In 2003, Tibetan lama Phakyab Rinpoche was admitted to the emergency clinic of the Program for Survivors of Torture at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital. After a dramatic escape from imprisonment in China, at the hands of authorities bent on uprooting Tibet's traditional religion and culture, his ordeal had left him with life-threatening injuries, including gangrene of the right ankle. American doctors gave Rinpoche a shocking choice: accept leg amputation or risk a slow, painful death. An inner voice, however, prompted him to try an unconventional cure: meditation. He began an intensive spiritual routine that included thousands of hours of meditation over three years in a small Brooklyn studio. Against all scientific logic, his injuries gradually healed. In this vivid, passionate account, Sofia Stril-Rever relates the extraordinary experiences of Phakyab Rinpoche, who reveals the secret of the great healing powers that lie dormant within each of us.
"Phakyab Rinpoche's amazing odyssey, beautifully depicted in this extraordinary book, inspires so much spiritual courage, strength, and wisdom. Our deepest aspirations and unimaginable possibilities are illuminated by the radiance of this precious jewel."
Krishna Das, kirtan wallah and devotee of Neem Karoli Baba
"Phakyab Rinpoche shares with us the compelling narrative of how he healed the injuries he sustained in Chinese-occupied Tibet. Importantly, his story powerfully demonstrates what we now know from science: compassion awakens within us our own power to heal both the mind and the body."
James R. Doty, MD, founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research
"Meditation Saved My Life tells us that we can overcome hatred with compassion and let go into healing. Phakyab Rinpoche opens heart and mind with the core spiritual teachings of Tibetan Buddhism in clear, inspiring language. He reminds me that bodhisattvas are here with us and that we can aspire to emulate them to reach our own realization."
George Pitagorsky, author of The Zen Approach to Project Management, Managing Conflict in
