To hear an interview with David Crow, check out www.talktotara.com under "authors".The country of Nepal is a place of harshness and beauty, of modern innovation and ancient traditions, where disease and poverty coexist with transcendent healing knowledge. In March 1987, David Crow journeyed to this land of stark contrasts, leaving his successful San Francisco acupuncture and herb clinic in search of teachings in Tibetan medicine and Buddhist meditation.Within a week of his arrival in Katmandu, he became the only Western student of Dr. Ngawang Choephel, an elderly Lama-physician. Over the next decade, Crow studied with many other teachers, including Sarita Shreshtha, Nepal's first woman Ayurvedic physician; Bishnuprasad Aryal, an alchemist who showed Crow how to transform mercury into a potent medicine used by generations of Ayurvedic healers; and Kalu Rinpoche, a renowned yogi who lived most of his life as an ascetic recluse in Himalayan caves. Using his newfound knowledge, Crow opened a clinic in Katmandu and another in a small mountain village, where he treated beggars from the street as well as high abbots of monasteries. Written for all those interested in exotic places and genuine mystical encounters, this colorful and captivating story interweaves medical teachings with insights into Tibetan Buddhism, evoking the beauty and wonder of a faraway land. Bibliography. Index.