These deeply personal songs of realization by Nyingmapa yogi Shabkar Tshogdruk Rangdrol (1781–1851), composed in a simple yet richly poetic style, charm by their beauty and directness, often expressing the delights of nature. Drawn from the vast and mostly untranslated collection The Festival of Melodious Songs, they have been organized thematically to reflect Shabkar's quest for spiritual awareness through renouncing the world and meditating in mountain hermitages.

Lovers of poetry, experts on Tibet, and spiritual seekers of any tradition, will be uplifted by Shabkar's profound devotion, rigorous honesty, and exhilarating breakthroughs on the path toward self-understanding.

The reader's experience is enhanced by the Tibetan texts; copious notes from the disciplines of classical Tibetan studies, literature, ornithology, and anthropology; explanations of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist terms; satellite maps; and over fifty full-size color photos taken around Shabkar's main hermitage on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau.

335 pages. Paperback.