Masters of esoteric knowledge and miraculous practices; the lineage of the Karmapas is the earliest of all the recognized incarnate lineages and is said to descend from the great Indian tantric master Tilopa through a chain that includes Naropa; Marpa; and Milarepa. The Karmapas are distinguished by their black crowns; said to have been woven by dakinis and symbolizing the activity of the buddhas. Unlike other Tibetan Buddhist lineage heads; each Karmapa has specific knowledge of his next reincarnation and leaves behind a "Last Testament;" a letter to his disciples describing the place and circumstances of their future rebirth; the name of their parents; and so on. At a very young age; each successive incarnation is often able to recognize himself as the Karmapa. In their recounting of the histories of the seventeen Karmapas; the authors reveal the universal and marvelous concealed in the everyday world. Their lively account peppered with anecdotes is the most comprehensive in the West on this subject; with information from Tibetan; Chinese; Mongolian; French; and English sources.
#2435836 in Books University of Massachusetts Press 2001-04-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .67 x 5.98l; 1.11 #File Name: 1558492925304 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. And Yet; I am Here! Purchased at .comBy depWhen I first read this book in October 2013; I didn't like it very much. After rereading it I changed my mind. And Yet; I Am Here takes quite a while to get into; it takes at least fifty pages to get up to September 1 and the beginning of World War II. Those first pages explain so much about her childhood and the life Halina lived before the war. Halina and her family were upper class Polish Jews; she realized quite well how much she and her family lost materially as the war dragged on. Halina suffered through the Krakow Ghetto; Plaszow camp; Auschwitz; Ravensbruck; and Malchow. She also took care of herself and of her Mother and sister-in-law who went through most of the war with Halina. Her brother; Felek; also made it through the war. I gave the book four stars for two reasons. One; was that there was so little information about Halina's life after the war. I know she and her remaining family made it to the United States; but little else was said. Two; was about her relationship with her sister-in-law Genia that she very much didn't like. There was one paragraph where she mentioned Genia which refers to something that happened in the United States. Nothing else was said and you were left wondering what happened. Overall; though; a good book and a very inspiring read that I highly recommend.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. InformativeBy TaraOne of the things I liked best about this memoir was the author's description of what her life was like before it fell apart and as another reviewer said the ordinariness of it. It set the tone for the book. I also liked the way she added comments from her perspective in later years to clarify points in the diary. It was a remarkable diary detailing life in the ghetto and work camps. What I didn't like was the feeling of being left hanging when it was over. I wish she had gone into her life after the war. Also; she tended to intimate things that she never clarified but left the reader wondering. I would have rated it higher had she done more with the ending and given some hint of her life after the war.21 of 21 people found the following review helpful. Puts the Holocaust in human terms.By A CustomerHalina Nelken's book starts slowly - a book anyone over 50 might write about his/her childhood home town--who lived where; what kind of personalities they had; what became of them and their children.... Ah; suddenly it's not so mundane; as so many of these humdrum lives of ordinary people were snuffed out by the Nazis. It is this very ordinariness that serves as a foil for the horrors that Halina Nelken experienced as an adolescent and young woman and writes about - powerfully - in this book. We all know something of what happened in those dark days; but Dr. Nelken makes it personal by telling exactly what happened to her and her family. The book is actually based on the diaries that she kept. Anyone who has seen and appreciated "Schindler's List" should read what kinds of things happened to the people who were not on that list. There are unforgettable moments in this book; such as the young Halina working in an office in Auchswitz and finding a record of the murder of her father. Or the terrible choices she had to make when her mother was too exhausted to continue on a forced march. Only my knowledge that her mother had survived the war made it possible to keep reading this painful account. But; after finishing this book; my overwhelming reaction was that Halina Nelken had taken on the Nazis and won! They tried to reduce her to a sub-human and failed. She came through these terrible experiences without being twisted; without being as bitter as she had a perfect right to be! She not only survived; she survived as a whole person with a sense of humor; a will to succeed; and an ability to relate to other people - even to German people. In a larger sense her book is about the triumph of the human spirit. It is; admittedly; painful to read about the atrocities that took place before and during that horrible war. But we must not ignore the testimony of this strong woman who lived through the things that we don't want to have to think about and came out of it alive and even stronger. Ada M. Prill
