Yeshe Tsogyel, consort of Guru Padmasambhava, is one of the most famous of the enlightened women of Tibet. Few works deal with the spiritual practices and evolution of female aspirants, and for this reason Sky Dancer is virtually unique in the biographical literature of Tibet. Women are shown in an eminent position, and a path of practice is presented for initiates to emulate. Tsogyel's experiences and her detailed instructions to her disciples are inspirational for today's practitioners.

Sky Dancer, Keith Dowman, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 1996, 379 pages, $29.95

Keith Dowman has spent the last twenty years in India and Nepal. He has been educated in the theory and practice of Tibetan Buddhism by eminent Lamas of Several Tibetan schools, and has translated several major Tibetan texts into English. He now lives with his family in Kathmandu, where he continues to explore the Tibetan tradition and to interpret it for people in the West.

	Contents: SKY DANCER - The Secret Life and Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel
	Foreword by Trinley Norbu Rimpoche	ix
	Translator's Introduction	xii
	THE SECRET LIFE AND SONGS OF THE LADY YESHE TSOGYEL
	Homage	3
	Protection	3
	Gyelwa Jangchub's Introduction	4
1	Tsogyel's Conception	6
2	Auspicious Omens and Birth	10
3	Disillusionment and Meeting the Master	15
4	Initiation and Instruction	25
5	Meditation, Austerity and Spiritual Accomplishment	65
6	Signs of Success and Proofs of Power	94
7	Establishing, Spreading and Perpetuating the Teaching	97
8	Fruition and Buddhahood	142
	Notes to the Text	188
	COMMENTARY
1	The Path of the Inner Tantra	217
2	Woman and the Dakini	253
3	The Nyingma Lineages	274
4.	The Historical Background	305
	Notes to the Commentary	345
	Indexes	354
	Index of Tibetan Words	354
	Index of Sanskrit Words	359
	Index of Texts	361
	Index to Place-Names	362
	Index of Men, Buddhas, Gods and Demons	369