The Holy Monk and the Spirit Woman

Description

Book Description—The Holy Monk and the Spirit Woman

Preface

My other novels may move you or change you, but The Holy Monk and the Spirit Woman has the power to bring about your spiritual realization. This book is like a fertile field—if you grasp the “finger of wisdom” that reaches out from the soil and pull with all your strength, you may draw forth a figure bursting with the vitality of awakened accomplishment. In other words, if you are willing to undergo the trials faced by the protagonist, you too can attain realization and grow into a true spiritual master.

—Xuemo

Overview
The Holy Monk and the Spirit Woman is the central work of Xuemo’s Soul Trilogy, based on the true experiences of the Tibetan yogi master Khyungpo Naljor. It tells a soul-stirring tale of spiritual quest that spans across a thousand years. Born into nobility, Khyungpo Naljor begins to question his Bön faith and sells all his possessions to journey to Nepal and India in search of the ultimate truth—Niguma. Along the way, he falls in love with Sharwadi, a deposed Nepalese living goddess. Yet, in order to pursue his spiritual path, he leaves her behind, and Sharwadi waits for him in sorrow for decades until she dies of grief. Khyungpo Naljor endured a series of trials—avalanches, wolf attacks, and demonic illusions—through which he gradually overcame attachment and dualistic thinking. In the end, he awakened to the realization of the “Vajra Heart,” the innate nature of enlightenment already dwelling within him: Niguma was not in some distant realm, but in his own heart. Written in the style of terma (hidden treasure) literature, this novel blends esoteric tantric practice with poignant romance, ultimately revealing a profound truth: that accomplishment lies not in the destination, but in the very journey of seeking itself.

Key Features

1. A spiritual epic and esoteric revelation: Based on the Tibetan terma scripture The Secret Life of Khyungpo, this novel marks the first time the path of a yogi’s awakening is unveiled through fiction. It illuminates the essential teachings of esoteric practices such as the “Luminous Mahamudra,” and has been hailed as “China’s first truly authentic religious novel.”
2. A Dual Breakthrough in Literature and Spiritual Practice: Xuemo reimagines the profound wisdom of Tibetan tradition through the lens of modern language, transforming complex esoteric teachings into a gripping narrative. The novel’s vivid episodes—such as the 20-year entrapment in the illusory “Demonic Barrel” of desire, and the fourfold trials that dismantle attachments to beauty and ugliness, life and death—serve as powerful metaphors for the vulnerabilities of human nature.
3. Love and Faith Beyond Life and Death: Sharwadi’s unwavering devotion—treating love as her deepest faith—stands in poignant contrast to Khyungpo Naljor’s painful struggle to renounce love in pursuit of the Dharma. This dual narrative thread creates a powerful emotional tension. Their exchange of letters bears witness to the authentic emotional journey of a great spiritual master, revealing that even those on the path of enlightenment are not untouched by love.

Critical Acclaim

This is a story of seeking faith—a parable of belief, or perhaps, an ontological and poetic meditation on faith itself. In an era marked by a widespread crisis of belief, Xuemo’s “poetics of faith,” accomplished through the form of the novel, carries undeniable intellectual, spiritual, and literary value. It is a work worthy of deep reflection and scholarly exploration.

—Chen Yanjin, Senior Editor, People’s Literature Publishing House

In The Holy Monk and the Spirit Woman, Xuemo seems to conjure a realm of “numinous realism”—a mode of existence unlike the world we inhabit, a reality imbued with spirit and mystery. It gestures toward a different truth, a different form of life, a parallel reality shaped not by practical reason nor linear storytelling, but by a more elusive, ineffable wisdom. This kind of wisdom stirs a distinct “poetic astonishment”—a resonance that defies ordinary understanding and lingers like the echo of an unseen world.

—Xu Xiaonan, Literary Critic

Recommended Readers:

• Literature Enthusiasts: A philosophical novel intertwining Western frontier narratives with mysterious terma lore, comparable to Siddharthain depth and spirit.
• Spiritual Practitioners: Detailed practical methods for overcoming attachment and dualistic thinking, serving as a “guidebook for transcending the self.”
• Researchers of Tibetan Culture: A revealing account of yogis’ westward pilgrimage in search of Dharma, showcasing anthropological perspectives such as Nepalese goddess traditions and Indian temple culture.
• Those Seeking Inner Peace: A spiritual beacon for modern people lost amid money, desire, and emptiness—offering a way out of the “demonic barrel.”

 Contents:

Chapter 1  A Choice of Fate

Chapter 2  On the Pilgrim’s Road

Chapter 3  Niguma off in the Distance

Chapter 4  Avalanches and Wolf Packs

Chapter 5  The Female Spirits of Nepal

Chapter 6  The Worries of a Female Spirit

Chapter 7  Khyungpo Naljor’s Dream Demons

Chapter 8  The Pilgrimage

Chapter 9  Long-gone Fallen Flowers

Chapter 10  Going Back

Chapter 11  On the Road to Enlightenment

Chapter 12  Reasons for Love

Chapter 13  The Light of Sarnath

Chapter 14  Experience for the Soul

Chapter 15  Tasting Rajgir

Chapter 16  Sukhasiddhi’s Test

Chapter 17  The Light of the Great Mudra

Chapter 18  Teaching the Sweet Dew of the Dakinis

Chapter 19  The Soul of the Search

Chapter 20  The Bloody Light of Kapilavastu

Chapter 21  The Light of the Bliss of Emptiness

Chapter 22  A Distant Holy Song

Chapter 23  A Barrel Full of Demons

Chapter 24  Dearly Beloved Khyung

Chapter 25  The Origin of the Dispute

Chapter 26  The Prostitutes of Vaishali

Chapter 27  Sharwadi’s Longing

Chapter 28  Niguma’s Mandala

Chapter 29  Sharwadi’s Pain

Chapter 30  Niguma’s Sweet Dew

Chapter 31  The End Is Also the Beginning

 Keywords:

Soul Trilogy, Khyungpo Naljor, Sharwadi, Niguma, terma literature, Luminous Mahamudra,the demon barrel allegory, the path to enlightenment, master’s biography, yoga master, spiritual epic,the tibetan Xuanzang, the legend of the Dharma quest

《无死的金刚心》英文版详情页

• 前言：

我的一般小说，可以感动你或改变你；而《无死的金刚心》却可以“成就”你。这书是一块肥沃的土地，你只要用力拽那个露出地面的“智慧指头”，就能拽出一个有着喷薄生命力的“成就汉子”。也就是说，你要是能像书中的主人公那样历练，你定然也会得到证悟，成长为一代圣者。——雪漠

• 详情描述

(一) 内容简介：

《无死的金刚心》是雪漠“灵魂三部曲”的核心之作，以藏地瑜伽大师琼波浪觉的真实经历为蓝本，讲述了一场穿越千年的灵魂求索之旅。主人公琼波浪觉出身显赫，却因对苯教信仰的怀疑，变卖家产远赴尼泊尔、印度寻觅终极真理“奶格玛”。途中，他与尼泊尔退位女神莎尔娃蒂相爱，却为追寻信仰忍痛离别，留下莎尔娃蒂苦守数十年直至郁郁而终。琼波浪觉历经雪崩、狼灾、魔桶幻境等考验，破除分别心与执念，最终悟得“金刚心”即自身本具的觉悟本性——奶格玛不在远方，而在心中。全书以伏藏文学形式，融合密法修证与缠绵爱情，揭示“成就即寻觅过程本身”的生命真谛。

  (二) 核心卖点：

1. 心灵史诗与密法揭秘：

基于藏地伏藏文献《琼波秘传》，首次以小说形式公开瑜伽士证悟之路，展现“光明大手印”等密法心要，被誉为“中国真正意义上的宗教小说”。

2. 文学与修行的双重突破：

雪漠以现代语言重构深奥藏传智慧，将艰深教义转化为跌宕叙事。书中“魔桶”幻境（沉溺欲望20年）、四方考验（破美丑生死分别心）等情节，成为人性弱点的深刻隐喻。

3. 跨越生死的爱情信仰：

莎尔娃蒂“以爱为信仰”的坚守与琼波浪觉“为道弃情”的挣扎，构成双主线张力。他们之间的情书往来，见证一代大德真实的情感之路。

 (三) 专家学者评论：

 1.这是一个寻觅信仰的故事，这是一部信仰的寓言，或者说，是信仰的本体论，信仰的诗学。而在今天这个信仰普遍缺失的时代，雪漠对小说形式完成的这部“信仰的诗说”，无疑有着时代急需的思想价值、精神价值和文学价值，值得研究和探讨。——陈彦瑾（人民文学出版社编审）

 2.我以为，在雪漠的《无死的金刚心》中，尝试着生成一种“灵幻真实”，这是不同于我们今天正生存于其间的世界的另一种真实、另一种生活、另一种现实，这样的灵幻真实透射出不同于实用智慧也不同于普通叙事智慧的“另一种智慧”，并产生一种与从不同的“诗性惊异”。——徐肖楠（评论家）

 (四) 适合读者：

1.文学爱好者：西部叙事与神秘伏藏交织，媲美《悉达多》的哲思小说；

2.修行实践者：详述破执、破分别心的实修方法，堪称“超越自我的行动指南”；

3.藏文化研究者：解密瑜伽士西行求法史，呈现尼泊尔女神制度、印度神庙文化等人类学景观；

4.心灵困顿者：为迷失于金钱、情欲、空虚的现代人提供“走出魔桶”的精神灯塔。

• 目录：

引  言 神秘的伏藏

• 命运的抉择
• 朝圣的途中
• 遥远的奶格玛
• 雪崩与狼灾
• 尼泊尔的女神
• 女神的心事
• 琼波浪觉的梦魇
• 朝圣之旅
• 远去的落花
• 归去来兮
• 菩提路上
• 爱的理由
• 鹿野苑的光明
• 灵魂的历练
• 品味王舍城
• 司卡史德的考题
• 大手印的光明
• 空行甘露教授
• 求索的灵魂
• 迦毗罗卫的血光
• 空乐的光明
• 遥远的梵歌
• 魔桶
• 亲爱的琼
• 纠纷在起处
• 吠舍离的妓女
• 莎尔娃帝的相思
• 奶格玛的坛城
• 莎尔娃蒂的疼痛
• 奶格玛的甘露
• 尾声也是开始

(六) 关键词：

灵魂三部曲，琼波浪觉，莎尔娃蒂，奶格玛，伏藏文学，光明大手印，魔桶寓言，证悟之路，大师传记，瑜伽大师，心灵史诗，雪域玄奘，求法传奇