11 Books for Working With Difficult Emotions

11 Books for Working with Difficult Emotions With the rise of global disasters, political conflict, and social unrest, alongside increased distractions that negatively effect us mentally and emotionally, it's difficult to find peace inside and out. Many of our books are geared toward learning how to reframe our mind and heart to work with unsettling world events, challenging relationships, and inner conflict. If you're looking for a good place to start, here are 11 books for working with difficult emotions like anger and fear in the face of conflict and uncertainty. #1. Working With Anger by Thubten Chodron Anger plagues all of us on many levels and can be a formidable emotion to overcome. Yet, we see people, such as the Dalai Lama, who have faced circumstances far worse than many of us have faced—including exile, persecution, and the loss of many loved ones—but do not burn with rage or seek revenge. Using the teachings and advice presented by beloved Buddhist teacher Thubten Chodron, anyone can learn to calm their emotions, sit with and understand their anger, and peacefully move toward resolution and peace. #2. The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron We always have a choice in how we react to the circumstances of our lives. We can let them harden us and make us increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and allow our inherent human kindness to shine through. Here Pema Chödrön provides essential tools for dealing with the many difficulties that life throws our way, teaching us how to awaken our basic human goodness and connect deeply with others—to accept ourselves and everything around us complete with faults and imperfections. She shows the strength that comes from staying in touch with what’s happening in our lives right now and helps us unmask the ways in which our egos cause us to resist life as it is. If we go to the places that scare us, Pema suggests, we just might find the boundless life we’ve always dreamed of. #3. Your Heart Was Made For This by Oren Jay Sofer Meditation teacher Oren Jay Sofer shares a pragmatic guide to living a life of meaning and purpose in a time of great social, environmental, and spiritual upheaval. Through touching stories, insightful reflections, and concrete instructions, Sofer offers powerful tools to strengthen our hearts and nourish the qualities that can transform our world. Each chapter guides you to cultivate a quality essential to personal and social transformation like mindfulness, resolve, wonder, and empathy. #4. Illuminating Our True Nature by Michelle Cassandra Johnson We all get stuck in hurtful patterns that continue to create more suffering in our lives. In yoga philosophy, these patterns are known as the five kleshas. In this wise, practical guide, Michelle Cassandra Johnson offers us a path toward developing a deeper understanding of them and how they hijack us emotionally. Johnson offers us a way to find a sense of clarity, groundedness, and equanimity within ourselves by working through the kleshas one-by-one using asana, pranayama, mudra, mantra, reflection questions, and meditation. Readers will learn to: deepen their connection with self and others; look at their relationship and attachment to pleasure and aversion to discomfort; notice more fully how their actions affect others; meet each moment as it arises and ride the waves of life as they come; and much more #5. A Post-Truth World by Ken Wilber Acclaimed philosopher Ken Wilber examines our polarization through the lens of Integral Theory to show what led to these fractures, both in America and around the world—as well as what is needed for humanity to move forward. In his provocative analysis, he explores how the arising of support for antagonistic authoritarians represents a backlash against the failure of those at the leading edge of consciousness (postmodernism and pluralism) to acknowledge the challenges that persist amidst our imagined progress: that, to date, society has been not proven to be equal, and liberty and justice have not been consistent for all. But a new Integral force is emerging that can move beyond the narcissism, nihilism, and cynicism to offer genuine leadership and move us all toward greater wholeness. All of us can be part of the movement, and here Ken Wilber shows us how. #6. Taming the Ox by Charles Johnson Renowned author and National Book Award winner Dr. Charles Johnson writes that his creative work and Buddhist practice are the two activities in his life that have reinforced each other—and have anchored him. In this wide and varied collection of essays, reviews, and short stories, Johnson offers writings that passionately and compellingly illuminate how politics, race, and spiritual life intersect in our changing culture. Throughout his long and varied creative career, Johnson has been a cartoonist and illustrator, screen- and teleplay writer, novelist, philosopher, short fiction writer, essayist, literary scholar, and professor. His work is often philosophically, politically, and spiritually oriented, and he has deeply explored racial issues in the United States, most notably in his novel Middle Passage, which won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1990. Johnson received a MacArthur Fellowship, or “Genius Grant,” in 1998. Taming the Ox is a wonderful reflection of what Johnson has learned during his passage through American literature, the visual arts, and the Buddhadharma. #7. What We Say Matters by Judith Hanson Lasater & Ike K. Lasater Communication is key when it comes to relationships and working with conflict. Learn how to communicate with compassion and choose language that reflects your personal values and aims with this essential guide to Nonviolent Communication (NVC). Judith Hanson Lasater and Ike Lasater, longtime students of yoga and Buddhism, had studied the concepts of satya (truth) and the Buddhist principle of right speech for years, but it was not until they began practicing Marshall Rosenberg’s techniques of NVC that the concept of speech as a spiritual practice became real for them. #8. Practicing Peace by Pema Chodron Can there be hope for a peaceful future in times like these? How can we overcome our sense of helplessness when problems seem so big and tensions so strong? Pema Chödrön here shows us how to look deeply at the underlying causes of these tensions and how we really can create a more peaceful world—by starting right where we are and learning to see the seeds of hostility in our hearts. She draws on Buddhist teachings to explore the origins of anger, aggression, hatred, and war, and offers practical techniques all of us can use to work for genuine, lasting peace in our own lives and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. *previously published under the title "Practicing Peace in Times of War" #9. The Power of Mind by Khentrul Lodrö T'hayé Rinpoche We’ve all heard platitudes about cultivating love and compassion, but how can we really develop these qualities in ourselves and—crucially—share them in our world? The Power of Mind provides a proven path. Khentrul Rinpoche teaches that regardless of what’s unfolding in our lives, our route to freedom lies in our minds—and how we work with them. A thousand years ago, the Indian saint Atisha endured great hardship to bring the Buddha’s teachings to Tibet, where they flourished. This book introduces a primary text that emerged—the Seven Key Points of Mind Training. #10. Everything is Workable by Diane Musho Hamilton Conflict is going to be a part of your life—as long as you have relationships, a job, or dry cleaning to be picked up. Bracing yourself against it won’t make it go away, but if you approach it consciously, you can navigate it in way that not only honors everyone involved but makes it a source of deep insight as well. Seasoned mediator Diane Hamilton provides the skill set you need to engage conflict with wisdom and compassion, and even—sometimes—to be grateful for it. #11. Perfecting Patience by By H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, translated by Thupten Jinpa All of the world’s major religions emphasize the importance of love, compassion, and tolerance. This is particularly true in the Buddhist traditions, which unanimously state that compassion and love are the foundation of all paths of practice. To cultivate the potential for compassion and love inherent within us, it is crucial to counteract their opposing forces of anger and hatred. In Perfecting Patience, the Dalai Lama shows how, through the practice of patience and tolerance, we can overcome the obstacles of anger and hatred. He bases his discussion on A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, the classic work on the activities of bodhisattvas—those who aspire to attain full enlightenment in order to benefit all beings.   Didn't find what you're looking for? Continue exploring related topics Grief & Recovery Healing in Buddhism Meditation & Mindfulness Engaged Buddhism ↑ Jump to Top

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A Year of Mindfulness: A Reading List

What would you like to accomplish this year? Have you made New Year's resolutions to start meditating or pick up your practice again? To be more mindful with your children or adolescents? To mend a broken heart or learn to cook? To finally figure out your dosha, prioritize, or simply to relax? We at Shambhala have books covering all these topics and more to help you have your most satisfying, healthy, and mindful year yet. From favorite authors like Pema Chödrön, Thich Nhat Hanh, Jan Chozen Bays,  Susan Piver, and others, read up on some of our top picks for turning a new leaf in 2016:   If you want to meditate but have no idea where to begin, this book by best-selling author Susan Piver will help you: it contains everything you need to know to start a meditation practice and, even more important, to continue one. . If you've heard about the many benefits of mindfulness but think you don't have time for it, prepare to be proven delightfully wrong. Mindfulness is available every moment, as Zen teacher Jan Chozen Bays shows with these twenty-five exercises that can be done anywhere. . Believe what you've heard about meditation: it'll focus your mind, open your heart, and sometimes surprise you with insight. And it's not complicated. In fact, everything you need to get started is contained in the pages of this little book by Lodro Rinzler, founder of the Institute for Compassionate Leadership. . This introduction to mindfulness for children and their parents includes practices that can help us all calm down, focus, fall asleep, alleviate worry, manage anger, and generally become more patient and aware. . Parenting a teenager is a challenge, to be sure, but Eline Snel has some very good news for those facing that challenge: there's a way to stay mindful, present, and, yes, positive throughout it all by developing a base of mindful awareness as your resource. . This practical guide introduces you to the practice of meditation, explains how it is approached in the main schools of Buddhism, and offers advice and inspiration from Buddhism's most renowned teachers, including Pema Chödrön, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama, Sharon Salzberg, Chögyam Trungpa, Shunryu Suzuki, Sylvia Boorstein and many others. . A collection of talks she gave between 1987 and 1994, the book is a treasury of Pema Chödrön's wisdom for going on living when we are overcome by pain and difficulties. . In this book, Thich Nhat Hanh distills the essence of Buddhist thought and practice, emphasizing the power of mindfulness to transform our lives. "Mindfulness is not an evasion or an escape, " he explains. "It means being here, present, and totally alive. It is true freedom-and without this freedom, there is no happiness. " . This user's guide to Buddhist basics takes the most commonly asked questions and provides simple answers in plain English.  Buddhism for Beginners is an ideal first book on the subject for anyone, but it's also a wonderful resource for seasoned students, since the question-and-answer format makes it easy to find just the topic you're looking for. . Best-seller Pema Chödrön draws on the Buddhist concept of shenpa to help us see how certain habits of mind tend to "hook " us and get us stuck in states of anger, blame, self-hatred, and addiction. The good news is that once we start to recognize these patterns, they instantly begin to lose their hold on us and we can begin to change our lives for the better. . An indispensable handbook for cultivating fearlessness and awakening a compassionate heart, Pema Chödrön presents down-to-earth guidance on how we can "start where we are"-embracing rather than denying the painful aspects of our lives through contemplation of the 59 lojong slogans. . With her love of whole food, chef Amy Chaplin has written a book that will inspire you to eat well at every meal, every day, year round. Part One involves stocking your kitchen, planning weekly menus, composting, doing a whole-food cleanse, and much more. Part Two is a collection of recipes, most of which are gluten-free, celebrating vegetarian cuisine in its brightest, whole, sophisticated form. . Eating natural, homemade foods in accordance with personal constitution and changes in environment is often all that we need to find balance in our lives. In The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook, Kate O'Donnell inspires you to get into the kitchen and explore this time-honored system for health and vibrancy. . . The Relaxed Mind  contains instructions for the seven-phase meditation practice Dza Kilung Rinpoche  developed for Westerners, whom he finds have difficulty relaxing due to  the pace of Western life. It's very traditional but adapted to help those of us who live in a culture of distraction. .   When taken on mindfully, vows can be a source of surprising wisdom and powerful energy, enabling you to accomplish things you never dreamed possible.  In this guide to the vow-directed life, Jan Chozen Bays provides a wealth of practical exercises for formulating and implementing vows of your own with honesty and compassion. . We hope  these books provide you much support and enjoyment, and we at Shambhala Publications wish you a very happy new year!

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Sacred Syllables: An Interview with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

QUESTION: Sound is important in the world's spiritual traditions and is central to many Tibetan healing and spiritual practices. It seems that sound affects us on all levels-physical, mental, and spiritual. TENZIN WANGYAL RINPOCHE: Yes, there are different levels of sound practice. Ancient Tibetan yogis who lived in the wilderness far from medical care used sound and other yogic techniques to maintain their health, for example. We know that in acupuncture, when a needle is placed in a part of the body, it sends a vibration or message to another part, bringing balance and healing. In a similar way, the vibration of sound as it reverberates on the lips, in the head, and in the chest can affect the body and organs in a very healing way. As the health is affected, so are the mind and emotions. If you chant the syllable RAM for the fire element, for example, that vibration opens certain channels and chakras, affecting in turn certain organs, and brings a particular experience of higher consciousness. Q: How does one know what sounds to use? TWR: This is a very ancient system and is described in a number of Tibetan texts. I'm teaching primarily from the Bon Mother Tantra (Ma Gyud). The Mother Tantra describes specific sound practices to treat physical ailments such as headaches, chest pain, and other problems. The right sounds create balance between the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space. These elements, present in nature, are also present in each one of us. Our own particular balance of the elements strongly affects our mental and physical states-so maintaining this balance is essential to good health. There are practices of chanting certain sounds, certain syllables, which activate or pacify each of the elements. These have a subtle but potent effect on our organs, and on our mental and spiritual states. Q: Please say more about how we should view sound from the point of view of spiritual practice. TWR: As a practitioner, you can look at sound in three different ways. First, on the ordinary level, one should become aware of one's use of words and how these choices affect oneself and others. Secondly, on an energetic level, one may connect with the sounds themselves. These seed sounds contain elemental qualities that vibrate different parts of the body and different chakras, as I mentioned before. As our chakras are affected in this way, a higher vibration may be activated. Thirdly, and ultimately, the role of sound for the practitioner must be for self-realization. Q: With the first of these, are you talking about "virtuous speech?" TWR: Yes, partly. In the traditional teachings, four of the ten "nonvirtuous actions" are connected with speech: lying, slander, harsh words, and meaningless chatter. But where do these arise? It says in the Dzogchen teachings that when the sound and innate awareness merge, it produces speech-enlightened speech and samsaric speech. If the realization of that union of sound and innate awareness (rigpa) is present, then speech is naturally very pure. Q: Most of us are not at that level of awareness. TWR: When someone is completely awakened, speech comes out spontaneously in response to circumstances, without a plan and without concept. For someone who is very mindful, having conscious awareness but without this complete awakening, speech is still very pure. Every word has meaning and purpose. It is not idle and certainly not hurtful. Then, if we are not able to achieve this level of mindfulness, discipline alone is a help, with rules guiding how we use our speech. The main thing is that when there is a lack of awareness, when our inner space is not clear, wrong speech arises. If we observe ourselves, we see this clearly. When I am upset, it is easy for harsh or foolish words to come out if, at that moment, I also lack awareness. I cannot always change the outer circumstances that are upsetting me. But when I have awareness, I can change my inner space. Q: It sounds like the relationship between sound and mind states goes both ways. Yogis use sound to express certain mind states or experiences. And, as practitioners, we can use these sounds to induce certain physical and mental states. Is this true? TWR: Sound is one manifestation of certain qualities and essence, so there is a direct relationship there. This means that if you work with sound, you can connect with those qualities and essence. Also if you connect with certain enlightened qualities, you can express them through sound. Using sound in spiritual practice is not unlike using your body in spiritual practice. Your body is not you in an ultimate sense, but it is an aspect of you. Through your body you can develop. Through your body you can also be sick. Speech is also like this. Physical sound originates directly in the physical body. The quality, energy, and vibration of sound relate to the pranic level. The essence of sound is the nature of mind, one's very being. But does working with one level work with all? That has to do with your level of awakening. You might be aware of the gross sound, but the nature of the sound, the deep quality of the sound can be obscured. When you say the sacred syllable A, it is easy for the ear to hear the gross sound, but to recognize the deeper energetic vibration, you need greater sensitivity. Q: Mantras, strings of sacred syllables, are very important in the spiritual practices of Tibet, India, and other parts of Asia. Can you say anything about the origins of mantras? TWR: Historically, there were enlightened individuals who themselves awakened in those sounds, who realized the power of those mantras, and saw how they could benefit sentient beings. They then developed whole cycles of teachings and practices related to those mantras. In essence, though, it is much deeper. Energetically, each individual sound is produced by its own root, which is beyond time and space. Q: Rinpoche, in the generation stage of classic tantric sadhanas, sounds, in this case seed syllables, are used in a very specific way. There is space. Then the seed syllable arises, and from that the deity. Can you say more about this very special use of sacred sound? TWR: One can look at this in different ways. In the Bon Mother Tantra there is a beautiful commentary called "The Birthless Sphere of Light." It says, "From the body of the unborn essence arises the sphere of light, and from that sphere of light arises wisdom. From the wisdom arises the seed syllable and from the seed syllable arises the complete mandala, the deity and the retinue." Another way of looking at it is like this. Radios and televisions work by picking up a certain frequency, right? There is space and in that space there is a frequency. In order to perceive that frequency you need a good receiver and a good color screen. In terms of the classic tantric sadhanas, it is not as if one letter just pops up in space. It is not like that. Sound and space are infinite. This subtle vibration that we humans, accustomed to sounds and images, perceive as the sacred seed syllable or as the deity exists in that space and appears in compassionate response to a need. Q: My own experience with these practices is that, at first, I work hard to visualize something, to create a picture in my mind. But as my practice develops over time, I have a sense of connecting with something much greater than my mind could create. Is this what you are saying? TWR: Yes. Basically one is tuning into something that already exists rather than making something up. We are trying to be in the right frequency ourselves so we can connect with what's there. Sometimes we are able to connect; sometimes we are not able to connect. Through practice, through cultivating certain qualities, certain kinds of stability, the ability to connect increases. It depends on the level of the practitioner. The beginner may be more like an old, blurry black and white TV while the advanced yogi perceives the high quality digital image. The frequency they perceive is the same-spontaneously existing in space and arising with wisdom and compassion. It is not necessary to see this only in esoteric terms. We use this same process in generating any quality. For example, a person is sad and needs to develop joy. Joy may be present and perfect in its essence but is hidden in experience. How do we bring it into expression? First we try to connect with the seed of joy, like a small flame inside. Once that seed is discovered, we cultivate and develop it. Gradually, then, we act it out. Then it becomes complete, at least for human beings like us who have body, speech and mind. Samantabhadra probably doesn't need to express it in order to feel complete, but we humans do! The "Practice of the Five Warrior Syllables" is helpful for developing such positive qualities. In this modern time, with the many stresses we face, we need to develop ways to balance and harmonize our energy. This is important of course for health. But, most important, it can support our spiritual growth. This interview with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche was conducted and edited by Helen Gatling-Austin. Books by Tenzin Wangyal

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Normalcy at Its Best: An Interview with David Chadwick, Biographer of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Shambhala: Your teacher Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has now been in print for more than forty years, and is still often recommended as the best first book to read about Zen practice. Why do you think its popularity has endured throughout the explosion of Buddhist publishing the last few years? David Chadwick: Hard to say. It's just got a unique chemistry that has worked in many ways for many people. ZMBM can be a warm, inviting introduction to practice or a timeless reference for an old hand. It wasn't written for a general audience though it's worked that way. It was spoken to a small group of housewives and students who returned Thursdays to sit with and listen to Suzuki's brief lecture before drinking tea and laughing together. That intimacy and friendliness is communicated in those pages. Suzuki's teachings connect with a light poetic touch. S: You began studying with Suzuki Roshi in the 1960s. Do you have a memory of your first impression of him? DC: He didn't put on any airs, didn't put himself above others, but right away I got a sense of his spiritual authority. He conveyed that I could know what he knew. His posture and presence were evidence that he had cultivated himself in a way that took great perseverance and patience. Nothing to get excited about, nothing special, just normalcy at its best. S: You became your teacher's biographer (Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki), traveling to Japan to research his life before his move to America. Were there any surprises?   "He had no formula. He said ‘be yourself' but what made it work was that he was himself." DC: Sure. I came to realize how much he'd suffered, got closer to his shadow and demons, his extreme absentmindedness, the resentment and sadness of his children for what a distant father he had been, yet their pride at what he'd made of himself, of what he'd done. Then others who'd been with him before, during, and after the war spoke with admiration and gratitude for the sanity and light he had subtly shined in his corner of the world. My eyes were further opened upon learning more of the murder of his wife, the suicide of his younger daughter, and discovering an early marriage tragically annulled due to illness. I realized how unfulfilled he felt there and unsatisfied also with himself. He indeed was reborn when he landed in America. S: How did Suzuki Roshi teach? DC: He taught by example of course. He followed the schedule like an eager student. He taught with words by giving lectures and speaking with people, but he preferred to teach by sitting and working with others in silence. He taught through making people feel accepted and understood but when he could see they were on the path, he'd start rejecting-knocking away their assumptions, attachments. He had no formula. He said "be yourself" but what made it work was that he was himself. S: In what ways do you see his teaching "trickling down" into our own day? DC: Suzuki made a great effort minute after minute and that's what I see in countless people who pass through his zendos and read some of what he said. We're encouraged to keep making an effort to wake up. We believe it's possible. Each has their own way. Each is also encouraging others. And in the middle of this effort is his playful spirit saying "don't be too serious."

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Sitting Still...Like a Kid: An Interview with Eline Snel

Shambhala: How did you first become interested in teaching mindfulness to kids? Eline Snel: I led a training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for a group of twelve principals at my local school board. They asked me to develop a training method for children. So I did, after several tryouts in different schools and age groups. S: How do you explain to a child what mindfulness is? ES: I use the metaphor of a frog to help children become familiar with mindfulness as a daily attitude or lifestyle. A frog can sit very still, but can also jump very far-just like our minds do. You can see the breathing in the frog's belly. Awareness of your own breathing helps you to concentrate and focus. And notice when the concentration is gone. Frogs are also aware of their surroundings, without constantly reacting. S: How early in their childhood can a parent start introducing mindfulness practices to his or her child? ES: Children can practice mindfulness from the age of 4. S: Do children do the same sort of meditation practice we think of adults as doing? I mean, sitting silently for extended periods of time? ES: We use the practices from the curriculum of the eight-week MBSR training-but just in shorter (4-10 minutes) and more playful versions adapted to their age. S: What's an example of one of the mindfulness practices you teach children? ES: One exercise is "the weather forecast," in which the children learn to give words to their inner "weather." They learn that they don't have to change the inner weather. Like the weather outside, the inner weather changes on its own. By being aware of this they learn more about acceptance of feelings. S: What are some of the specific benefits children can get from mindfulness practices? ES: They learn how to concentrate and how to calm down their minds. How to be in contact with their bodies instead of living in their heads. To deal with unpleasant feelings. That they have thoughts, and that they don't have to listen to them. And they learn about (self) compassion and the secret of happiness. Learn more about Eline's new book, Sitting Still Like a Frog, here.

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Rodney Smith on What it Means to Awaken

An Interview with Rodney Smith, author of Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the Heart Shambhala: In your new book you take on the possibly daunting task of describing what enlightenment is and how it happens. To what extent can it even be described? Rodney Smith: I think the words used to describe awakening can intimate something that we all feel is true though we may not have had the actual experience. When this book speaks of the paradigm shift toward nonseparation, many of us feel that possibility deeply within our hearts. We may even have had glimpses of that very perception, but few of us live continually within that reality, and that is where the real journey begins. In some ways the spiritual journey directs us toward a deeping faith. In the beginning we apply ourselves based on an indescribable yearning without any assurance what the ultimate message of the heart is or where it is taking us. In the end, the final crossing into the new paradigm occurs from faith-not faith in something, but the total release offered only through faith that allows us to surrender our entire life to something that is completely unknown. This faith capacity is in each of us but becomes obstructed by issues of doubt and confusion that keep us fixed within the consensus perspective. Though the journey is unique to each one of us, there are markers along the way that are common to us all. Knowing those markers can also help focus our intenion and bolster the conviction that the journey is possible. S: You've practiced in the Buddhist tradition for many years, of course, and use some Buddhist language in talking about this. How "Buddhist" is awakening? Do you take the Buddhist teachings to be a more effective way toward waking up than those of other spiritual traditions? RS: The Buddha provided a beautiful blueprint for awakening, but it is not the only map. I have practiced in several traditions and find that each has a value and a limitation when fully embraced. I think one of the limitations of staying to tighly bound to the Buddha's words is that many of us have become overly dependent upon those words for detailing our particular journey. His words were often directed to a specific person during a unique time in that person's spiritual quest and are not meant to be referenced by each of us regardless of our maturity or understanding. An example of this is his emphasis on jhana practice (absorption states), which makes sense when we realize that many of the people around the Buddha started as an ascetic practitioners, and the Buddha, I believe, was trying to build upon his students' previous efforts to realign their intention. Many of us hear these passages as directives for us to practice the jhanas, but I think the Buddha was just being a skillful teacher by taking these practitioners exactly where they were and then inviting them forward into a new perception of life. I believe we make the Buddha so superhuman, even though we call him human, that many of us think it is almost heretical to question his advice. J. Krishnamurti called this path "a pathless path," and I believe that unless we question everything that comes to us, including everyone's directives, we obscure the wonder that is the journey into a predictable and guaranteed path. The journey directs us into our hearts where every step draws us into an unknowable mystery. One of the chants we repeated during my monk years used the Pali word ehipassiko, which means "come and see for yourself." I think we need to take that phrase completely to heart. S: How does one know when the paradigm shift has taken place? Is it possible to be mistaken about having had the experience of awakening? RS: Awakening is a tear in the fabric of our consensus paradigm that can be dramatic and disorienting, but there are also students who over time slowly melt into the new paradigm without any drama or confusion whatsoever. If it is jarring and upsetting, it can be helpful to meet with a teacher who knows the landscape. A skillful teacher might inquire about the nature of the awakening moment itself and ask the student to describe what occurred. The teacher may then ask how this awakening has changed the person's understanding of both herself and life. There are certain signs and language that a truly awakened student has, one of which is her self-referencing. How does she understand herself in relation to the unconditioned? What is her understanding of self-will and effort? What is left to do on her spiritual journey, and how will she accomplish that? Is she stuck anywhere in the breathtaking wonder that she has realized? All of these questions can be helpful in knowing the extent and authenticity of the awakening, but equally important is a sensing of something more in her than there was before, some dimension of herself that has been released. These sudden eruptions into wakefulness are often time-limited and usually close back down into conventional reality, but they do offer a knowledge and a certainty of the spiritual landscape that is indisputable. These openings can hone our intention, but the real point is to fully and continually embody this awakening, and that is a forever journey into the heart. S: Is meditation the path to awakening? RS: That depends upon what is meant by meditation. A meditation technique that establishes mental harmony and then uses a steady attention to look and see what is occurring internally can be very helpful. It depersonalizes our mental world and exposes us to to the inherent emptiness of all phenomena. But meditation is rarely a complete path in itself. Perhaps most important is the intention behind the meditation: What is it that the student really wants? Because that is where his energy will go, whether he is aware of it or not. Is there a deep yearning to know what is true, or are other motivations driving the student's intention? At another point in our spiritual understanding we will realize that no method or technique can move us forward, but that understanding usually comes after a lot of meditation. What is essential on the spiritual journey is the discovery of our intrinsic stillness, and that usually occurs when we have repeatedly exposed ourselves to quietude. The journey really begins with that discovery. Proper meditation can move us in that direction, but meditation can also become an end in itself that adds a level of ego involvement and noise. Again, it is the intention and sincerity of the student that will determine the direction of the meditation. S: How can we access the discernment necessary to tell the difference between practices that lead to awakening and those that lead another direction? RS: This is the main theme of my book. The Buddha stated that he taught "only one thing: suffering and its cessation." It is interesting to ponder why he said this, because it seems like he taught many things, including Dependent Origination, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Three Characteristics, the Five Spiritual Faculties, and on and on. But why when asked did he frame his teaching so explicitly, narrowing it to this single phrase? One possible explanation is that everything else he taught were side issues that fed into his central teaching of suffering and its cessation. Perhaps all his other teachings are either different ways of describing the end point or skillful ways to guide us gently back to this main theme. But I believe there is another overarching reason that he pared his teaching down to a single phrase. This simple one-sentence explanation eliminates confusion by providing total clarity of view, intent, direction and purpose for the entire journey. The direction of suffering and its end, channels our energy, clarifies our intent, monitors our progress, guides our techniques, and aligns us with our sincerity. When we question what we are doing and why, we have to concede the point of our true motivation: "Does this method I am employing, this effort I am exerting, this goal I am setting add to or alleviate suffering? Does denial of this fact, avoidance of this difficulty, or procrastination of my responsibility create or lessen struggle for others and myself?" All authentic spiritual paths must have a relative starting point and an absolute ending point, or the new paradigm will be missed. The end of suffering is not a pleasant day without our normal bodily aches and pains, it is the complete uprooting of the sense-of-self any residue of which creates a subtle tension called suffering. But the continuum of suffering to its end is not the only continuum that works. The Christian continuum from earth to heaven also works, if earth is understood as our conventional individuate self-centered life and heaven as the unconditional extinguishment of all forms of polarities, including the polarity of self and God. In the end we will receive what we are after, and the path we choose is often an indication of the goal we have in mind. Mistakes are not wrong directions as much as they are opportunities to see the limitations of what we thought we wanted, and they thereby clarify our path. What do we truly want? is the question on which our spiritual path will unfold, and the more sincere we are the more direct the discovery. S: What do you see as the main pitfalls for those who seek enlightenment, and, conversely, what activities and life choices are the most conducive to it? RS: The main problem with many forms of spiritual growth is that we keep using the very perceptions that foster our delusion as the means to awaken, thereby tightening the grip of the conventional paradigm, even as we attempt to transcend it. We take the conventional paradigm of separation as a fact and apply its rules as the strategy for our release. An example of this is the way many of us percieve the spiritual problem as a personal deficiency. We then go out and gather the missing pieces of minfulness, calm, equinimity, samadhi, etc., to complete ourselves for transcendence. What transcendence means is that we "transcend" that perception and way of thinking. It is the "us" that is to be questioned, not what we believe is missing, but we are so used to thinking of ourselves in insufficient terms, we fold this perception into our spiritual quest. Other asumptions that we base our journey upon and are at the root of the problem are the nature of the self that is seeking, time, distance to be covered, and even a problem to be resolved. All this reminds me of the Chinese Finger Trap. The only strategy we have learned in such a predicament is to pull our fingers apart, but that unfortunately tightens the grip the trap has on us. As the path unfolds we usually become more simple and easy, and complexity naturally pares away. Sometimes our lifestyle will organically change as a result, sometimes not, but almost always we will seek more alone or quiet time, and stillness becomes our refuge. We develop a natural relationship with inward quiet and find it abundantly available as our thoughts become less believable. We begin to base our life on questioning everything, even the most fundamental assumptions. "Is this true? What is this?" becomes the standard way we live. S: One hears of spiritual teachers who are enlightened, but who then go on to create a lot of suffering around themselves. How does awakening relate to morality? RS: We awaken out of ourselves and our self-centered position, but awakening is often incomplete. The awakened state offers such power of position and mind that if it is incomplete any residual ego will be forced to the surface. Then, all hell may break loose. If the ego refuses to acknowledge the tension that remains, it can rationalize everything it does as "crazy wisdom," a very dangerous term. If, however, ethical behavior has been a central theme throughout our spiritual journey, we will continue to reference our conduct during the uprooting of the sense-of-self. The egoic state is a conditioned state, which means it draws from its storehouse of responses. When not harming ourselves and others becomes the conditioned way we live, then this theme will also be played out as our conditioning is being surmounted. As our conditioning decreases and wakefulness increases our innate response not to harm begins to take over. When our spiritual journey is tied tightly to nonharm, we are less likely to harm in the beginning, middle, and the end. Another component of this is the understanding that awakening is the journey to complete sanity. We know sanity when we see it, and we should encourage that intuitive response forward rather than succumbing to the power and influence of any teacher. If it feels off, it probably is. We are such a doubting culture that we think. "Who am I to doubt someone as wise as my teacher." Dropping the doubt, who are we not to? It should be noted that awakening does not carry the skill of personal interactions along with it. Just the contrary, if we were untrained in personal relationships in the beginning we will be untrained when we awaken. We ascribe so much to awakening that we believe everything that is uttered, every interaction undertaken, all arise from some pristine state of being, when it is more likely occurring because we have not learned the competencies of how to live. S: What is the starting point on the path to awakening? RS: The starting point on the path is asking ourselves what we really want out of life, and then, whatever that response is, doing it full-heartedly. Even if our answer is a worldly pursuit, full-heartedness will show us its value and limitation. After repeatedly seeing the limitation of our wanting, our energy begins to consolidate around a deeper objective and yearning. Once that deeper objective is set in motion, the next question that arises is: "What is going on in me right now?" From that question, everything unfolds. S: What are the consequences of awakening? RS: What life has always wanted from us is our unique unconditioned presentation within form. Outside of that, there are no consequences to awakening, and it has no purpose or intent. From a conventional perspective it is a meaningless life, and that is what scares us away. We are used to being responsible and purposeful. All our states of mind arise from conditioning and that substantiates our reason for being. What would our lives look like if we were no longer conditioned to any state of mind? What would move or motivate us? Isn't the definition of spontaneity "life erupting forth free from any conditioned influence"? Maybe then, an awakened heart would look spontaneous. Books by Rodney Smith

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Heidi Koppl on the Importance of Rongzom Mahapandita

We interviewed Heidi Koppl, author and translator of Establishing Appearances as Divine, about the importance of the great Nyingma scholar Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo's writings and the inspiration behind her work. Shambhala Publications: What inspired you to take on this text? Heidi Koppl: While I was living at my teacher Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche's monastery in the Kathmandu Valley in the early 1990s, Khenpo Chöga Rinpoche was teaching there, and I had the opportunity to attend some of his wonderful classes. This was the first time that I heard about Rongzom and his teachings on the unique Vajrayana view. As I began to study the works of Ju Mipham Rinpoche, I then noticed how he at crucial stages often refers precisely to Rongzom. So I quite quickly developed the wish to study Rongzom's writings myself. Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche always stresses the importance of pure perception, explaining that all progress on the path of secret mantra depends on our ability to discover and maintain pure perception. During my graduate studies at the University of Copenhagen I therefore decided to concentrate on Rongzoms' works, and especially on this one short text that intrigued me tremendously. In Establishing Appearances as Divine Rongzom sets out to prove, through reasoning, the Vajrayana thesis that all appearances are pure and perfect. Was it really possible to do such a thing? Is it possible to establish a logical foundation for this all-important issue? I really wanted to find out. Rongzom explains that when we are less disturbed by negative mental factors what appears to us is actually more true than otherwise. We then begin to get the sense that purity and divinity are something to be discovered rather than conjured, and with that can come a great deal of confidence and perspective in one's Vajrayana practice. SP: How has it helped you in your practice? How is a text like this supposed to influence the mind of a practitioner? HK: Merely studying and researching the topic of pure perception has helped me to understand just how deep this issue goes. Approaching an understanding of experience as intrinsically pure-in fact, divine-is not a process of cultivating a naïve perspective, and we are not trying to trick ourselves into believing something that actually isn't true. Experiencing the Vajrayana perspective has more to do with understanding the fundamental nature of things and appreciating the fact that everybody's basic nature is pure and perfect. In spite of our fleeting, cloud-like obscurations we can begin to understand this by just paying attention to the way the contents of our experience actually change depending on how we look at things. It's not just that our frame of mind influences the phenomena that appear to us so that, for example, things look better when we are not feeling very nervous or angry. Rongzom explains that when we are less disturbed by negative mental factors what appears to us is actually more true than otherwise. We then begin to get the sense that purity and divinity are something to be discovered rather than conjured, and with that can come a great deal of confidence and perspective in one's Vajrayana practice. The sun always shines, so to speak, even when we cannot see its light coming through the clouds. Merely understanding this can have a profound transformative effect on the way we look at, basically, everything. Both Mipham and Rongzom stress that purity and divinity have always been the case. It is not that we have to make things pure. Perfection is just the way things really are. Gaining certainty in this with the help of the logical arguments set forth by Rongzom can surely take your spiritual practice to another level. SP: Rongzompa, as he is popularly called, is considered one of the most important figures in the systematization of Nyingma philosophy and practice.   How is he discussed and studied today, both in traditional lay and monastic contexts, in Asia and in academia in the West? HK: Although Rongzom's works are extremely relevant to the study of Varjayana in general, he is mostly referred to in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. And among Nyingma scholars Rongzom is often seen and discussed through a Mipham-lens. This is also something I discuss in the book. Sometimes what happens is that we just take a look at what Mipham has to say about Rongzom and then classifiy him accordingly. For instance, though he was of the Prasangika Madhyamaka school, when we look at his own extant works, we notice that Rongzom never refers to Candrakirti or his Madhyamaka. Though he is tremendously venerated, it seems that Rongzom is not very widely studied in modern Nyingma colleges. In academia, Orna Almogi has produced a large survey on Rongzom, but in general very few studies have emerged around him. SP: What was his influence on later Nyingma writers, like Longchenpa and Mipham Rinpoche? HK: Mipham Rinpoche himself mentions Rongzom as a central source of inspiration. And, for example, his development of pure vision as a cognitive tool, or as a pramāṇa, is clearly influenced by Rongzom.  To what degree Longchenpa was influenced by Rongzom is still a very open issue. SP: There is so little of Rongzompa's work in English, yet almost every Nyingma lama has his collected works on their shelves.   Do you have plans to translate any more of his work into English? HK: Yes, if my work schedule permits, I would very much like to continue translating Rongzom. I am intrigued by Rongzom's unconventional style of explaining important Vajrayana themes through reasoning. His fearless approach of taking up difficult topics that seem inaccessible to our logical intellect is for me a hallmark of his powerful scholarship. It would be a shame if his writings were not translated into English for a modern audience. It seems these days more important than ever to be able to also understand logically the depth and the subtle workings of the Vajrayana practices that we train in on a daily basis.

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Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo's Pilgrimage to China

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, author of Into the Heart of Life , Reflections of a Mountain Lake, and Cave in the Snow, and who is profiled in the recently released Dakini Power, just returned from a pilgrimage in China, following the footsteps of Xuanzang and visiting the Four Sacred Mountains and four Buddhist rock grottoes.   Here she shares some of her experiences of the pilgrimage and observations about Buddhism in China and of nuns in particular. Jetsunma and Xuanzang Shambhala Publications: What made you decide to go to China on this pilgrimage? Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo: My seventieth birthday was in June this year, so my friend May Ling from Singapore suggested we could celebrate by undertaking a pilgrimage in China to the Four Sacred Mountains. She knew I had wanted to visit Wu Tai Shan, the mountain dedicated to Mañjushri, since reading many years ago John Blofeld's moving account of his stay there during the 1940s in his autobiography The Wheel of Life. SP: Can you say a few things about Xuanzang for our readers who may not be so familiar with him and tell  a little about how Xuanzang inspired you? JTP: Long ago I had read Xuanzang's meticulous account of his travels to India, and I also read the novel Monkey, which is a famous Chinese fantasy based on his life.   Xuanzang [Hsuan Tsang] was born in 600 CE and became a monk at the age of thirteen following the death of his parents.   He was obviously dedicated and highly intelligent, so he studied under many masters. However he felt that the sutra translations of his time were somewhat inaccurate, and he knew that there were many more sutras still to be found in India. Despite the emperor's prohibition, Xuanzang escaped from China, following the Silk Road, and traveled across the Gobi Desert coming finally to Afghanistan and into India. The journey took several years with many adventures along the way.   In India he at last found his master in the monk scholar Silabhadra at the Nalanda Monastic University where Xuanzang then studied for five years.   He later traveled around India making accurate and precise calculations, and he left descriptions of the Buddhist sites that he found, which were mostly in decline, even during his time. After fourteen years away, Xuanzang finally returned to China laden with many sutras and relics.   He spent the rest of his life organizing a translation school and teaching the Dharma while trying to distance himself from court politics.   Buddhism in China was greatly influenced and enhanced by his translations, especially those of important sutras in the Chittamatra (or Yogachara) tradition. In the nineteenth century, the great archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham used the travel chronicles of Xuanzang to rediscover the sacred sites of Buddhism in India such as the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and Sanchi, which had been forgotten and neglected for almost a thousand years. Anyway, we started at Xuanzang's birthplace near Xian and tracked his progress along the Silk Road to Dunhuang and then to Chengdu, where he received his bhikshu ordination. All along the way we found pagodas and monasteries dedicated to his memory. In the evenings, we also watched a long Chinese documentary on his life, which was fascinating as it mentioned many of the places we had just visited. SP: Which mountains did you go to? JTP: We started with Wu Tai Shan, which is sacred to Manjushri and traditionally has a strong Mongolian and Tibetan influence.   Then we visited Emei Shan, which is dedicated to the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, Jiu Hua Shan dedicated to Ksitigarbha, and Putuo Shan near Shanghai, which is sacred to Avalokiteshvara or Guan Yin. All these mountains are carefully maintained with spectacular landscapes and very few buildings apart from temples and small shops selling Buddhist artifacts.   The scenery was far more beautiful, vast, and spacious than we could have imagined, and very inspiring. Of course almost all the original temples had been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, but now they have been rebuilt in the traditional manner with great aesthetic sensibility. Often it was hard to believe that these temples were only restored recently.   The monks and nuns we met along the way were usually very friendly and welcoming. SP: Which cave sites did you visit? JTP: The first were the Yungong Grottoes not far from Datong which date back to the fifth century.   They have spectacular Buddhist statues and murals. Some years ago the caves were black with the dust from nearby coal mines but now everything has been cleaned and skilfully renovated with long approach avenues of trees and bushes. Throughout the centuries the fortunes of Buddhism in China have waxed and waned-one dynasty being the patrons of the Dharma and the next dynasty becoming the persecutors-so it is amazing how much Buddhist art still remains untouched and whole. Near Luoyang we visited the Longmen Caves, which again date from the Han dynasty when the capital was moved from Datong to Luoyang. There were some lovely rock carvings, although many have been defaced or beheaded through the centuries due to purges, eager collectors, and the Cultural Revolution.   The centerpiece is a large Buddha statue (Vairochana?) flanked by bodhisattvas and protectors.   At night this central tableau has special lighting effects so that the stone figures become colored and the broken parts such as hands are magically restored! At Longmen caves with May Ling We were to visit the Maiji Grottoes but a sudden rainstorm caused huge landslides and the approach was cut off. The Yulin Caves are near Dunhuang and date from the Tang and Song up to the Qing dynasties.   They are similar to the more famous Mogao Caves but the style is even more refined and the color pigments better preserved.   One cave had a mural of Green Tara. The Mogao Caves at Dunhuang are of course world renowned, especially as a hidden room full of ancient and rare Buddhist texts and scrolls had been discovered and cartloads of manuscripts were sent to the British Museum by Sir Aurel Stein in 1900.   The statues and murals dating from the Tang dynasty onward are of course exquisite, and we were fortunate to have the English-speaking guide to ourselves and so could spend several hours wandering through the various caves. On the way to Chongqing we also visited the carved rock caves of Baoting and Beishan, the former especially impressive with beautiful and well-preserved statues from the Tang dynasty. We especially appreciated the realistic depictions of the hell realms! SP: What were your impressions about the state of Buddhism in China? JTP: Judging by the numbers of pilgrim groups in all these sacred sites, it would seem that Buddhism is becoming very popular.   The temples were filled with people bowing, offering incense, and praying (we were often the only ones taking photos like proper tourists!) and we saw rituals in progress with many lay people participating alongside the monks.   Some temples also organize weekly or monthly Dharma talks and meditation courses for the laity. At each monastery we asked how many monks or nuns were staying there, and often we were told there were sixty or 100 monastics.   In Wu Tai Shan we visited a nunnery with eight hundred nuns studying Vinaya and the sutras.   In Jiu Hua Shan we were told that there are still many hermits in the hills who never come down and have been practicing there for many years. Several abbots informed us that nowadays the government is kindly disposed toward the Dharma and very helpful in renovating the Buddhist sites. In addition nowadays many people from Mainland China are visiting India on pilgrimage and to receive teachings from various Lamas. SP: How did people react to you, a Western nun? JTP: We noticed that in all these sacred mountains we never saw another Westerner, and so people were very surprized-but delighted-to see a Western nun.   In fact they sometimes thought I must be some strange sort of Chinese since Westerners would never be Buddhist!   All along our route we met with amazing generosity and kindness from complete strangers who were so happy to see a foreign nun. Of course sometimes we met people who had read The Cave in the Snow in Chinese translation so they were even more overjoyed to see us. SP: What were your observations about the state of Buddhist women in the parts of China you visited, both laywomen and nuns? JTP: We were able to visit several nunneries, and they seemed to be flourishing with many dedicated young and older nuns.   Some of the older nuns we met had survived through the difficult years by growing their hair and outwardly reentering society while secretly maintaining as much of their Dharma practice as they could.   When the political situation opened up again they simply shaved their heads, put on their robes, and slowly began to gather students and funding to rebuild their nunneries.   One abbess with eight hundred nuns and a large magnificent nunnery said that she started out with blazing aspirations and $36! The laywomen we met seemed very devout and most generous (an Asian characteristic).   They were cheerful and friendly while sometimes serving in the temples as caretakers or cooks. The more educated middle-class followers often had master's degrees, including some Tibetan lamas who visit China.   In fact several nunneries said that they followed the Mahayana system and also practiced Vajrayana. SP: Any other experiences from the trip you can share? JTP: All along we were impressed by the genuinely holy ambiance of these mountain temples despite the commercial aspect. It reminded me of Assisi, Italy, which still has an indefinable atmosphere amidst all the shops and tourist junk. A vignette that stands out in my mind is that of a mountain nunnery that we visited where the rotund abbess is also a Vice President of the Chinese Buddhist Association. She was sitting in the front entrance of their magnificent shrine room chopping cabbage for pickles which she gave us for our journey. Meanwhile in the background the nuns were reciting texts while their abbess chopped and chanted along with them. We visited the site where Sakya Pandita died in 1251.   There is a large white pagoda and 108 stupas, which are all modern. But behind is the original large brick stupa, in disrepair, where Sakya Pandita's relics still remain.   The caretaker staff said that in ten years they had never had a Westerner visit there-what to say a nun! They were so impressed that they escorted us back into the town of Wuwei to a very nice hotel where they booked us a suite and insisted on paying for it.   The kindness of strangers was amazing! Since Buddhism does seem to be on the rise again in China and there are so many inspiring sacred places to be visited there, more Western Buddhists could also think of making pilgrimages to these sites.   Perhaps group tours could be arranged, since a Chinese-speaking guide is important (almost nobody speaks English). It would be an unforgettable experience. For the Chinese Buddhists likewise it would be a great joy for them to see Westerners who are also devoted to the Dharma.   Perhaps it is time that mainland China joined the international Buddhist network, and this could be facilitated by an interest in that country from the side of Western Buddhists.  You can read further details of Jetsunma's travels on her Facebook page.

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