For the first time ever, revered spiritual leader Sakyong Mipham brings the lessons of the ancient Shambhala warriors and rulers to the Western world and shows us how to live our lives with confidence.
Most of us are living in a haze sometimes helping others, sometimes helping ourselves, sometimes happy, sometimes sad. We don't feel in control of our own lives. The ancient teachings of Shambhala rulership show us that we all have the ability to rule our own world and live with confidence. To do this, we need to use our daily lives to be strong, as opposed to aggressive, and to act with wisdom and compassion. This may sound difficult, but when we begin to mix this ancient wisdom of rulership into our everyday life, we have both spiritual and worldly success. We donÕt need to abandon our life and become an ascetic or a monk in order to gain confidence and achieve this success. We can live in the world as a ruler no matter what we are doing.
Ñfrom Ruling Your World
YouÕre stuck in the airport security line, late for a flight. The line isnÕt moving. YouÕre angry at the security personnel for taking so long, you are irritated at the other passengers for having so much stuff, youÕre mad at your boss for sending you on this trip in the first place. By the time you get to your gate youÕre angry, deflated, and exhausted. Then someone cuts in front of you in the line to board and you snap. ÒThereÕs a line, you know!Ó Is that really you, standing in an airport, yelling at a stranger, emotions raging?
It happens to most of us more than weÕd like to admit. In an instant, our lives seem out of control and overwhelming. ItÕs always something, isnÕt it? But what if you could approach every part of your lifeÑfrom the smallest decisions to lifeÕs biggest setbacksÑwith total confidence, clarity, and control?
According to Sakyong Mipham, we all have that power. The secret is simple: If you just stop thinking about yourself all the time, happiness and confidence will come naturally. It sounds absurd and, whatÕs more, impossible. But in Ruling Your World, Sakyong Mipham shares ancient secrets on how to take control of our lives and be successful while cultivating compassion for others and confidence in our own intelligence and goodness. The key to this well-being lies in the ancient strategies of the warrior kings and queens of Shambhala.
The kingdom of Shambhala was an enlightened kingdom of benevolent kings and queens and fiercely trained warriors. No one knows for sure whether this kingdom was real or mythical, but there are ancient guidebooks to this land and practical instructions for creating a Shambhala in your own world, bringing peace, purpose, and perspective into your life and environment.
Sakyong Mipham, the descendant of a warrior king, has inherited these teachings and gives us the lessons and myths of the great rulers and warriors of Shambhala. He makes these teachings relevant to our twenty-first-century lives in a fresh and witty voice and helps us all to realize our potential for power and control in a seemingly uncontrollable world.
Ruling Your World : Ancient Strategies For Modern Life, Sakyong Mipham, Hardcover, 2005, 224 pages, $22.95
The leader of Shambhala, a worldwide network of meditation and retreat centers. He’s also an avid marathon runner and golfer, he frequently retreats to study at a Tibetan monastery in India, and he writes a regular column in the Shambhala Sun. He is the son of Chögyam Trungpa, who was instrumental in establishing Tibetan Buddhism in the West. The author of the bestselling Turning the Mind Into an Ally, Sakyong Mipham was named one of the thirty global visionaries of our time by Planet magazine. He spends his time teaching all over the world, using his unique blend of Eastern and Western perspectives to the benefit of his students in North and South America, Europe, and Asia.
I. Introduction
I. THE SECRET OF RULERSHIP
1. What About Me? 9
2. Windhorse 20
3. The Ten Percent Advantage 28
II. THE PATH OF THE TIGER
4. How to Make a Decision 41
5. Understanding Karma 50
6. The Utility of Regret 59
7. The Virtue of Exertion 66
8. Hanging Out with the Right Crowd 72
9. The Confidence of Contentment 79
III. THE PATH OF THE LION
10. The Virtue of Discipline 87
11. No Blame 93
12. Letting Love Flow 100
13. Generating Compassion 106
14. The Confidence of Delight in Helping Others 111
IV. THE PATH OF THE GARUDA
15. The Truth about Existence 121
16. The Virtue of Letting Go 128
17. The Confidence of Equanimity 133
V. THE PATH OF THE DRAGON
18. The Virtue of Knowing Selflessness 143
19. The Confidence of Wisdom 152
20. Attracting Auspiciousness 158
VI. THE CONFIDENCE OF RULERSHIP
21. Ruling from the Ground Up 167
22. Ruling with Wisdom 172
23. Ruling with Power 178
24. Ruling Your World 189
Appendix A: The Posture of Meditation 197
Appendix B: Guidelines for Breathing Meditation 198
Appendix C: Guidelines for Contemplative
Meditation 200
Resources 202
Glossary 207
Acknowledgements 209