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annmarieodonnell's review against another edition
5.0
This book took me some time to get through. Leaving it to read others, and returning was a must. I don't know if I would read this book from cover to cover again, but certainly, will be keeping it close to check in from time to time.
leeahsmestad's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
This took me a casual 6 months to get through, but there was so much good stuff. Not just a manual of how to live my life but how to die and how to support others in grief or death. This’ll be a book I keep with me always.
Also special because I bought it on my first ever international trip and found the receipt from 2011 tucked away inside 🥰
Also special because I bought it on my first ever international trip and found the receipt from 2011 tucked away inside 🥰
lillyminasyan's review
4.0
“We are fragmented into so many different aspects. We don´t know who we really are, or what aspects of ourselves we should identify with or believe in. So many contradictory voices, dictates, and feelings fight for control over our inner lives that we find ourselves scattered everywhere, in all directions, leaving nobody at home."
The book deals with how to accept death and how most people are scared of it, while it is inevitable. I really liked the first part of the book, but then it became a bit repetitive. Dying is normal, but we all fear it, but once we embrace the idea of dying, we can live peacefully with the thought that one day our loved ones will go and so we will and just every living thing on this planet.
if you have dealt with loss, you understand that it gets easier to live with it, you accept the reality. “Don’t worry about anything. Even if you find your attention wandering, there is no particular ‘thing’ you have to hold onto. Just let go, and drift in the awareness of the blessing. Don’t let small, niggling questions distract”
There were lots of parts in the book that I really liked. It is definitely a worthy book to read.
The book deals with how to accept death and how most people are scared of it, while it is inevitable. I really liked the first part of the book, but then it became a bit repetitive. Dying is normal, but we all fear it, but once we embrace the idea of dying, we can live peacefully with the thought that one day our loved ones will go and so we will and just every living thing on this planet.
if you have dealt with loss, you understand that it gets easier to live with it, you accept the reality. “Don’t worry about anything. Even if you find your attention wandering, there is no particular ‘thing’ you have to hold onto. Just let go, and drift in the awareness of the blessing. Don’t let small, niggling questions distract”
There were lots of parts in the book that I really liked. It is definitely a worthy book to read.
sksingh's review against another edition
5.0
Very few books have potential to change one's life. This is one of them.
prufrock's review
I had been really enjoying this book until out of curiosity I decided to search Sogyal Rinpoche and learned about his alleged physical and sexual abuse of his followers. I finished about 75% of it. This book does contain wisdom - wisdom its own author, it seems, utterly failed to take to heart and totally betrayed in his actions.
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
2.0
The author gives a presentation on Tibetan Buddhist teachings on living, dying and death; the transitional phases of life; reincarnation; and the benefits of meditation. I confess I found some of the writing a bit turgid and somnolence-inducing and for much of the last half of the book, I simply scanned it.
Sogyal Rinpoche is obviously a very sincere proponent of the philosophy he espouses and through telling anecdotes and relating experiences of himself and his teachers, he seeks to bring that philosophy to the Western reader. It is a topic that does interest me, and yet, as I indicated, I found it hard to stay with it. My mind kept wandering. Obviously, I need much more practice in the art of meditation and focusing the mind in order to truly appreciate his message.
Sogyal Rinpoche is obviously a very sincere proponent of the philosophy he espouses and through telling anecdotes and relating experiences of himself and his teachers, he seeks to bring that philosophy to the Western reader. It is a topic that does interest me, and yet, as I indicated, I found it hard to stay with it. My mind kept wandering. Obviously, I need much more practice in the art of meditation and focusing the mind in order to truly appreciate his message.
p9ng's review
5.0
It's a wonderfully written book covering traditional Tibetan teachings in a more modern, accessible format. Sogyal Rinpoche was charismatic, eloquent, learned without being academic, and very funny. He stepped down from the organization he founded, Rigpa, in 2017 after complaints were published against him by some of his students. Sogyal Rinpoche passed away in 2019. The book is his legacy. In addition to Sogyal Rinpoche, the book was edited by Patrick Gaffney and additional writing was done by Andrew Harvey.