An introductory guide to cultivating patience and opening your heart to difficult circumstances from leading Buddhist teacher, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.
In the Buddhist tradition, "patience" is our minds ability to work positively with anything that bothers us--a vast spectrum of particulars that all boil down to not getting what we want or getting what we don't want. In fluid, accessible language, Dzigar Kongtrul expands on teachings by the ancient sage Shantideva that contain numerous powerful and surprising methods for preventing our minds from becoming consumed by what bothers us--especially in anger. The result of practicing patience is a state of mind where we can feel at home in every situation and be fully available to love and care for others. Patience is the lifeblood of a peaceful heart.
Peaceful Heart: The Buddhist Practice of Patience, Dzigar Kongtrul, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 218 pp, $16.95
DZIGAR KONGTRUL RINPOCHE grew up in a monastic environment and received extensive training in all aspects of Buddhist doctrine. In 1989, he moved to the United States with his family, and in 1990, he began a five-year tenure as a professor of Buddhist philosophy at Naropa University. He also founded Mangala Shri Bhuti, his own teaching organization, during this period. He has established a mountain retreat center, Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, in southern Colorado. When not guiding students in long-term retreats and not in retreat himself, Rinpoche travels widely throughout the world teaching and furthering his own education.
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CONTENTS: Peaceful Heart: The Buddhist Practice of Patience
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Foreword by Pema Chodron
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vii
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Acknowledgments
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ix
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Introduction: Protecting Our Tender Heart
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1
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ONE: Why We Need to Work with Our Anger
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9
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TWO: The Seventy-Two Ways to Get Disturbed
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25
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THREE: An Unconventional Approach to Our Suffering
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35
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FOUR: Is There an Agent? Deeply Analyzing What Brings Us Pain
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53
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FIVE: Widening Our Perspective on Adverse Circumstances
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75
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SIX: Practicing Patience When We Are Treated with Contempt
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97
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SEVEN: How Should We React When Our Loved Ones Are Mistreated
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111
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EIGHT: Working with Jealousy
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131
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NINE: Not Taking Pleasure in Others' Pain
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143
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TEN: Practicing Patience When We Don't Get What We Want
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147
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ELEVEN: We Can't Attain Enlightenment without Sentient Beings
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171
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TWELVE: Our Kindness Delights the Buddhas
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181
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THIRTEEN: The Karmic Consequences of How We Treat Others
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191
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Appendix A: Meditation on Patience
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201
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Appendix B: The Seventy-Two Ways We Get Disturbed
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211
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