Today we celebrate the life, travels and accomplishments of Alexandra David-Neel (1868-1969) who died tragically young, one month short of her 101st birthday. Yet in that time managed to pack in as varied a CV as anyone ever has. Explorer, feminist, writer, mystic, opera singer, anarchist and first westerner to enter the forbidden city of Lhasa. [1]

Her exposure to the world started early when her father took her to visit the memorial to the recently executed Communards in1871. Whether this troubled her we cannot say. But her teenage years were certainly feisty. By the age of 18 she had clocked up travels to England Switzerland and Spain, on the way encountering controversial characters like Madame Blavatsky and getting herself enrolled in the 30th degree of Scottish Freemasonry.By 1899 she had written her first books and converted to Buddhism. But it was only as the curtains lifted on the twentieth century that she really got going. The next 46 years read like a whirlwind of adventure which would leave Indiana Jones green with envy. She got out East by becoming a successful opera singer in what was then called Indo China. After that her perambulations included vast stretches of India, Sikkim(where she lived as an anchorite in a cave) China, Mongolia, Tibet (hence the Lhasa episode), interspersed with marriage and a peaceful interludes in Digne-les-Bains in Provence.

It was here she finally retired for last decades of her life, . as the burden of her exertions caught up with her. It is interesting to recall that this quintessential nineteenth century explorer actually died after Neil Armstrong had placed his famous first step on the Moon. But we guess that she must have approved. We hope our links will tell you more about this energetic, learned and above all courageous woman. A beacon of learning indeed in dark times.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_David-N%C3%A9el

[2]https://avauntmagazine.com/alexandra-david-neel

#tibet #buddhism #lhasa #dalai lama #provence #china #sikkim #neil armstrong