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

by Jamyang Sakya and Julie Emery

This is the story of a determined woman who overcame great obstacles in order to achieve religious freedom. Born in eastern Tibet, Jamyang Sakya married into the powerful Sakya family, spiritual advisers of Kublai Khan and for years rulers of much of Central Asia. Her engaging personal story evokes a rich vision of Tibet's traditional culture, customs, and religious practices.

Jamyang Sakya tells of being the only girl in a monastic private school,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 157062691X
• ISBN13: 9781570626913
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Precious Jewel

M. Dianna Ryel-Lindsey Naropa University Boulder, Colorado Buddhism in Tibet Sarah Harding Book Report February 26th, 2008 Princess in the Land of Snows: the Life of Jamyang Sakya in Tibet This is the autobiography of Jamyang Sakya beautifully written to convey the intricate details of Tibetan culture in the time right before the Chinese invasion. The purpose of the book is to save, not squander, the true, sacred nature of Tibetan culture, religion, society, and life. This book is precious because it details Jamyang Sakya's life as a child growing up in Tibet in minute detail. It is exceptionally written; the words flow as wind through the Himalayan Mountains. Born on March 3, 1934, the Wood Dog year on the Tibetan lunar calendar, Jamyang Sakya, known as "Dagmo-la" to her friends, grew up as a girl among eight aspiring, affluent, male scholars and monks studying at the Thalung Monastery. The privilege of schooling was not open to all girls. Due to Jamyang Sakya's dear uncle Tlku-la, Dezhung Rinpoche, she was able to go to school. Jamyang Sakya speaks lovingly of wise Tlku-la throughout the book; he is considered a tlku, reincarnation, and was the head of two labrangs, lama residences at Thalung Monastery. "Religion was inseparable from much of our daily life and central to our formal learning." In the Sakya lineage, the family loved and learned holding firmly to the bonds of Tibetan Buddhism. "Nearly every Tibetan home has a shrine room or some type of altar." The altar adorned with butter lamps, a statue of the Buddha with copper and gold overlay, twenty-one brass water bowls, offerings of rice, incense, and flowers, had its own room in the home with Dharma books and Thangkas covering the walls. Exemplifying how religion was at the root of their learning process in the monastery, the children were to clean the bronze shrine bowls every morning: pour out the old water by placing it on plants or drinking it (as it is sacred), shine the bowls, and fill the bowls anew. Such an intricate process at the beginning of every day, a ritual of importance, taught the children care and respect for the shrine. Jamyang Sakya describes the life of: games, reading Buddhist texts, studying Thangka paintings, being respectful and quiet in the monastery, and household chores with endearing detail. Here is one of my favorite of her childhood stories: Besides Gyado, my pony, I had a most unusual pet, a four-horned sheep named Yang Rashi, who was a familiar figure to the neighborhood. He had been given to me by a nomad friend of Uncle Kuyak. It was good fortune indeed to have such an animal, and Yang Rashi clearly liked his home. He scaled the stairs easily and whipped about my bedroom. Almost daily, I combed his soft, white wool, which never was sheared. His brown eyes seemed to glow out from the wool. I kept Yang Rashi well decorated with braided, colored wool tassels and small jewels that hung from his neck. When I called his name, he

A Touching and Insightful Story

You will not regret buying this book!!! I've lived in Seattle for over 20 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. Dagmo-Kushula (Mother of Princes) Jamyang Sayka and her husband His Holiness J.D. Sakya Rinpoche. His Holines is 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, (With a forward by His Holiness, The Dalai Lama) 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 anecdotes. 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.

Loved it

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.