Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment

Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment
by Vicki Mackenzie

Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $9.15
You Save: $5.80 (39%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.07 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Vicki Mackenzie
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-09-18
ISBN: 1582340455
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Book Reviews of Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment

Book Review: Powerful story, powerful woman!!
Summary: 4 Stars

This true story is extremely well written, I love the authors style of prose. Clearly, Tenzin Palmo (heretofore referred to as T.P.) is certainly a force to be reckoned with. While the external story of T.P. was captivating and inspiring - I couldn't do for a month what she did for many years; what I had hoped to find were her insights, what did she discover on the internal journey? Unfortunately when pressed to express her truths T.P. responded with a nonchalant "it's too private" sort of response. This is the part of the story that blows my mind: Some of the major themes of Buddhism are love and compassion, well where is the compassion in withholding one's internal discoveries, the candid discussion of which might assist others in overcoming their own illusions? Also, if Buddhists are so "enlightened" how have they been able to ignore/dominate/exclude their mothers/sisters/daughters for so long? My hope is that T.P. and Vicki Mackenzie will sit down and articulate the internal story of T.P.'s path, the subtleties of mind and illusions she explored and overcame - or didn't overcome. That's where the treasures are! Should have been 5 stars, but in good conscience I can only give 4.

Summary of Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment

This is the incredible story of Tenzin Palmo, a remarkable woman who spent 12 years alone in a cave 13,000 feet up in the Himalayas.
At the age of 20, Diane Perry, looking to fill a void in her life, entered a monastery in India--the only woman amongst hundreds of monks---and began her battle against the prejudice that had excluded women from enlightenment for thousands of years.

Thirteen years later, Diane Perry a.k.a. Tenzin Palmo secluded herself in a remote cave 13,000 feet up in the Himalayas, where she stayed for twelve years. In her mountain retreat, she face unimaginable cold, wild animals, floods, snow and rockfalls, grew her own food and slept in a traditional wooden meditation box, three feet square. She never lay down.

Tenzin emerged from the cave with a determination to build a convent in northern India to revive the Togdenma lineage, a long-forgotten female spiritual elite. She has traveled around the world to find support for her cause, meeting with spiritual leaders from the Pope to Desmond Tutu. She agreed to tell her story only to Vicky Mackenzie and a portion of the royalties from this book will help towards the completion of her convent.

It sounds like a legend out of medieval Tibet: the ascetic who leaves home to join the Buddhist order, then spends 12 years in a cave, 15 hours a day in a meditation box. This is no legend, but you could call Tenzin Palmo legendary in her single-minded pursuit of higher realizations. From the East End of London to halfway up the Himalayas, she is now back in society, attempting to pull medieval Tibetan Buddhism into the modern era--women's rights and all. As biographer Vickie Mackenzie says by way of background, a group of elite women practitioners called "Togdemnas" still existed just decades ago. Tenzin Palmo, having studied with her male counterparts, is now canvassing the planet, welcoming women into full participation in Tibetan Buddhism and building support for an academy of Togdemnas that she plans to establish in the Himalayas. Mackenzie helps raise awareness for women's roles in Tibetan Buddhism by going into some detail about obstacles still faced by women as well as heroines who have overcome those obstacles, such as Yeshe Tsogyel (Sky Dancer) and Machig Lapdron, a mother who started her own lineage. If Mackenzie has it her way, it won't be long before Tenzin Palmo joins that list of heroines. --Brian Bruya

General Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Meditate and Awaken to a New Life
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times ImageWhen Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
by Pema Chodron
Shambhala; Published: 2005-01-11; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.96
Price in other shops: $6.99
Mindfulness for Beginners ImageMindfulness for Beginners
by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Sounds True; Published: 2006-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $11.31
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Zen Teaching of Huang-Po: On the Transmission of Mind ImageThe Zen Teaching of Huang-Po: On the Transmission of Mind
Grove Press; Published: 1994-01-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.25
Price in other shops: $13.00
Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away: Teachings on Impermanence and the End of Suffering ImageEverything Arises, Everything Falls Away: Teachings on Impermanence and the End of Suffering
by Ajahn Chah
Shambhala; Published: 2005-03-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.87
Price in other shops: $16.95
Transformation and Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness ImageTransformation and Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Parallax Press; Published: 2006-07-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.62
Price in other shops: $14.95
Suffering Is Optional: Three Keys to Freedom and Joy ImageSuffering Is Optional: Three Keys to Freedom and Joy
by Cheri Huber
Keep It Simple Books; Published: 2002-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops: $12.00
The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma: A Bilingual Edition ImageThe Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma: A Bilingual Edition
by Bodhidharma
North Point Press; Published: 1989-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.65
Price in other shops: $13.00
How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything: A Workbook ImageHow You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything: A Workbook
by Cheri Huber
Keep It Simple Books; Published: 1988-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.34
Price in other shops: $12.00
The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace ImageThe Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace
by Jack Kornfield
Bantam; Published: 2002-08-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: $20.00
A Gradual Awakening ImageA Gradual Awakening
by Stephen Levine
Anchor; Published: 1989-01-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops: $11.95
Similar Books and other products
No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva ImageNo Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva
by Pema Chodron
Shambhala; Published: 2007-08-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.56
Price in other shops: $16.95
Dakini's Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism ImageDakini's Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism
by Judith Simmer-Brown
Shambhala; Published: 2002-12-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.70
Price in other shops: $22.95
Saints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil-Worshippers Who Became Saints ImageSaints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil-Worshippers Who Became Saints
by Thomas J. Craughwell
Doubleday; Published: 2006-09-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops: $15.95
The Life of Milarepa: A New Translation from the Tibetan ImageThe Life of Milarepa: A New Translation from the Tibetan
by Anonymous, Lobsang P. Lhalungpa
Published: 1992-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.27
Price in other shops: $14.95
What Makes You Not a Buddhist ImageWhat Makes You Not a Buddhist
by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
Shambhala; Published: 2008-08-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.02
Price in other shops: $14.00
Sky Dancer: The Secret Life & Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel ImageSky Dancer: The Secret Life & Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel
by Keith Dowman
Snow Lion Publications; Published: 1996-07-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.31
Price in other shops: $18.95
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The Spiritual Classic & International Bestseller; Revised and Updated Edition ImageThe Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The Spiritual Classic & International Bestseller; Revised and Updated Edition
by Sogyal Rinpoche, Patrick D. Gaffney, Andrew Harvey
HarperOne; Published: 1994-04-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness ImageThe Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness
by Yongey Rinpoche Mingyur, Eric Swanson
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2008-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.89
Price in other shops: $13.95
Women of Wisdom ImageWomen of Wisdom
by Tsultrim Allione
Snow Lion Publications; Published: 2000-11-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops: $18.95
Reflections On A Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism ImageReflections On A Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism
by Ani Tenzin Palmo
Snow Lion Publications; Published: 2002-07-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops: $16.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories