The Dalai Lama’s Cat by David Michie
Review by Cynthia F. (frazerc)
In this book you will find a cat’s eye view of Buddhism; call it an illumination of Buddhism perhaps. After all, what is a feline who walks at the heels [and occasionally bites at the ankles] of one of the great spiritual leaders to do but study the path toward Enlightenment?
The narrator cat immediately experiences the foundation of Buddhist thought; `compassion for all living things’; in action when the Dalai Lama rescues her – half-drowned, starving and near dead – from the gutters of New Delhi. It’s the first step the feline [and the reader] take down the path towards the illumination of Buddhist thought.
Much of the book consists of the cat’s observations: of His Holiness, of his followers, of students and of the personages that come and go through the temple doors. These observations of the `enlightened’ and the `not so enlightened’ are then refined to illuminate her feline world view. Sounds heavy, doesn’t it? It’s not. You spend a lot of time figuring out who the various famous visitors are. You are moved by some of the situations and laugh with Snow Lion’s observations. The `nuggets’ of Buddhism shared are not `preachy’ – you don’t have to be Buddhist or even religious to find them both interesting and useful in every day life.
If you’re looking for a warm, fuzzy, `kitty’ story; you won’t find that here. If you’re looking for the revelations of Great Truth, you won’t find that here either. What you will find is a good, thought-provoking read. One you’ll probably recommend to friends or give as a gift.
