Surfing the Himalayas

Eastern Concepts for Western Thinkers

Chris Strebor

Newcomers to the yoga world often find themselves faced with terms and ideas they've heard about, but perhaps don't really understand. For example, everyone's heard of karma, but what is it, really? What about nirvana, reincarnation, or enlightenment?

Surfing the Himalayas by Frederick Lenz is an entertaining and enlightening introduction to eastern philosophy presented in a manner that makes it easy for westerners to understand.

Here's how it works: A young American travels to Nepal for a snowboarding vacation in the Himalayas. On his first day out, our hero plows over a Buddhist monk who appears from out of nowhere on a snowy slope. In the days that follow this tumultuous introduction, the snowboarder and the monk — Master Fwap — engage in a series of conversations about the nature of yoga, meditation, karma, and enlightenment.

The beauty of this story is that it entertains as it introduces difficult concepts. By couching complex concepts in snowboarding terms, Master Fwap keeps his new pupil, and the reader, interested and amused. Concepts are stated and restated, giving the slow learners among us a chance to see the light from various angles.

Lenz' story is certainly not the last word on eastern philosophy, but it most definitely is an easy-to-swallow introduction.