The Himalayas and Beyond – Karma Kagyu Buddhism in India and Nepal

Gelongma Lama Palmo

With a Foreword by
H. H. The Dalai Lama

17,5 x 22,8 cm, 354 pages, 209 photos, all color, hardcover cloth binding, golden imprint, with dust jacket.
ISBN 978-3-200-01476-3

Translation, photos, calligraphies,
drawings, graphics and layout
© Palpung Europe

From the cover

About the Book

Established two-and-a-half millennia ago, Buddhism continues to grow worldwide as a path leading to understanding of the true nature of one’s mind. The qualities of love, acceptance and tranquillity, so essential for individual, and therefore universal, peace, well-being and happiness are developed by the techniques of meditation taught by the Buddha, and practised in everyday living.

Be invited onto a pilgrimage which starts in old India, 2500 years ago when Buddha Shakyamuni was born as a prince. The trip further leads up to meeting the particular lineage of a Living Buddha by the name of Gyalwa Karmapa. Lord Buddha had himself prophesied this lineage during his lifetime, saying that the Gyalwang Karmapas were to reincarnate until Buddhist teachings were no longer needed. This book illustrates the sacred world of a religious leader who fled Tibet in 2000, a saint as illustrious and charismatic as H. H. The Dalai Lama, his lineage and monasteries. In her unique and personal way, Lama Palmo intimately introduces the reader to the seemingly esoteric subject of Buddhism and monasticism, to the soothing heart of Buddhism in a fresh and modern language. Follow the trails of an intrepid traveler of the world and the soul.

“This useful book focuses on the Karma Kagyu monasteries that now flourish in India and Nepal. It provides helpful background information about the origins of Buddhism, the Tibetan tradition and specifically the Karma Kagyu transmission. I am pleased to see too that the author reveals something of the actual way of life within the monasteries and how monastic training takes place.”

From the foreword by H. H. The Dalai Lama

The Contents

• Introduction to Buddhism • Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism • Kagyu • Karma Kagyu • The Karmapas • The Way to Exile • Life in a Monastery •Monasteries in the Himalayas • Hints for Traveling • Bibliography • Index

The Author

Gelongma Lama Palmo, a former journalist, PR expert and professional photographer, was born in Vienna. After commercial college she studied German philology and French, and graduated in German medieval literature with an MA. Soon thereafter, she received her initial nuns’ vows in the order of Karma Kagyu of Tibetan Buddhism, and renounced worldly life in order to dedicate herself fully and wholeheartedly to the dharma. Lama Palmo lived for extended spells in monasteries in the Himalayas, meditating and studying the holy dharma. Thereupon, she entered the traditional three-year retreat in Karma Triyana Dharmachakra under the direction of the V. Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche in New York State. After its completion she upgraded her monastic vows and took the Bikkhuni precepts within the tradition of Vietnamese Zen, the full and highest monastic ordination.

Lama Palmo teaches in her center and its branches as well as at places where she is invited to, guiding individuals on their spiritual quest. She is loved for her simplicity, infectious warmth, and spontaneous joy and, apart from her schedule of meditation and teaching, she returns annually to the Himalayas, accompanying students and interested individuals on pilgrimages to holy places.