For nearly a decade Matteo Pistono smuggled out of Tibet evidence of atrocities by the Chinese government showing it to the United States government human rights organisations & anyone who would listen. Yet Pistono did not originally intend to fight for social justice in Tibet
- he had gone there as a Buddhist pilgrim. Pistonos quest led him to Tibet & to a meditation master whose spiritual brother is Sogyal Rinpoche bestselling author of The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying. Pistono not only became the masters student but also couriered messages to him in Tibet from the Dalai Lama in India. This began an extraordinary & ultimately vital adventure. In the Shadow of the Buddha" is a book about Tibet through the eyes of a devotee
- a stranger hiding in plain sight. Its about how a cultures rich spiritual past is slipping away against the force of a tyrannical future. Its about how Tibetans live today & the tenacity of their faith in the future in spite of dire repression & abuse. Its also about Pistonos own journey from being a frustrated political activist to becoming a practicing Buddhist mystic a man who traveled thousands of miles & risked his own life to pursue freedom & peace."