From 2005 to 2007, teacher Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche gave classes on Buddhist scholar Shantideva's The Way of the Boddhisattva at a noted retreat center in Northern California. His commentaries revealed such a deep understanding that practitioner Marcia Binder Schmidt decided to collect them for other students of Buddhism as an independent work. This book is the result.
Beginning with an overview of the entire path of Buddhism, Kongtrul Rinpoche goes on to examine different aspects of Shantideva's text, always relating the teachings to individual experience. He explores in depth the training of the four immeasurables - equanimity, loving kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy - and discusses the importance of wholehearted engagement in the process. His advice for setting up and maintaining a spiritual practice is both practical and inspiring.
Although the book contains three years of teachings, it remains remarkably compact, reflecting Kongtrul Rinpoche's characteristic directness and emphasis on implementation. In the words of the editor, "Dharma practice needs to be more than mere theory. Dharma needs to be trained in, integrated into our lives, and embraced by wisdom." Uncommon Happiness contains the guidance to undergo that training with the right attitude of clarity and commitment.
Uncommon Happiness: Path of the Compassionate Warrior, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, Paperback, 178 pp, $16.95
Dzigar Kongtrul has studied and practiced with some of the greatest teachers of modern times, including Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Penor Rinpoche, and Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche. Born into the Dharma family of the third Neten Chokling Rinpoche and his consort Tsewang Paldron, Rinpoche is a gifted teacher, artist, and author of It's Up To You and Light Shining Through.
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Contents: Uncommon Happiness: The Path of the Compassionate
Warrior |
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Editor's Preface |
vii |
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A True Caregiver |
1 |
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Transformation |
11 |
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The Path |
19 |
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Training |
29 |
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Rejoice |
49 |
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Digesting Pain |
61 |
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Integration |
73 |
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Aspiration and Engagement |
87 |
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Stepping Stones: The Six Paramitas |
99 |
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A Can-Do Attitude |
115 |
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Meditation |
133 |
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Daily Medicine |
149 |
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Application |
165 |
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Acknowledgment |
173 |
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Notes |
177 |
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