A 7-Year Journey In Tibet

This book is written by Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountaineer. He was caught in WW2 and was in a British internment camp in India. They later escaped the camp and traveled to Tibet. The first part of the book is their escape and travel, which is very difficult. Tibet, at the time, was considered a forbidden country, it was close to impossible not only to cross the border but also to travel within the country.
The second part of the book is when Harrer manages to settle down in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. He spends several years there, and not only manages to integrate into the culture and live a peaceful life, but he actually gets quite popular and has a very high rank for a foreigner.
It took me a while to get into the book, especially with their travel to Tibet before Harrer settled in. A lot of biographies I have read have some crazy situations and while Harrer encountered difficulties, they were never spectacular. But this was in some sense me forcing a certain type of book into this one based on other ones I had read, which screwed my expectations.
It does not have any crazy survival elements, but it pays off in what it culturally offers. It is a beautiful account of Tibet in the first person. And because the country was incredibly traditional, the culture when he was in Lhasa had virtually been unchanged for thousands of years. And because Tibet was heavily changed after the Chinese invasion, this book captures in some sense the untouched history and culture of the country, which is no longer available. The very journey and spirit of travel that permeates the book was incredibly valuable and not something we appreciate anymore with current technology in modern society.
The cultural shock was really interesting and not something we are as used to now, given globalization. It was really enjoyable to read about very old cultural systems. It captures really well the class hierarchies of Tibet, their rituals, and their beliefs. In some sense, it is incredibly beautiful and certainly makes one value the importance of maintaining tradition and culture.
Yet, Harrer is certainly not mindlessly admiring everything about it due to its exotic nature. Because the culture was so fixed and so old, it does go against a lot of modern standards. Just like it calls forth the desire to preserve culture, it also does the opposite, the importance of rational analysis and updating and improving one’s culture. Throughout the book, many practices are highlighted which seem completely bizarre and archaic. The whole system is resistant to change, and even though many people tried to improve it, it always faced fierce opposition from the elders.
While we may admire many aspects of Tibetan Buddhism for its acceptance of other religions or emphasis on non-violence, it is by no means all sunshine and rainbows, and the culture is incredibly superstitious. Not only in codified manners of religious doctrine but also coming directly from individuals who weren’t derived from authority or tradition. Their whole way of thinking is often very primitive, as politically incorrect as that is, but it helps to emphasize the downsides of retaining such a traditional and religious culture.
My favorite part was his connection with the Dalai Lama (the one still living today), which is considered the living Bodhisattva. He knew the Dalai Lama while he was only a small child, and seeing his life described was really absorbing. Even more so when Harrer became his personal teacher and eventually good friend. Seeing the curiosity and intelligence of the Dalai Lama was delightful. It was good to see him both in the persona of being the highest spiritual authority in Tibet while also being a completely normal child — playful and curious.
The story is very well written and engaging throughout. I can’t say it left an important mark on me. There isn’t anything particularly outstanding, but as a whole, it was interesting to read. Both from Herrer’s personal perspective and also for the overview of the traditional Tibetan culture it describes. If you like reading about other cultures, this would be a good fit!
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