{"id":6895,"date":"2021-03-16T10:43:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T09:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/?p=6895"},"modified":"2021-03-16T10:43:21","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T09:43:21","slug":"review-the-dalai-lamas-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/review-the-dalai-lamas-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Dalai Lama’s Cat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

David Michie, The Dala\u00ef Lama\u2019s Cat:<\/em> A Novel<\/em>. Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States: Hay House, 2012.<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

For Elizabeth, who introduced me to HHC<\/strong><\/p>\n

A cat\u2019s-eye view of the bodhisattva (bodhicatva) path, this wise and witty novel follows the progress of a Himalayan kitten, snatched from the jaws of death in a New Delhi slum where, as the runt of the litter, she is about to be consigned to the rubbish-heap. She is rescued by two young attendants of the Dalai Lama, stuck in a traffic jam while returning to his Indian home from a trip to the United States. The ensuing tale is one \u2018not so much of rags to riches as trash to temple\u2019.<\/p>\n

We have the usual disclaimer on the book\u2019s copyright page, about any resemblance to persons living or deceased being \u2018strictly coincidental\u2019. But the interest of the novel is precisely such a resemblance, which comes to be seen as the kitten\u2019s good karma. Stunningly beautiful with her long, luscious white fur and her sapphire eyes \u2013 Mrs Trinci, the Dalai Lama\u2019s favourite cook (she of the \u2018operatic temperament\u2019), calls her simply \u2018The Most Beautiful Creature That Ever Lived\u2019) \u2013 she is adopted by His Holiness, in whose beneficent presence the whole novel bathes.<\/p>\n

The first-person narrative from the perspective of the kitten allows us to chart her spiritual progress from the inside, her gradual recognition of her spiritual limitations (gluttony, which nearly gets the better of her, being the chief one, as well as a certain understandable vanity) and her efforts to overcome them.<\/p>\n

The question of what to call the cat looms large early on, and is never resolved in any hard-and-fast way. Her karmic link with the Dalai Lama makes \u2018His Holiness\u2019s Cat\u2019 (abbreviated to \u2018HHC\u2019) an obvious and lasting one. But she is also \u2018Rinpoche\u2019 by association with His Holiness, while he himself favours \u2018Snow Lion\u2019. Mrs Trinci adds \u2018Tesorino\u2019 and \u2018cara Mia\u2019 to \u2018The Most Beautiful Creature That Ever Lived\u2019. The only name rejected by HHC herself as being thoroughly undignified is \u2018Mousie-Tung\u2019, bestowed on her by one of His Holiness\u2019s attendants.<\/p>\n

The Dharma teachings which are the essence of the novel are conveyed in the main informally, through His Holiness\u2019s conversation with his many visitors, mostly distinguished in worldly terms (although Thich Nhat Hanh makes a brief appearance), seeking enlightenment at the feet of one of the world\u2019s greatest spiritual leaders. In the earlier pages these tend to be brief and unelaborated, with the narrative taking precedence, but as the kitten becomes a cat and her understanding of such matters develops, they become teachings of some range and complexity. They are thus an important structuring device to the novel. As befits the central concept of the equal potential for enlightenment of all beings, we feel no surprise or artificiality at the idea of a cat having access to these fundamental teachings.<\/p>\n

In spite of the deep seriousness of this subject-matter, the narrative never becomes solemn, the cat\u2019s perspective ensures that other characters are introduced with a fitting sense of irony. One of the chief of these is Franc, of Caf\u00e9 Franc, a \u2018Tibetan Buddhist theme-park\u2019, according to our feline observer, Franc himself being where \u2018Metropolitan chic meets Buddhist mystique\u2019. Franc, with his Om (single) earring, blessing-strings, his tight black clothing, his shaven head and his French bulldog, is a cat-hater, until he discovers HHC\u2019s link with the Dalai Lama, which he turns into a selling-point for patrons of the caf\u00e9. HHC, for her part, is only too happy to adopt the vantage-point of the magazine-rack \u2018between Vanity Fair <\/em>and Vogue<\/em>\u2019, as she awaits the copious meals Franc bestows on her.<\/p>\n

Franc himself is brought round to some degree of understanding by the Dalai Lama himself, in a contact over Franc\u2019s dog and Kyi Kyi, a Lhassa Apso rescued by His Holiness. The latter immediately penetrates Franc\u2019s fa\u00e7ade, and sends him off for teachings to Geshe Wangpo of Namgyal Monastery. Little by little, the Buddhist trappings fall away, the self-cherishing is muted, and a more genuine, happier Franc materialises, but not before the reader has been treated to some basic Buddhist teachings.<\/p>\n

HHC herself grows in understanding, gaining insight into her inadequacies, evoking her \u2018poor meditation skills, [her] habitual negative mental thoughts\u2019, her fretting at the fact that her \u2018impeccable breeding\u2019 as a pedigree Himalayan cat remains undocumented. This new understanding does not prevent ordinary feline passions being satisfied, and an encounter with a large male tabby from the slums of Dharamsala leads inevitably, towards the end of the novel, to the announcement of a forthcoming litter, to the delight of His Holiness.<\/p>\n

Thus, the happiness of all beings is fully recognised, and the lightness of touch with which the teaching is conveyed is maintained throughout.<\/p>\n

An engaging and thought-provoking read.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

About the Author: <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Pat Little is a member of Bodhicharya Ireland and the Dublin Kagyu Samye Dzong. She has a keen interest in ecological matters, notably the Sowa Rigpa Medicine Garden which Ringu Tulku Rinpoche is developing in his Sikkim Retreat Centre, where she worked for a brief spell in 2009<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A cat\u2019s-eye view of the bodhisattva (bodhicatva) path, this wise and witty novel follows the progress of a Himalayan kitten, snatched from the jaws of death in a New Delhi slum where, as the runt of the litter, she is about to be consigned to the rubbish-heap. She is rescued by two young attendants of the Dalai Lama, stuck in a traffic jam while returning to his Indian home from a trip to the United States. The ensuing tale is one \u2018not so much of rags to riches as trash to temple\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2234,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,12],"tags":[203],"class_list":["post-6895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-reviews","tag-pat-little"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReview: The Dalai Lama's Cat - Many Roads<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/review-the-dalai-lamas-cat\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"108\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/review-the-dalai-lamas-cat\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/review-the-dalai-lamas-cat\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"108\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/#\/schema\/person\/b702436744d367c3b4e6ca9f727819fc\"},\"headline\":\"Review: The Dalai Lama’s Cat\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-16T09:43:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/review-the-dalai-lamas-cat\/\"},\"wordCount\":875,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/review-the-dalai-lamas-cat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/files\/2021\/03\/Cat-187x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Pat Little\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Books\",\"Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/review-the-dalai-lamas-cat\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/review-the-dalai-lamas-cat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/review-the-dalai-lamas-cat\/\",\"name\":\"Review: The Dalai Lama's Cat - 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