Snowboarding to Nirvana

Snowboarding to Nirvana is the sequel to Surfing the Himalayas, continuing the story of the young American snowboarder who first encountered the enlightened Buddhist monk Nicky on the slopes of Nepal. In this second volume, the narrator returns for deeper immersion in the teachings, and Nicky introduces increasingly advanced principles — including the role of vigorous physical activity as a vehicle for samadhi, the energy dynamics of relationships and sexuality in the context of spiritual practice, and the possibility of experiencing full liberation while completely engaged in the activities of the world.

Lenz uses the snowboarding setting not as a mere literary device but as a genuine teaching tool, demonstrating how the experience of flow — the total presence, the dissolution of the self-conscious observer, the merger of movement and awareness — is a direct analogue of the meditative absorption that Tibetan Buddhism calls samadhi. The book is both a compelling spiritual narrative and a pointer toward the embodied, action-based dimension of the Buddhist path that is rarely emphasised in traditional teaching.