"Braving the Storm of Sorrows" touches on diverse subjects such as relationships, happiness, and the ever-present human quest for true freedom. Through exploring themes so close to our everyday experience and inviting us to be mindful of every moment that each day offers us, it proposes that we become intimately acquainted with our fears and our sorrows, thereby empowering ourselves to transform them into joy and confidence.
It offers tips on training our minds, so that we may achieve such transformation in the midst of the hustle and bustle of our most-often hectic daily routines.
Braving the Storm of Sorrows thus invites us to take a fresh look at our lives, opening our eyes to witness the abounding opportunities for awakening that our lives are teeming with.
Accessible and down-to-earth, in this book the reader will find practical and plainspoken advice on how to courageously face and overcome the challenges every day brings.
作者介紹
作者簡介
Shang Longrik Gyatso Rinpoche
Shang Longrik Gyatso Rinpoche's spiritual pursuit began at a very young age and has spanned many decades, in which he received the complete lineages of all four major Vajrayana schools—Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug—from numerous lineage holders and great yogis of our time in India, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Rinpoche has acquired all the necessary empowerments, transmissions, and teachings to become a fully-qualified Vajrayana master. Furthermore, he is a recognized tulku (reincarnate lama), authenticated by eminent lineage holders and distinguished masters of our time.
Rinpoche is direct heir to the lineage of Shang Rinpoche (one of the "Three Jewels of Tibet") and has received the complete empowerments, transmissions and teachings pertaining thereto from his root master, the reincarnation of the great terton Tachin Dorje Lingpa. Apart from the supreme Vajrayana lineages, Rinpoche is holder of the direct lineages of the Linji and Caodong branches of the Chan school, and of the great Chan Master Xuyun. Furthermore, he is heir to the teachings of the Taoist Southern Sect (Nanzong).
Embodying, upholding and protecting such venerable and precious traditions, Rinpoche has devoted his life to spreading Buddhist teachings in order to benefit all sentient beings. For over three decades, he has been tirelessly and unceasingly guiding thousands of students and practitioners from over 25 countries. Wherever he goes, the powerful blessings of his lineages follow.
Whilst upholding authentic Dharma, Shang Rinpoche skillfully acknowledges the inherent challenges of the era we live in, using the context of modern life to impart precious teachings to his students.
目錄
I)Transformation
Transforming Despondence into a Miracle
The Courageous Ones
Transforming the suffering of humiliation into something miraculous
Learning of Ways to Deal With Stress
What’s an affliction, anyway!
Transformation
All Afflictions Can Be Solved
How to Outsmart Attachments
The True Winner
Be Free From Fears and Build True Confidence
II)Relationships
There is No Absolute Fairness in This World
Rinpoche’s heartfelt advice
Code of Conduct for Citizens of Earth
The Way to a Harmonious Marriage
The Importance of Respect
Compassion is the root of success
Generosity, a kiss to another with your true heart
Bodhisattvas Amongst Humans
III)Happiness
The Importance of Humor
Awareness in Happiness
The Eternal Flame of Happiness
Happiness
Finding True Happiness For Yourself
IV)Freedom
True Freedom
Is it Really Necessary to Take Refuge?
Life Without Retirement
Espresso for the Mind
Taking after the Sky
Revelations of a Horse
V)Training the Mind
Have you set your mind straight?
The Three Essentials of Mind Training
Never Trivialize Seemingly Insignificant Words and Deeds
Reaching a Settlement With Your Mind
Seven Self-Suggestion Pointers
How to correctly apply your mind and thoughts
The Worst Enemy of Afflictions
The One Thing Not to Forget While Panicking
The Noble Path Starts from the Trailhead
VI)The Present Moment
Dwelling Place of the Mind
Purity: Mind in the Here and Now
The key is to make best of the “now”
The Beauty of Life Lies in Self-Discipline
Extend the Present Moment Indefinitely
VII)Awakening
Awakening
How to Break Through the Ego
Enlightenment through Focus on the Everyday
Self-reflection is the Source of Liberation
Your Life Overflows with Opportunities for Enlightenment
Path to Liberation
Shang Rinpoche often says, “The length of a person’s life is not important, but one must be accountable for it.” Everyone is granted a life, but are they able to live it with brilliance and meaning? Or do they simply blindly follow the crowd? The ability to decide this has always been in our hands, yet compelled by the tumultuous currents of life, some lose their sense of direction, while others have the misfortune of being submerged! In order to commandeer your sailboat with stability, you certainly must possess even greater wisdom. Perhaps we are not particularly endowed with wisdom, but please believe that in every generation there will appear a few sages who are possessed with this sense of direction and come to direct the herd of lost sheep. Or there may be some reincarnated buddhas and bodhisattvas who are unwilling to let go of or abandon those people who need them.
We must admit that information has oversaturated this age and that people’s inner ability for awareness has been blunted. It is even more terrible how the environment has worsened to the point that it renders people powerless. All sorts of illnesses which doctors are unable to do anything about have appeared one after another in this century, including spreading epidemics. Furthermore, there are diseases such as depression, bipolar disorder, and the like which are not clearly understood. It is nearly impossible to avoid these afflictive forces which plague us incessantly from morning to night. Other than spending huge sums of money to attend spiritual growth seminars, is there any other way for this generation to acquire a wisdom which is eternal? Shang Rinpoche has said, “The light of a firefly comes from within itself, and the radiance of wisdom must gradually come to illuminate and extend and proliferate from within the continual experience of frustration and defeat. Nobody can help you with this.”
Thus, Rinpoche guides us to start from inner awareness to get acquainted with our minds. How shall we coexist with our afflictions? How to trek out of the deep valley of our life? How to seize the moment, to transform ourselves, to achieve a true state of ease and allow the power with our life to extend infinitely? How to become the master of our own life? We must still begin with understanding our own mind. And how do we accomplish that? It is exactly this treasure which we now recommend to each and every reader in the form of these precious texts.