The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying Intro Post

The Tibetan Book of the Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche could be described as a western version of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Sogyal Rinpoche is a buddhist who grew up in the mountains of Tibet in a monastery who then travelled to the western world and has used his unique exposure to both cultures to create a truly amazing piece of literature. There are chapters that throughly develop the experiences from each world, the monastery life and life in the western world. Both are contrasted and compared in order to support the claims he makes of the journey of life itself. While the two are sometimes vastly different rather than showing one as the 'right' or 'wrong' way to live, he simply uses the contrast to show the various aspects of life and our environment and culture's effects. This allows for a deeper understanding not only of the world we live in, the western world, but a world which is a fascination itself, the world of the Buddhist monk. The book begins with a foreword from His Holiness himself the Dalai Lama expressing the rarity of Rinpoche's true and beautiful description of his experiences of the western and eastern philosophies. This is followed with a preface explaining the Tibetan Book of the Dead and how this pertains to it in likeness. However this book includes the aspects of living to the fullest in terms of self fulfillment and contentment. With a message so powerful one cannot help but step back and reflect on their own way of life and philosophies it is a deeply profound piece of literature. As someone developing my own path in life I find this book incredibly meaningful and helpful. I look forward to furthering the book and developing more insight into the world. This book so far has already inspired me further into pursuing a life path surrounding Buddhism and the way of the Tibetan Buddhists and I feel, greatly expanded my knowledge of the world.