Autumn in New England and Sogyal Rinpoche
Autmn is officially upon us and my favorite season of the year has not been disappointing. Between the changing colors on the leaves and the squirrels that are scurrying to collect the fallen acorns for the coming winter, I notice the brisk wind on my daily walks and the days are getting shorter -- Autumn has arrived.
I've always wondered about the beautiful fall foliage and how these trees are most vibrant and colorful just before they die and go dormant for the winter; Only to to return in even greater splender next spring. There is a local pumpkin harvest scheduled for later this month in my town and Halloween and ThanksGiving are just around the corner. The changing seasons make me more concious of time passing by and just how grand life is.
I finished reading the Sogyal Rinpoche book "The Tibetan Book of Living And Dying" and it is indeed one of the great texts of our time. It was divided into 3 main sections Living, Dying, and Death & Rebirth. That made me think of autumn in New England and the cycle of life in the summer, death in the fall and winter & rebirth in the spring. It highlighed the contrast in the West & East in attitudes towards the living and dying and offered another lense to understand these inevitable parts of existence.
I finished reading the Sogyal Rinpoche book "The Tibetan Book of Living And Dying" and it is indeed one of the great texts of our time. It was divided into 3 main sections Living, Dying, and Death & Rebirth. That made me think of autumn in New England and the cycle of life in the summer, death in the fall and winter & rebirth in the spring. It highlighed the contrast in the West & East in attitudes towards the living and dying and offered another lense to understand these inevitable parts of existence.
"...Born in Kham in Eastern Tibet, Sogyal Rinpoche was recognized as the incarnation of Lerab Lingpa Tertön Sogyal, a teacher to the thirteenth Dalai Lama, by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, one of the most outstanding masters of the twentieth century. Jamyang Khyentse supervised Rinpoche's training and raised him like his own son.
In 1971, Rinpoche went to England where he studied Comparative Religion at Cambridge University. He went on to study with many other masters, of all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, especially Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche and Kyabjé Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, serving as their translator and aide. With his remarkable gift for presenting the essence of Tibetan Buddhism in a way that is both authentic and profoundly relevant to the modern mind, Sogyal Rinpoche is one of the most renowned teachers of our time. "
In 1971, Rinpoche went to England where he studied Comparative Religion at Cambridge University. He went on to study with many other masters, of all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, especially Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche and Kyabjé Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, serving as their translator and aide. With his remarkable gift for presenting the essence of Tibetan Buddhism in a way that is both authentic and profoundly relevant to the modern mind, Sogyal Rinpoche is one of the most renowned teachers of our time. "
I especially liked the sections on the "nature of the mind", meditiation, and it's description of dying as a bardo (inbetween or transition). Concentrate on the tiny gaps in between your thoughts and there lies the nature of the mind (Rigpa)-- vast and limitless. Meditation is described as "bringing the mind home" .
....Rigpa is a Tibetan word which in general means 'intelligence' or 'awareness'. In Dzogchen, however, the highest teachings in the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, rigpa has a deeper connotation, 'the innermost nature of the mind'.
The whole of the teaching of Buddha is directed towards realizing this, our ultimate nature, the state of omniscience or enlightenment--a truth so universal, so primordial that it goes beyond all limits, and beyond even religion itself.
Inspired by this.
The book conclude's with David Bohm's (1917-94 - Theoretical & quantum physicist) "Theory of Everything" and that may be my next read.
http://twm.co.nz/Bohm.html
....Rigpa is a Tibetan word which in general means 'intelligence' or 'awareness'. In Dzogchen, however, the highest teachings in the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, rigpa has a deeper connotation, 'the innermost nature of the mind'.
The whole of the teaching of Buddha is directed towards realizing this, our ultimate nature, the state of omniscience or enlightenment--a truth so universal, so primordial that it goes beyond all limits, and beyond even religion itself.
Inspired by this.
The book conclude's with David Bohm's (1917-94 - Theoretical & quantum physicist) "Theory of Everything" and that may be my next read.
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