Introduction .................................................... 3
Part I. The Buddhist Himalaya of Orgyan Chokyi
1. The Religious World of the Hermitess ........................ 15
Buddhism in Dolpo around the Year 1700 ...................... 15
Hard Times in Buddhist Himalaya ............................. 19
The Career of Orgyan Tenzin ................................. 23
The Trials of Tenzin Repa ................................... 26
Lamas, Hermits, and Patrons ................................. 31
Religious Women in Dolpo .................................... 34
2. The Life of the Hermitess ................................... 45
The Life of Orgyan Chokyi ................................... 46
Lives of Saints, Lives of Women ............................. 49
Writing the Life of Orgyan Chokyi ........................... 53
A Tibetan Folk Heroine ...................................... 59
An Indian Nun's Fast ........................................ 62
A Female Mentor ............................................. 66
3. Sorrow and Joy .............................................. 69
Sorrow and Society .......................................... 69
Tears of a Saint ............................................ 76
Tears of a Hermitess ........................................ 81
Joy and Solitude ............................................ 83
4. Women, Men, Suffering ....................................... 91
Women and Samsara in Tibetan Lives .......................... 91
Suffering Society ........................................... 96
Suffering Sexual Difference ................................. 98
5. Religious Practice ......................................... 105
Body, Speech, and Mind ..................................... 105
Fasting .................................................... 107
Pilgrimage ................................................. 110
Meditation ................................................. 113
Visions .................................................... 117
Relics ..................................................... 123
Part II. The Life of Orgyan Chokyi
Introduction .................................................. 131
One. Sufferings of Youth ...................................... 133
Two. Herding Goats ............................................ 137
Three. Herding Horses ......................................... 141
Four. Looking at Mind ......................................... 147
Five. Pilgrimage to Kathmandu ................................. 155
Six. In the Kitchen ........................................... 157
Seven. Leaving the Bustle ..................................... 163
Eight. Solitude and Joy ....................................... 169
Nine. Religious Commitment .................................... 175
Ten. Death and Impermanence ................................... 181
Appendix: Characters in the Life of Orgyan Chokyi ............. 185
Notes ......................................................... 187
Bibliography .................................................. 201
Tibetan References ............................................ 201
Other References .............................................. 206
Index ......................................................... 215
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