Enlightened Vagabond
The Life and Teachings of Patrul Rinpoche
-
-
1.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $20.99
-
- $20.99
Publisher Description
Colorful stories about and profound teachings of Patrul Rinpoche, one of the most impactful teachers and thinkers in the Tibetan tradition from the nineteenth century.
The life and teachings of the wandering yogi Patrul Rinpoche—a highly revered Buddhist master and scholar of nineteenth-century Tibet—come alive in true stories gathered and translated by the French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard over more than thirty years, based on the oral accounts of great contemporary teachers as well as written sources. Patrul’s life story reveals the nature of a highly realized being as he transmits the Dharma in everything he does, teaching both simple nomads and great lamas in ways that are often unconventional and even humorous, but always with uncompromising authenticity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Patrul Rinpoche ranks as one of Tibetan Buddhism's most influential masters of the 19th century, but he lacks a detailed hagiography to which practitioners can refer. Ricard's newest single-volume compendium helps fill this void, composed of stories told by teachers as well as Patrul's teaching texts and short biographies. Through these vivid stories, Patrul is remembered as a nonsectarian vagabond renunciant who preached the benefits of meditation and the cultivation of bodhicitta (compassion for all beings). The tales trace Patrul's life from birth to death, including his formal renunciation; the receiving of his nickname, Old Dog; and his emptiness realization. Many people he met were fooled by Patrul's unassuming and disheveled appearance, holding back from giving him teaching, food, or clothes; when he revealed his true identity, Patrul also revealed the underlying preconceptions and habits that obstructed the cultivation of generosity in order to save all sentient beings. Ricard's purpose is not to present an exhaustive translation of the existent biographies but to preserve a rich oral tradition and interweave its stories with the existing written record. This is a convenient and useful reference on the life of Patrul Rinpoche.
