The political situation in Tibet is a theme in the book. In the Preface to "My Journey to Lhasa," David-Neel writes, "As for myself, I profoundly despise everything which is connected with politics, and carefully avoid mixing in such matters." This definitive pronouncement does not seem to preclude David-Neel from offering her opinion on the political situation of Tibet, however, and depicting the sometimes violent conditions its people live under.