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Summary: How to dedicate oneself for greater clarity & contemplation
Review: Dzogchen Ponlop, author of Wild Awakening: The Heart Of The Mahamudra And Dzogchen, is a scholar and educator of the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the publisher of the internationally distributed Buddhist periodical "Bodhi" magazine. Featuring forewords by the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa, Wild Awakening is a simply excellent introduction to applying oneself to the practices of mahamudra ("great symbol") and dzogchen ("great perfection"). Presenting how to dedicate oneself for greater clarity and contemplation, and using a straightforward, informal style of narration that shines an illuminating light upon complex principles, Wild Awakening is a welcome and much appreciated and inspiring contribution to personal Buddhist Studies reading lists and academic library reference collections.
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Summary: Stunning
Review: If there is any book out there that can explain the complex and profound teachings of Tibetan Dzogchen and Mahamudra, you need not look any further; it's right here. These two paths provide all of us with the most profound and skillful means toward awakening, helping us directly savor the truth of both our minds and surroundings. But make no mistake about it though, for these two are some of the most difficult teachings in all of Buddhism to follow and understand. Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche became a monk at an early age and studied under arguably the two greatest masters of modern times in Tibetan Buddhism. The 16th Karmapa and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He has traveled all over the world to spread the Buddha's wisdom for us. He is also a faculty member of Naropa University (school for Buddhist studies) in Colorado. In this book, Ponlop explains how the Buddha taught us that outside of our own minds, there is no wisdom or enlightenment. This alone, for me, is a subtly reflective statement. From this outlook, anything we gain in the form of teaching (be that reading texts or listening to dharma talks) is actually not something separate from us. That's a very important point. The Mahamudra and Dzogchen pathways are the two most immediate routes for attaining realization of the truth of reality, and Ponlop Rinpoche does an expert job at presenting us with some of the basic fundamentals right here. Enjoy this work.
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