A fascinating biography of Drukpa Kunley a Tibetan Buddhist master and crazy yogi. The
fifteenth-century Himalayan saint Drukpa Kunley is a beloved figure throughout Tibet Bhutan
and Nepal known both for his profound mastery of Buddhist practice as well as his highly
unconventional and often humorous behavior. Ever the proverbial trickster and crazy wisdom yogi
his outward appearance and conduct of carousing philandering and breaking social norms is
understood to be a means to rouse ordinary people out of habitual ways of thinking and lead
them toward spiritual awakening. Elizabeth L. Monson has spent decades traveling throughout the
Himalayas retracing Drukpa Kunley s steps and translating his works. In this creative telling
direct translations of his teachings are woven into a life story based on historical accounts
autobiographical sketches folktales and first-hand ethnographic research. The result with
flourishes of magical encounters and references to his superhuman capacities is a poignant
narrative of Kunley s life revealing to the reader the quintessential example of the capacity
of Buddhism to skillfully bring people to liberation.
