The thesis presents meditation techniques and hermit retreats in the Indian Himalayan region of Ladakh. The connection between Buddhism and Tibet, where Tibetan or Tantric Buddhism has evolved as a form of Mahayana Buddhism, is first discussed. Tibetan Buddhism is divided into four main schools. Nyingma, Sakya, and Gelug schools are briefly introduced, whereas Kagyu school is explained in more detail. The most prominent masters of the Kagyu lineage, which is based on the oral transmission of teachings from teacher to disciple, are Tilopa, Marpa, Naropa, and Milarepa. The following outlines the practices that Kagyu lineage members still engage in today, including meditation on death, Mahamudra, and the Six Yogas of Naropa. I go into further detail about how Buddhism reached Ladakh and the hermit tradition there. In this area, hermits live in remote hermitages and devote their lives to meditation in order to achieve nirvana. They occasionally return to the community of locals, who hold the hermits in high esteem for their wisdom and supernatural abilities.
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