rederick Lenz's first book was an imaginative and lucid introduction to the teachings of Buddhism. This second installment proceeds to practice, and with the verve of its predecessor illuminates the Buddhist outlook for uninitiated Westerners. Its interpretation of Tantric spiritual sex is especially well wrought. Lenz's Snowboarding to Nirvana is reminiscent of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, using a snowboard rather than a motorcycle as a vehicle, and of the Don Juan books in which a master clarifies arcane wisdom for an earnest Western seeker. It is definitely not your average American-goes-to-the-Himalayas-for-enlightenment book." -Professor Tim Miller Department of Religious Studies University of Kansas "This is one novel with a message that, unlike many others, really works on both levels, as fiction and as fact. That is because it doesn't take itself too seriously, but has enough lightness to let the light through. Snowboarding is a good basic image. The first and most important thing Snowboarding to Nirvana tells us is that the spiritual life is meant to be a joyous, rollicking adventure. If it isn't fun and exciting on a deep level, it isn't the real thing. The second point is that things of the spirit go very well with other adventures, like sports and earthly human love complete with Tantric sex. If that's the way you take your spiritual life, this is the book for you." -Robert Ellwood Professor of Religion University of Southern California "Frederick Lenz takes the reader to an informed, fictional world - a Tibetan Buddhist's understanding of enlightenment that unfolds between the searching soul of a young American snowboarder and an enlightened Tibetan monk...This book, simple in style, invokes romantic imagination with a rich reservoir of inspirations for achieving a near-perfect humanity." - Dr. Shigenori Nagatomo Dept. of Religion, Temple University

"With Surfing the Himalayas, Frederick Lenz does a remarkable job of expressing the basic tenets of Buddhism - including concepts of karma, mindfulness and reincarnation - in a manner which Westerners will easily understand. Surfing the Himalayas makes a significant and contemporary contribution to the annals of Buddhist literature." - Professor James Lewis Director, Center for Academic Publications

"Surfing the Himalayas is an interesting approach to presenting Buddhist teaching from a Tantric perspective. The snowboarding metaphor adds drama and graphically depicts the character of life for which the teaching is relevant." - Alfred Bloom Professor Emeritus in religion University of Hawaii former Dean of (the) Institute of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley CA

"Dr. Lenz does it again! Fans of Surfing the Himalayas will love Snowboarding to Nirvana. Those who disagree with the alternative spirituality world view (once called New Age) in general will probably also disagree with this book. They may, however, recognize it as the real thing, the work of a key figure in the alternative spirituality tradition." - Dr. Massimo Introvigne Director CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions) Torino, Italy