Awakening dignity A guide to living a life of deep fulfillment

Phakchok Rinpoche, 1981-

Book - 2022

"A Buddhist master's guide to cultivating dignity through meditation, in order to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life. The notion of dignity is crucial to questions of how best to live a meaningful and fulfilling life, particularly for people who feel self-doubt and low self-esteem as well as those who can feel trapped by their anxiety, dissatisfaction, or even success. In today's environment, this seems to include most people. So, how can we possess authentic and unshakeable dignity? This book offers a unique and fresh approach to this question by drawing from the Tibetan Buddhist wisdom tradition. According to Buddhism, dignity is an inherent quality of fundamental wholeness and completeness that we all naturally pos...sess. This understanding is based on the idea that our true nature is pure and that our heart is noble. Phakchok Rinpoche shows how knowing that we are whole and complete already, and gaining trust and certainty in that understanding, counteracts the common feeling that we are not enough, that something is missing. Gaining unwavering trust in ourselves protects us from life's ups and downs. With genuine dignity, we are not riddled with uncertainty, anxiety, or self-doubt; rather, we are able to face any circumstance with confidence, clarity, and compassion. Through reflections, examples, and simple meditations, such as embracing adversity and practicing compassion, this guide provides all the tools necessary to fully embody our fundamental dignity"--

Saved in:

2nd Floor Show me where

294.342/Rinpoche
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 294.342/Rinpoche Checked In
Subjects
Published
Boulder, Colorado : Shambhala [2022]
Language
English
Main Author
Phakchok Rinpoche, 1981- (author)
Other Authors
Sophie (Shu-Chin) Wu (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
viii, 229 pages ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-229).
ISBN
9781645470885
  • Foreword / by Daniel Goleman and Tara Bennett-Goleman
  • Introduction
  • Your nature is pure. The mirror of the heart ; Know yourself ; Beyond the beautiful and the ugly ; Three meditation teachers
  • You can change. Making friends with "sticky mind" ; Noticing, not judging ; Healing from the habit of judgment ; The courage to love ; "Who am I?" ; The compassion to act
  • Gaining certainty and trust. Authentic power ; Dignified living and dying ; Carefree ease ; Continuing the journey home
  • Dignity training exercises.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this illuminating volume, Tibetan Buddhist teacher Phakchok Rinpoche (In the Footsteps of Bodhisattvas) and history professor Wu offer wisdom for cultivating a sense of dignity. Contending that dignity is an innate quality of "fundamental wholeness and completeness," the authors explain how emotional fixation can cause individuals to lose touch with their dignity and how they can reconnect. They describe the "sticky mind" phenomenon in which one ruminates about an incident or feeling, blinding oneself to the "constantly changing" emotions that flow through the self and growing alienated from one's dignity. To escape this mindset, the authors encourage readers to acknowledge negative emotions and replace them with more positive ones (e.g., humbleness for pride). Each chapter ends with a "dignity training" exercise, such as chanting a mantra to enhance focus or embracing loving-kindness by wishing others well while meditating. What the authors refer to as "dignity" is largely equivalent to the Buddhist concept of "basic goodness," but the fresh framing offers new insight. Additionally, readers will appreciate the accessible prose and the authors' compassionate tone. This enlightening outing delivers. (Dec.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Famed Tibetan Buddhist master Rinpoche and co-author Wu (history, Agnes Scott Coll.) posit that discovering intrinsic dignity is key to recognizing and accepting one's inherent worth, a process that subsequently enables people to achieve the goal of helping others. This recognition is integral to who people are and what they do in their lives. Rinpoche, ordained by the Dalai Lama, draws on Buddhist concepts and teachings, as well as his own personal accounts, to convey the necessity for readers to experience and know their actual self. This is accomplished by working to know one's mind and how it functions. Arranged in three parts: "Your Nature Is Pure," "You Can Change," and "Gaining Certainty and Trust," each chapter concludes with "Dignity Training" exercises, such as breathing and visualization techniques, and "Inspirational Support," which features relevant quotations to further motivate the reader. VERDICT A hopeful and easily accessible handbook written with clarity and authenticity, for those interested in exploring Buddhist teachings or simply hoping to improve the quality of their own lives and the lives of others.--Gail Eubanks

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.