The Yogins of Ladakh: A Pilgrimage Among the Hermits of the Buddhist Himalayas

by John H. Crook, James Low

It investigates the social anthropology of the area through studies of village life. Further it enquires the social organisations, history, meditational practices and philosophy of the yogins who still lived and practised in the remote parts of the area. This study is a record of author's findings about Ladakhi Yogins.

Genres: Buddhism, Travel

447 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

Dr. John Hurrell Crook was an ethologist, psychologist and Chan Buddhist.

Reviews

[Joska Pista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to travel and I am practicing meditation for a while now. The book is an extremely nice, modern mixture of a travel diary, a research notebook and a primer (or more) to Buddhist philosophy and meditation. What I liked that the Authors (consider Jame Low) evidently are not just visiting scientist in Ladakh, but are practitioners of meditation and they study the ethnography, sociology, religion and meditation practices not through a mystical fog but with solid scientific approach.
I wish I had been there with them :)

[SamNoelPearce Samadhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in Ladakh in 2007. It allowed an insight into a culture that was from a much greater depth than simply being in Ladakh observing and drinking butter tea, chang, & . I followed their journey described in the book (for a short time), and shared for a night the hermit cave of Padmasambhava high above Sani, and next day crossed the fast flowing icy river that the authors also crossed to get to the 1000 year old Stupa at the town of Sani 2000 feet below in Zanskar.

Some people in Ladakh were disturbed the authors shared some aspects of some 1000 year old secret practices, but Im glad they did as it allowed this writer here to not die camped overnight at 16,000 feet on a glacier at Kang La....

A highly recommended read..