Machig’s Way: A Tibetan girl’s struggle to follow the path of the yogi

A Tibetan girl’s struggle to follow the path of a yogini

Machig Labdron was one of Tibet’s great meditation masters. She started a whole lineage of practice that still exists today. It has been incorporated in one way or another by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

The paintings on each page were inspired by her biography and illustrate her life and difficulties. Being an inspiration for Buddhist practitioners, it goes beyond the merely biographical.

One thousand years ago villagers and nomads in Tibet had many expectations about how a young girl should behave. Girls were trained in all the tasks of maintaining a household and ensuring that nothing was wasted from the animals. This was the basis for a good marriage.

But Machig carried within her a deep spiritual vision of a different life. Every experience she had of village life convinced her that her place was in the high hills, living in caves and devoting her life to meditation practice. Her struggle to fulfil her vision is recounted in this illustrated brief biography which includes some of her most beautiful and challenging songs.

This life story of Machig Labdron is directly translated from an original Tibetan text by James Low.