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Tenzin Palmo today

Tenzin Palmo, the British-born Buddhist nun who spent twelve years alone in a Himalayan cave (we reviewed her biography by Vicki Mackenzie some time ago) is described in a news item by the Philadelphia Inquirer when she visited that city on a tour promoting a religious women’s community. Here is the opening of the article:

What is the sound of a Buddhist nun sitting alone for 12 years in a Himalayan cave?
“Quiet,” Tenzin Palmo recalled last week.
“Never boring. And very beautiful.”
The phone line from Vancouver fell silent for a moment.
“I wasn’t planning to do 12 years,” she continued. “But it was the ideal place to practice” meditation. “So, I just stayed there.”

URL: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/
20070424_In_cave_no_more__Buddhist_nun_on_world_fund_tour.html.

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Jacque Vigne, hermit

French television spot about hermit Jacque Vigne, who lives in India and has recently published India Within (not yet translated into English). The short video describes Vigne as the “thinking man’s hermit. Twenty-two years ago, French doctor Jacques Vigne gave up his career to go to India to meditate and write. Brief glimpse of his daily routines.
URL: http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/news/culture.html. If no longer on the home page, search March 26, 2007 and click “Psychology.”

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Chinese hermit Peng

This short article in the China Daily News, filed under “Odd News,” is reprinted in full here because the flavor of the report is best conveyed by reading the entire item.

Hermit, 72, comes out after 40 years in wild
(China Daily) Updated: 2007-03-09 09:21

A man emerged from his mountain home in Taiwan after 40 years of living as a hermit.

A farmer found the man, surnamed Peng, now 72, who had lived alone, surviving by eating herbs and drinking spring water. He lived in a room built of bamboo and wood. A stove and knife were the only facilities he owned.

Peng lost a lawsuit in 1967 and, in his rage, ran into the wild, vowing never to return to the city. After the farmer found him, Peng, for the first time in his life, had a chance to taste instant noodles.

(China Times News)

URL: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-03/09/content_823532.htm.