Vicki Mackenzie

very inspiring - tenzin palmo spent 12 years meditating in a cave in the himalayan mountains seeking enlightenmenet - she was born in england but early on buddhism resonated deeply for her so she moved to india - tenzin palmo was deeply devoted to her practice which included meditating for 15 hours a day in a small meditation box - she was far from humanity for the 12 year period, faced extreme cold and other physical hardships beyond the imagination, and yet throughout the book her joy and show more deep devotion always shone through -

after leaving the cave, she continued with a new mission - to advocate for the rights of women to be recognized as enlightened buddhist masters - i learned a lot from the book and am using it as the basis for a talk that i'm giving on finding true happiness - the author of this biography did a great job in allowing palmo's voice to come through and in educating me about buddhism in the west and the struggle of women to be recognized as enlightened masters - but i wished for a more intimate account and therefore plan to read palmo's own book soon - show less

Despite Mackenzie's unrelentingly tabloid style, the astonishing qualities of Ven. Tenzin Palmo shine through. This is the story of a modern-day Englishwoman who became ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun and spent 12 years in retreat in a cave in the Himalayas. (Yes, 12 years - that's not a typo.) Having met and spoken with this nun myself, I can say that she's every bit as remarkable as Mackenzie describes her. Ven. Tenzin Palmo in person reminds me of St. Teresa of Avila - radiantly show more spiritual and supremely practical at the same time!

A fascinating read - highly recommended. show less

Cave in the Snow describes one woman's quest for enlightenment in the patriarchal world of 1960s Tibetan Buddhism. Tenzin Palmo spent 12 years in retreat, living in a cave in the Himalayas. Cave in the Snow, written by Vicki Mackenzie, is a somewhat repetitive but interesting insight into what it took to be a Buddhist nun in the 20th century.

These kind of "samplers" are my favorite kind of read. McKenzie does an awesome job getting a well-rounded group of people for interviews. I find McKenzie herself a bit sappy, but well intentioned, friendly, and authentic. Every interview was pretty much a page-turner for me.