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Norma Levine

The Spiritual Odyssey of Freda Bedi: England, India, Burma, Sikkim, and Beyond Paperback – May 31, 2018

by Norma Levine (Author)

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Freda Bedi had a big heart and a big life. An English head prefect and Oxford graduate, a devoted Indian wife and doting mother of three, a hands on social worker and investigative journalist, a university teacher and Tibetan translator, a Gandhi satyagraha and Buddhist nun: who was Freda Bedi, Gelongma Palmo, affectionately called Mummy-la by all the Tibetans including His Holiness the 16th Karmapa and His Holiness the Dalai Lama? Who was this lady who tread so lightly yet left an indelible footprint, obscured but not forgotten? Fearless even in death, Freda died sitting in meditation with no rigor mortis, her body remaining supple for four days with warmth around the heart.

“Mrs. Freda Bedi whom we all lovingly called Mummy was truly a giver of life for thousands of Tibetan refugees. But she was much more. She delved deep into ancient Tibetan wisdom and became a living representative of its value to the rest of the world when it was being destroyed in Tibet. The history of Tibetan Buddhism in the West would not be complete without her.”
– Ringu Tulku, author of Mind Training, Confusion Arises as Wisdom and Path to Buddhahood

“The Spiritual Odyssey of Freda Bedi is a rich intimate journey into the life of an extraordinary pioneer in the dialogue between Tibetan Buddhism and the western world. Her closeness to His Holiness 16th Karmapa was unprecedented, enabling her to move into the inner recesses of his world and to have a lasting impact on the Tibetan refugees. This riveting book shares her journey from England to India, to marriage with a Gandhi activist, motherhood and ultimately a life of deep spiritual realization in the Tibetan tradition as it emerged into view in the 1960s and ‘70s.”
– Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons

“This is a beautiful book on Mummy, well written, highly informative. It captures the essence of her life extremely well and tells her story with great sensitivity. Truly a wonderful book and a labour of love. I feel gratitude and admiration. Congratulations!”

– Kabir Bedi, Indian film and television actor

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– Kabir Bedi, Indian film and television actor

About the Author

Biography

I lived and practised meditation for 5 years at Sherabling Monastery in Himachal Pradesh; traveled extensively in Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Ladakh, Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh; and organised pilgrimages to Mt. Kailash in Western
Tibet and the hidden land of Pemako in Arunachal Pradesh (NE India),

As well as writing five books, (the fifth is The Spiritual Odyssey of Freda Bedi) I have written for some of the major London newspapers: The Observer, The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian. The Times Literary Review in London carried the first story about the Karmapa at his enthronement in 1992 at Tsurphu Monastery in Tibet: A Star is Raised and Borne.

I started the first natural food shop in Hay on Wye, one of the first outside London. On returning from India in 1986, I established a web based mail order business, Windhorse Imports to provide Buddhist meditation artefacts to a growing community and sold it in 2003. I was appointed the England media co-ordinator for the Karmapa 2010 Europe Tour (which was cancelled).

I have an M. Phil in drama and literature from the University of Toronto and completed a PHD thesis before escaping academic life to live in the book town of Hay-on-Wye
on the Welsh borders, famous for its International Literary Festival. I still spend some of the year in India but live in Malvern, UK .

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Shang Shung Publications (May 31, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 8878341606
ISBN-13: 978-8878341609
Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 2 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #982,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1327 in Social Activist Biographies
- #6669 in Religious Leader Biographies
- #12414 in Women's Biographies

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M.V. Young

Timely and Inspiring

September 29, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Freda Bedi (Sister Palmo) was an extraordinary woman whose story is told with ease and eloquence in this gripping account by Norma Levine. Like Levine's other books, it's a smooth read and once started is hard to put down. I had heard about Freda Bedi for years, even the rumors that she was the first Western woman to become enlightened, but didn't know the particulars of her life and death. I find it strange that not more had been written about her until now. It is refreshing to read a bio of such an inspirational woman who achieved such heights in both the mundane and spiritual realms. She was a bodhisattva and benefitted many beings. Her story is long overdue and told quite beautifully here. I highly recommend this volume with a deep bow to Ms. Levine for her efforts.

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Michele Martin

A woman finds her spiritual home

February 4, 2019

Format: Paperback

This is a wonderful book that anyone with an interest in the history of modern Buddhism and woman practitioners should read. It is carefully and extensively researched by Norma Levine, who practices in the Karmapa’s lineage and knows it from the inside. This gives her a sensitivity to the material and an accuracy to her reporting that is not found elsewhere. The family of Freda Bedi (later Sister Palmo) opened all their archives to Levine, and she also found new material, including recordings of Sister Palmo talking about her life and documents by and about her. Levine weaves all of this into an engaging narrative that is interspersed with numerous pictures published for the first time.

Sister Palmo’s story is an amazing one, beginning with a young woman at Oxford who boldly married a Sikh and moved to India to support the independence movement from Brittan for which she was jailed. After meeting the Sixteenth Karmapa, she became a nun and through her connections with the Indian government supported the Tibetans, who had recently escaped to India. She was a strong practitioner and learned Tibetan so well that she could read (and practice) advanced meditation treatises and as well as translate texts for new western Buddhists. In addition to providing insights into this eventful era in the history of India and Tibet, her life is an inspiring example of how to blend practice with engagement in the world.

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