Text Samples | About the Author | How to Order

Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master presents the life story of Dipa Ma Barua, with the spiritual teachings that make her a towering figure in contemporary Buddhism. One of the few women of her generation to devote herself entirely to the pursuit of meditation, Dipa Ma attained profound levels of insight in an astonishingly short time. As the teacher of Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield, Dipa Ma profoundly influenced the teaching of insight meditation practice in the West.

When Amy Schmidt arrived at IMS fourteen years ago, she noted that all the photographs of renowned Buddhist teachers were of men. Then she discovered a photo of a tiny Indian woman dressed in white—and knew that woman would be her own teacher. Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master includes stories about this meditation master that Amy collected over ten years, from Dipa Ma’s family members and Calcutta students as well as from prominent American teachers.

"This book, small, like Dipa Ma, is simple, straightforward and powerful, as she was also. It offers the opportunity to contemplate the Feminine approach to the study and practice of the Dharma. It is deeply empowering to encounter a female master who understood the preciousness of human life and that to be a woman is an incomparable blessing. To be a yogi -- mindful, conscious, aware -- on the mundane though intrinsically magical rounds of the average householder/mother is the challenge that Dipa Ma teaches can be met."—Alice Walker

"An inspiring and beautiful book about one of our most beloved elders, a modern Buddhist saint." —Jack Kornfield, After the Ecstasy the Laundry and other titles

"Dipa Ma was the most loving person I ever met" —Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

"Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master" will be available at any bookseller in Spring 2005. Distributed to the trade by Independent Publishers Group (IPG). Phone: 1-800-888-4741 www.ipgbook.com

About the author of Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master:
Amy Schmidt is a resident teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Barre, Massachusetts. A licensed clinical social worker, she is a co-founder of Southwest Sangha, a self-retreat center in New Mexico, and teaches meditation to at-risk teens. Her cartoons appear in Buddha Laughing: A Tricycle Book of Cartoons, and she is co-author of Understanding Alzheimer’s: A Guide for Families, Friends, and Health Care Providers.

For any questions or comments you are welcome to contact Amy Schmidt at amyla0@hotmail.com