artistTudor Humphries
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children's historical novel, adventure novel
Publisher Victor Gollancz Ltd (UK)
E. P. Dutton (US)
Publication date
22 February 1979
Media typePrint (hardcover, paperback)
Pages286 pp (first edition)
ISBN 0-575-02503-4
OCLC 731246577
LC Class PZ7.D562 Tu 1979 [1]

Tulku is a children's historical novel by Peter Dickinson, published by Gollancz in 1979. Set in China and Tibet at the time of the Boxer Rebellion, it features a young teenage boy orphaned by the violence, who flees with others to a Buddhist monastery. Dickinson and Tulku won two major awards for British children's books, the Whitbread Children's Book Award [2] and the Carnegie Medal. [3] The Carnegie Medal from the Library Association then recognised the year's outstanding children's book by a British subject.

Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL was an English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories.

China Country in East Asia

China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia and the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.404 billion in 2017. Covering approximately 9,600,000 square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the third or fourth largest country by total area. Governed by the Communist Party of China, the state exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities, and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

Tibet Plateau region in Asia

Tibet is a region covering much of the Tibetan Plateau in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Tamang, Qiang, Sherpa, and Lhoba peoples and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese and Hui people. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of 5,000 m (16,000 ft). The highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain, rising 8,848 m (29,029 ft) above sea level.

Contents

Dutton published a U.S. edition within the calendar year under its Unicorn imprint. [1] [4]

Plot summary

Thirteen-year-old Theodore lives in a remote region of China at his father's mission. When the violence of the Boxer Rebellion finally reaches them, Theodore escapes alone from its destruction. He soon becomes one companion of a formidable Englishwoman, "painted, blasphemous, gun-toting Mrs Jones". [4] She is an amateur botanist and a former actress with an entourage.

Mission (station) location for missionary work

A religious mission or mission station is a location for missionary work.

The party flees bandits into Tibet and take refuge at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. Theodore is briefly seen to be the Tulku, a great lama reincarnated; then the recently conceived child of Mrs Jones and her Chinese lover is identified as the one. Theodore is exposed to the "magnetic, repugnant rituals of Buddhism" and develops as a "whole, willing Christian". Mrs Jones is recruited to remain on site and the boy finally returns to England with the fruit of her botanical expedition. [4]

Vihara Sanskrit and Pāli term for a residence, monastery usually Buddhist

Vihara generally refers to a monastery for Buddhist renunciates. The concept is ancient and in early Sanskrit and Pali texts, it meant any arrangement of space or facilities for pleasure and entertainment. The term evolved into an architectural concept wherein it refers to living quarters for monks with an open shared space or courtyard, particularly in Buddhism. The term is also found in Ajivika, Hindu and Jain monastic literature, usually referring to temporary refuge for wandering monks or nuns during the annual Indian monsoons. In modern Jainism, the monks continue to wander from town to town except during the rainy season (Chaturmas), the term "vihara" refers their wanderings.

A tulku is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor.

Lama title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism

Lama is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru and in use it is similar, but not identical to the western monastic rank of abbot.

Themes

The themes of Tulku are the intertwining of religion and politics, the nature of personal belief, and how far belief can coexist with cynicism. Thus it is similar to Dickinson's earlier novel The Blue Hawk (Gollancz, 1977), [5] for which he won the once-in-a-lifetime Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award is a literary award that annually recognises one fiction book written for children or young adults and published in the United Kingdom. It is conferred upon the author of the book by The Guardian newspaper, which established it in 1965 and inaugurated it in 1967. It is a lifetime award in that previous winners are not eligible. At least since 2000 the prize is £1,500.

See also

Tibetan Buddhism

Related Research Articles

Tibetan Buddhism is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet where it is the dominant religion. It is also found in the regions surrounding the Himalayas, much of Chinese Central Asia, the Southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, as well as Mongolia.

Gelug one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism

The Gelug is the newest of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader. The first monastery he established was named Ganden, and to this day the Ganden Tripa is the nominal head of the school, though its most influential figure is the Dalai Lama. Allying themselves with the Mongols as a powerful patron, the Gelug emerged as the pre-eminent Buddhist school in Tibet and Mongolia since the end of the 16th century.

Atiśa Indian Buddhist scholar

Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna was a Bengali Buddhist religious leader and master from the Indian subcontinent. He was one of the major figures in the spread of 11th-century Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism in Asia and inspired Buddhist thought from Tibet to Sumatra. In 1013 CE, he traveled to the Srivijaya kingdom and stayed there for 12 years and came back to India. He is recognised as one of the greatest figures of classical Buddhism, and Atisa's chief disciple Dromtön was the founder of the Kadam School, one of the New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism, later supplanted by the Geluk tradition in the fourteenth century, adopting its teaching and absorbing its monasteries.

Akong Rinpoche Tibetan lama, teacher and tulku

Chöje Akong Tulku Rinpoche was a tulku in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and a founder of the Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland.

Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa Karmapas

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Labrang Monastery monastery in Xiahe County, Gansu, China

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Buton Rinchen Drub

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Jamyang Zhepa Tibetan Buddhist teacher

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Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai Tibetan tulku and politician member of the chinese communist party.

Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai is the 11th Qamdo Pagbalha Hutuktu of Tibetan Buddhism and a politician of the People's Republic of China. He is a Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and the Honorary President of the Buddhist Association of China. He also formerly served as a Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress, Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China. As a Tibetan tulku, he is notable for his willingness to work in the Chinese government, except during the Cultural Revolution.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Tulku" (first U.S. edition). Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  2. "Costa Book Awards" Archived 2012-10-28 at the Wayback Machine (past winners complete list.pdf). Costa Book Awards. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  3. Carnegie Winner 1979. Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners. CILIP. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  4. 1 2 3 "Tulku By Peter Dickinson". Kirkus Reviews (no date; review of US ed. published 9 May 1979). Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  5. John Rowe Townsend, Written for Children: An Outline of English-language Children's Literature, 3rd edition, 1987, Penguin Books, pp. 218-19.
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Awards
Preceded by
The Exeter Blitz
Carnegie Medal recipient
1979
Succeeded by
City of Gold