Princess in Land of Snows : The Life of Jamyang Sakya in Tibet

Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: Superb narration from one of the rare female Tibetan Lamas, H.E. Dagmo Kusho Jamyang Sakya. Fascinating insight into the political skirmishes of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, from a perspective of privilege and power within its hierarchy. Interesting historical reference of the infiltration of chinese communism into Tibet, as well as much detail about her escape from Tibet with her husband, H.H. Jigdal Dagchen Sakya Rinpoche. They, along with many family members, became one of the first Tibetan families to settle in the United States. This book is well written, with superb detail which makes one feel as if they are taking part in the events as they unfold.

Rating:
Summary: A Touching and Insightful Story
Review: You will NEVER regret buying this book!!!

I used to live in Seattle for many years and did not know the true meaning of love and compassion until I went to the Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism, where I had the honor of knowing H.E. Jammyang Sayka and her husband His Holiness J.D. Sakya Rinpoche, where i went for many years until I moved away in the year 2000.

His Holiness was the Spritual Leader of the Monastery and I knew Him and His Wife quite well. It was there that i received my "refuge" (Basically a loyalty oath, confirming that i have taken Buddhism as a personal course to attain enlightenment); it was also there where i received my Buddhist name, given to me by His Holiness, Himself.

In this magnificient, eloquent and profound book, the journey that She, her Husband and family took to escape the chinese is fully documented by H.E. Jamyang and it is full of laughter, joy and tremendous hardship.

She has the ability to be incredibly sublime in her quips and anecdota. a favorite accounting of mine is when they were actually in as much danger crossing the Himalayas as they potentially faced with the chinese.

There is a Tibetan word i cannot recall which, roughly translated, means, "look out below,!" meaning that if you were on the downside of a steep slope, you had to watch out for an ox who had slipped and was plunging down the mountain towards you, which to her, was funny in retrospect, but rather alarming at the time.

In this book, H.E. Jamyang has the astonishing ability to actually allow you to see through Her eyes. A rare gift that is continually sought by writers the world over.

You do not have to be a Buddhist to appreciate this wonderful book, and you will discover what love and compassion means to these displaced people, and it not just some fleeting emotion that most feel only over the Christmas holiday. This book will delight and enlighten you, and show you why they had over 1000 years of peace until their ancestral home was usurped by the chinese.

you will NEVER regret reading it, but you may very well regret losing it! it is worth reading time and again, especially when you feel anger towards your fellow human, and, more importantly, when you feel anger towards yourself.

This book is worth far more than its weight in gold.