Lady of Realisation
A Spiritual Memoir
by
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I did not expect to find you. When I did encounter your presence. for five years my life was touched by a magical quality. You were as rare as the wish-fulfilling gem. The magic jewel of the Buddhas, that grants all wishes. The language of Buddhism is decorative. Phrases bear the resonance of an exotic cultural past. "The Precious Minister", "The Wish Granting Tree", and "The Treasure Mountain". A thousand alluring goddesses of unsurpassed beauty exist in the pantheon of Tibetan Buddhism.
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About the Book
Lady of Realisation is one of the first memoirs of Tibetan Buddhist nun and western teacher Sister Karma Khechog Palmo. The book provides memorable insights of the sixteenth Karmapa and other teachers of the Kagyu tradition in the 1970s.
Sister Palmo’s life as an Englishwoman in India was extraordinary both as an academic, political activist, and social worker. She is remembered as one of the key figures in bringing the sixteenth Karmapa to the West. She influenced younger important teachers like Trungpa Rinpoche and Akong Rinpoche.
It was my privilege to have been her student, and to study and travel with her. This memoir is a reflection of that extraordinary time of the arrival of Tibetan Buddhism in the West in the 1970s.
The memoir brings with it deep, personal experiences from my own life, lived out during the brutal years of the apartheid government in South Africa.
The life and work of Sister Palmo continues to inspire others on the path. She brought the ancient yogic tradition of the woman yogis of the past together with insights into contemporary life. Her invaluable teachings open a door into the practice of Buddhism in our everyday journey.
About the Author
Sheila Fugard is a South African novelist and poet. She is the author of three novels, The Castaways, Rite of Passage, and A Revolutionary Woman. She has also published four volumes of poetry. She lives in Southern California and has been a Tibetan Buddhist since the early 1970s.