Cave in the Snow by Vicki Mackenzie (Bloomsbury)

Vicki Mackenzie was taking part in a month-long Buddhist meditation course in Pomaia, Italy when she first laid eyes on a woman whose life story she would eventually write about, “a somewhat frail-looking woman in early middle age, with fair skin and a rather rounded back. She was dressed in the maroon and gold robes of an ordained Buddhist nun and her hair was cropped short in the traditional manner.”

It was late in the evening at dinner when a man sitting next to her at the table pointed out the woman again and said, “That’s Tenzin Palmo, the Englishwoman who has spent twelve years meditating in a cave over 13,000 feet up in the Himalayas.” 

It would be a few months later when Mackenzie would pick up a Buddhist magazine and found an interview with Tenzin Palmo. What Tenzin Palmo said in that interview would change Mackenzie’s life as well. Palmo had stated, “I have made a vow to attain Enlightenment in the female form—no matter how many lifetimes it takes.” 

Mackenzie feels that female spirituality is seriously lacking in role models. “The lamas who taught us were male; the Dalai Lamas (all fourteen of them) were male, the powerful lineage holders who carried the weight of the entire tradition were male, the revered Tulkus, the recognized reincarnated lamas, were male, the vast assemblies of monastics who filled the temple halls and schools of learning were male; the succession of gurus who had come to the West to inspire eager new seekers were male.” 

Mackenzie wants to know, “Where were the women in all of this.” Now here is a woman who says she is going to change that. From that article in the Buddhist magazine, Mackenzie seeks out Tenzin Palmo to find out more about her. Where did she come from? What had she learned in that cave? What made her take the vow?

Cave in the Snow is Tenzin Palmo’s story. It is about how an Englishwoman, formerly named Diane Perry, becomes an ordained Buddhist nun. It is the story of Palmo’s spiritual journey which takes her from her small town in England, to finding a guru in India, then making a vow to meditate in a cave high up in the Himalayas. 

Tenzin Palmo spends twelve years meditating alone in the cave, dealing with the harsh weather, wild animals, near-starvation and facing her own personal demons, all in the name of following the path to enlightenment. 

It is the story of her overcoming many obstacles along the way—people telling her it was too dangerous, monks saying women would not be able to survive the harsh conditions or cope with the solitude. But Tenzin Palmo is no ordinary woman. She proves all her detractors wrong. She’s very modest about telling what she has gained from her near isolation but her determination to help women on their spiritual path has not wavered one bit. 

I, for one, am a skeptic about the mysticism and seemingly supernatural powers of spiritual leaders and gurus but I find the spiritual journeys people take to be inspiring and admirable. It isn’t anybody who can give up their comfortable life, their family, their friends, and move to a foreign country whose language you don’t know or don’t understand to find the answers to your own question about “Who am I?” or “Why am I here?”. Tenzin Palmo is definitely an interesting individual. You will be moved by her courage, admire her perseverance, and you may even be inspired to take on your own spiritual journey. ~Ernie Hoyt