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List Price: $10.95 | | Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Salesrank: 404444
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| Our Price: $7.45 |
| Used Price: $0.75 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
The sequel to the national phenomena "Surfing the Himalayas", this compelling New Age novel "combines themes of self-discovery, spiritual enlightenment, and snowboarding in Nepal" ("Boston Globe") to create "one of the funniest books of the last five years . . . the most hilarious spiritual quest since "Candide"" ("Kirkus"). 10 illustrations National print ads.
Description of Snowboarding to Nirvana: A Novel:
Once again Frederick Lenz (author of the bestselling Surfing the Himalayas) uses snowboarding as the metaphor for maneuvering through the ice and powder of life. Our snowboarding hero must solve the spiritual riddle of "the missing dimension" before he can reach the next level of enlightenment. Paradoxes, Bruce Lee movies, Tibetan tantric texts, and a love affair with a Danish woman offer the puzzling clues and exotic visuals.
Snowboarding to Nirvana: A Novel Reviews:
Truly inspiring! 
2007-08-04 - I highly recommend this book to anyone. And in particular, anyone who's interested in higher ideals, love, brightness, clarity, wonderment, ecstacy... There's just so much of it in this book! The notion that people exercise at most 10% of their capabilities is well known in popular culture, but what's not is how to engage the rest of one's being. The author illuminates new ways of seeing life explained in clear, plain English that's fun to read and includes multiple techniques to free the mind and sustain higher energy and awareness that goes beyond the mundane awareness most people abide in. How can this be? Isn't this guy full of it? The only way to know for sure is to have the willingness to try it for yourself and find out. I did. This is a gem - the best book I have ever read on self-discovery!
Excellent! Probably the Best Book on Buddhism ever Written
2007-08-02 - Yeah, this is so cool!
'Snowboarding to Nirvana' is a great book on the simple essence of Buddhism that is just right for our time. It is 100% accurate on the facts of Buddhism and what Buddhism is, totally excellent, bright, really funny, and very entertaining.
I read a lot of books on Buddhism, some are very complex and involved with deep concepts that are very difficult to understand, but nonetheless certainly worthwhile to do so because of the joy that comes from using the mind to unlock the deepest secrets of the universe.
But I think overall, there is something to be said for 'simple books' on the enlightened mind, that are inspiring to read over and over again, because they keep the reader in a high state of mind, like meditation.
In my experience, there are four books that are bright and pure on the simple essence of Buddhism: `The Dhammapada' (for its pure spirit) and `The Great Path of Awakening' (for taking and sending & mind training), as well as this book 'Snowboarding to Nirvana' and its prequel 'Surfing the Himalayas' (for their clear view on life and the Enlightenment process).
However, don't let this book fool you; it is academically and technically very exact in its descriptions of Buddhist concepts. For example the description of the Buddha's three cycles of teaching is very precise and demonstrates a tremendous clarity in understanding Buddhism. The third cycle teachings (of the Mahasiddha's) is considered by Buddhist scholars to be most relevant in the world today and what people really need; this is clearly explained in the book, perhaps better than anywhere else.
The astral travel, the oracle, the description of the dimensional access points, even the sex - all are very inspiring - and worth reading over and over, not just for Buddhists, but for people who want to enjoy life and what it has to offer to the fullest and, of course, for us extreme sports enthusiasts.
A great book, much deeper and well-researched than appears at first glance
2006-12-10 - I think it's too bad that Dr. Lenz' books receive reviews stating things like "this book has nothing to do with Buddhism" or "the author doesn't know much about Tibet". There are a few things in and about the book that I would like to point out to a potential reader:
What this book is not: this book is not for somebody who wants an introduction to Buddhism as it is commonly understood in the West today. That is, if you want a biography of Siddhartha Gautama and a laying out of the eightfold path, this book is not the place to start. Many great books have been written for such an introduction, and I recommend that you check out "A Buddhist Bible" by Dwight Goddard for starters. If that's a little too heavy, check out the movie "The Little Buddha", which has a great biography of Prince Siddhartha.
What this book is: this book is for a person who wants a real introduction to genuine mystical practice. The book includes several "mini-chapters" that contain instructions for the aspiring meditator, complete with visualization techniques. It also tells the story of one persons spiritual experiences as he applies the techniques laid out in the book. A few passages might also expose you to your own hangups about the way you view life.
A few notes about the contents of the book: this book is well-researched, and the author has a thorough understanding of the Tibetan doctrines. For example, check out the chapter entitled "Master Fwap goes Phat!", and then go pick up a copy of W.Y Evantz-Wents' "Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrine". It should become clear that Dr. Lenz has a deep and thorough knowledge of his subject matter. The book also contains references to many other classic spiritual books, but the "Phat" chapter is the most overt example.
Also...this is an adventure novel! It's supposed to be F-U-N. Generally speaking, it should only be read by people who have a sense of humor and who enjoy having an open mind. This book is worth several re-readings.
If only I could choose ZERO stars 
2006-04-24 - Speaking as a practicing Buddhist and a snowboarder, this book is a complete waste of time and precious trees. There are many fantastic books about real Buddhism out there that teach you the dharma and don't try to baffle you with mystical mumbo-jumbo, as this book does. Upon doing further research into the author, I was quite interested to learn that not only did he found a "Jim Jones" style cult of personality, but that he also was a drug user and evidently killed himself -- all things the real teachings of the Buddha frown on: http://skepdic.com/rama.html. If you want to learn about the dharma, don't buy this book! i suggest anything by Thic Nhat Hanh.
Creative intro to Tantric Buddhism
2005-08-14 - I have studied Buddhism both academically and also through my own meditation practice for many years. I think this is a very creative and fun way to present the concepts of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. Some of the reviews that criticize its presentation of Buddhism seem to be coming from the perspective of the more traditional or orthodox branches such as Hinayana or Theraveda, which focus on the 4 Noble Truths, etc. While these are part of Tantric Buddhism as well, the Tantric path is much more about shifting states of awareness and mystical or esoteric knowledge than those paths. This book introduces that esoteric tradition quite well. It does mix in some New Age concepts, but I accepted those as being more for audience appeal than anything else, and I don't think this detracts from the overall material.
As for actual snowboarding knowledge, it is true that you won't learn how to snowboard from this book! The snowboarding in the book is more of a metaphor for the Tantric meditative path.
Overall I recommend this as a fun starting point for learning about Tantric Buddhism and for starting a meditation practice yourself.
