Awakening Dignity
A Guide to Living a Life of Deep Fulfillment
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist
A Buddhist master’s guide to cultivating dignity through meditation to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.
The notion of dignity is crucial to the question of how best to live a meaningful and fulfilling life, particularly for today’s environment in which so many of us experience self-doubt, low self-esteem, and feelings of being trapped by anxiety, dissatisfaction, or even success. How, in such a circumstance, can we gain authentic and unshakeable dignity? In Awakening Dignity, Phakchok Rinpoche draws from the Tibetan Buddhist wisdom tradition to offer a unique and fresh approach to answer this question.
From the Buddhist perspective, dignity is an inherent quality of fundamental wholeness and completeness that we all naturally possess: our true nature is pure and our heart is noble. In this guide, Phakchok Rinpoche shows how knowing that we are whole and complete already—and gaining trust and certainty in that understanding—can counteract the common feeling that we are not enough, that something is missing.
Gaining unwavering trust in ourselves protects us from life’s ups and downs. With genuine dignity, we are not riddled with uncertainty, anxiety, or self-doubt. Rather, we are able to face any circumstance with confidence, clarity, and compassion. Through reflections, examples, and simple meditations—such as embracing adversity and practicing compassion—Awakening Dignity provides all the tools necessary to fully embody our fundamental dignity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this illuminating volume, Tibetan Buddhist teacher Phakchok Rinpoche (In the Footsteps of Bodhisattvas) and history professor Wu offer wisdom for cultivating a sense of dignity. Contending that dignity is an innate quality of "fundamental wholeness and completeness," the authors explain how emotional fixation can cause individuals to lose touch with their dignity and how they can reconnect. They describe the "sticky mind" phenomenon in which one ruminates about an incident or feeling, blinding oneself to the "constantly changing" emotions that flow through the self and growing alienated from one's dignity. To escape this mindset, the authors encourage readers to acknowledge negative emotions and replace them with more positive ones (e.g., humbleness for pride). Each chapter ends with a "dignity training" exercise, such as chanting a mantra to enhance focus or embracing loving-kindness by wishing others well while meditating. What the authors refer to as "dignity" is largely equivalent to the Buddhist concept of "basic goodness," but the fresh framing offers new insight. Additionally, readers will appreciate the accessible prose and the authors' compassionate tone. This enlightening outing delivers.
