The Spirit of Buddhism The Fut

Few could be better placed to comment on Buddhism and its future than Sogyal Rinpoche, one of today's most well-known meditation masters and author of the groundbreaking book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.

In The Spirit of Buddhism Sogyal Rinpoche draws on his twenty-five years of experience teaching in the modern world to reflect on some of the major issues surrounding the coming of Buddhism to the West. How will Buddhism adapt and find a place in Western society? How can the full power and benefit of these ancient teachings be accessed today? And how can practitioners be trained and supported? Sogyal Rinpoche discusses the vital role of the mind in health, the effects of training the mind in meditation, and the ultimate healing wrought through a personal experience of the mind's very nature. He also gives priceless advice on how to survive on the spiritual path, where, perhaps more than anywhere else, it is crucial to unmask the everyday delusions and misunderstandings that can otherwise dominate our whole lives.

Sogyal Rinpoche was born in Tibet and raised by one of the most revered spiritual masters of this century, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. With the Chinese occu-pation of Tibet, he went into exile with his master, who died in 1959 in Sikkim in the Himalayas. After university studies in Delhi and Cambridge, England, he acted as translator and aide to several leading Tibetan masters, and began teaching in the West in 1974. Rinpoche sees his life's task as transplanting the wisdom of the Buddha to the West by offering training in the vision set out in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. This training can enable those who follow it to understand, embody, and integrate Buddhist teachings into their everyday lives.

Rinpoche's reputation as an authority on the teachings associated with The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and his dialogue with leading figures in the fields of psychology, science, and healing make him a sought-after speaker at international conferences and lectures. He travels extensively, teaching in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, and is the founder and spiritual director of Rigpa, a network of Buddhist centers and groups around the world.