The Snow Lion's Turquoise Mane: Wisdom Tales from Tibet

by Surya Das

This remarkable book brings together more than 150 authentic Buddhist teaching tales from the Hidden Kingdom of Tibet â most never before translated into English. These captivating stories, legends and yarns â passed orally from teacher to student â capture the vibrant wisdom of an ancient and still-living oral tradition. Magical, whimsical, witty and ribald, The Snow Lion's Turquoise Mane unfolds a luminous vision of a universe where basic goodness, harmony, and hope prevails.

Genres: Buddhism, Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy, Short Stories, Nonfiction, Magic

255 pages, Hardcover

First published December 4, 1992

About the author

Lama Surya Das is one of the foremost Western Buddhist meditation teachers and scholars, one of the main interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, and a leading spokesperson for the emerging American Buddhism. The Dalai Lama affectionately calls him “The Western Lama.”

His most recent book is Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations to Awaken from the Illusion of Separation. He is well known for his internationally bestselling Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World and the sequels in the “Awakening” trilogy, Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Spiritual Life from Scratch and Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning and Connection into Every Part of Your Life. His other books include:

Buddha Standard Time: Awakening to the Infinite Possibilities of Now
The Mind Is Mightier Than the Sword: Enlightening the Mind, Opening the Heart
Natural Radiance: Awakening to Your Great Perfection
Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Transformative Practices of Enlightened Living
The Big Questions: How to Find Your Own Answers to Life’s Essential Mysteries
Letting Go of the Person You Used to Be
Awakening the Buddhist Heart: Integrating Love, Meaning,
Natural Great Perfection: Dzogchen Teachings and Vajra Songs, with Nyoshul Khenpo
The Snow Lion’s Turquoise Mane: Wisdom Tales from Tibet

Lama Surya Das has spent over forty years studying Zen, Vipassana, yoga, and Tibetan Buddhism with the great masters of Asia, including the Dalai Lama’s own teachers. He is an authorized lama and lineage holder in the Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism, and a personal disciple of the leading grand lamas of that tradition. He is the founder of the Dzogchen Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts and its branch centers around the United States. Surya has brought many Tibetan lamas to this country to teach and start centers and retreats over the years. As founder of the Western Buddhist Teachers Network with the Dalai Lama, he regularly helps organize its international Buddhist Teachers Conferences. He is also active in interfaith dialogue and charitable projects in the Third World, and has recently turned his efforts towards youth and contemplative education initiatives, what he calls “True higher education and wisdom for life training.”

As a sought after speaker, Lama Surya Das teaches and lectures around the world, conducting meditation retreats and workshops. He is also a published poet, translator, and chant master. His blog, “Ask the Lama,” can be found at www.askthelama.com and his lecture and retreat schedule are listed on his website www.surya.org. Follow him on Facebook--Lama Surya Das--and Twitter--@LamaSuryaDas.

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of "Wisdom Tales from Tibet" is a barrel of wisdom that can never be exhausted. Most stories are only a page or two, perfect for a moment's inspiration.

Fascinating little tales of all nature. Some realistic, some supernatural, some like fairy tales or folk tales from another culture. I enjoyed everything, including the illustrations.

"A Yogi Meets a Yeti" would not have been out of place in Grimm's or Anderson's fairy tales — that is, of course, if Grimm and Anderson had compiled their tales in the Himalayas.

[Teagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both entertaining and enlightening.

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my most cherished books. I go back to it a couple times a year and read the beautiful translations of Tibetan tales. The stories are visual, sweet and epic.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of wisdom tales from the Land of Snows.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of fantastic stories collected by Lama Surya Das. Will reread for sure!

[Csenge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting, diverse collection. I would not call it a collection of Tibetan folktales, although it certainly contains a lot of those; I'd rather say it is a unique selection of Tibetan Buddhist teaching tales, handed down through the oral tradition. Some of them are folktales, some are legends, some are historical anecdotes or religious stories. All in all, they paint a very interesting, intriguing picture of the teaching power of entertaining stories.
Each story came with an introduction that explained some of the characters, customs, and religious concepts represented in it. Sometimes even these explanations were a little hazy for someone not versed in Buddhism ("XY, from the XY tradition of the XY school..." did not say much to me), but I was glad that we got some background on the stories.
All in all, an entertaining read, and a lot of short, poignant stories that go way beyond religious teachings.

[Ma Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is composed by short stories about Tibetan Buddhism, if you are not a Buddhist believer it helps to enrich your knowledge of Tibet. I took some good inspiration from some of the stories and helped me to analyze different situations of my life. If you don't practice Buddhism like me, I don't recommend to read it from cover to end but to read story by story slowly otherwise you might feel bored at times.

In conclusion if you want to understand how Tibetans think and more about their culture, you should give this book a chance.

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read some of these tales every night before bed. They ranged from mildly amusing to hilarious, and left me with the kind of emotion that those smiling buddha statues have. :D Super interesting to compare this set of tales with others from other parts of the world. I saw echoes of familiar tales from my own christian background, and loved seeing the Tibetan version of the "happily ever after" ending show up over and over again. Now I want to read a lot more about Tibetan history and culture!

[Alan Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found reading stories in wakeful mind helped with wakefulness. I have also read these stories took adults and children and found doing so was at that time helpful as a sedative. Go figure!

[Turt · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Tibetan Buddhist stories, this book is full of them! :)

[William T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many pearls but often hidden among hard names and odd stories.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tibet of old was really an amazing world... Fairy tale or true stories? It seems the everyday person wouldn't think too much of flying yogis and statues that talk and save you from calamities.

I found this collection a pretty fun read. Watch out, you might need a dictionary unless you're happy to let archaic or otherwise little-used adjectives and nouns to just hint at meaning from context! I don't know where the author pulls these oddities from: "a swarthy, bellicose woman" "irascible yogi" "purloined horses" ...

Anyway, expand your vocab. In some way, it kind of adds to the mystery of these tales from a world where things look ordinary, but just beyond the surface...

I've been told there are many pith instructions to the nature of mind hidden in the pages... So read with a clear and unhindered perception and who knows? Enlightenment could be yours. ; )