Biography Blurb

An international lawyer by training, Joseph Eliot Pattison has spent his career advising and representing U.S. and foreign companies on international investment and trade issues. His extensive publications include over thirty articles on international topics, ranging from research published by several American universities to global policy essays published in Moscow and Tokyo. The author or editor of six books on international business strategy and legal topics, his most recent book Breaking Boundaries was selected by The New York Times as one of the five best management books of the year. An extensive international traveler, he has been a frequent visitor to China. Pattison resides in rural Pennsylvania with his wife, three children, two horses, and two dogs on a colonial-era farm where he can sometimes be seen building stone walls.

History of The Skull Mantra

Nearly twenty years ago I sat in a Tibetan Buddhist temple in China, hoping to spend a peaceful hour as the monks paid homage to a giant sandalwood Buddha. But I soon noticed that several monks kept nervously shifting their eyes toward the uniformed officers of the Public Security Bureau who were positioned conspicuously throughout the temple. I was saddened by the way the government had disturbed the serenity, but I soon realized that what was happening within those temple walls was part of a far bigger human drama. The eyes of the monks sometimes showed fear but they also showed vast determination and dedication and hope. As much as anything, that afternoon was the beginning of THE SKULL MANTRA. Repeated visits to China, when I sought out opportunities to visit temples, speak with monks, and talk to ordinary Chinese about life in the People's Republic helped me to see the vast complexity of this drama, and the many perspectives that define it. When, after writing four books on international law and global business topics, I decided to undertake a novel, I knew that this struggle, and the rich heritages of China and Tibet, would be its backdrop. I tried to capture as many dimensions of the Tibet/China struggle as possible in THE SKULL MANTRA, based not only on my many visits to China but also on extensive research into the Tibet that existed before Beijings's "liberation" nearly fifty years ago. Obviously it touches upon the wonderfully complex world of Tibetan Buddhism, but not so much in its modern theological elements as in the way it has defined culture and human behavior. The Buddhists in this novel are rooted in the very old, unreformed sects of Tibet, not simply because their beliefs lend themselves to the mystery of the book but because they reflect most vividly how remote and starkly different Tibetan culture was before the People's Liberation Army arrived. Also, because I have acquired such a deep respect for the people of China--not their government, but the people--the story is balanced with the perspectives of Shan, a Chinese protagonist who himself has been victimized by the government and is as shaken by what Beijing has done in Tibet as any Tibetan native. Finally, I did not want to ignore the gnawing, dehumanizing effect that Beijing's occupation of Tibet has had on the Chinese officials who administer it. Shan has a mystery to solve but, as he has learned from his Tibetan friends, his challenge isn't simply to find an answer but to find it with dignity and compassion.