Walking An Uncommon Path: A Guide to Your Spiritual Quest

by Gyalwang Drukpa

Buddhism or Buddhist teaching itself is a spiritual philosophy. It is very much spiritually oriented. Therefore in order to practice Buddhism or the Buddhadharma, one has to be very spiritual.Personally, I would prefer to say "Buddhist teaching" rather than "Buddhism" because it is not at all an "ism" and I feel that it is not right to call it "ism" because this gives a very strong religious connotation or definition, which is not good. Buddhist teaching or Buddhadharma is totally oriented by spirituality rather than religiosity. So we need to develop a deep understanding of what Buddhadharma is and then try to practice it.

235 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

The Gyalwang Drukpa is the honorific title of the head of the Drukpa Lineage, one of the independent Sarma (new) schools of Vajrayana Buddhism. This lineage of reincarnated masters started from Tsangpa Gyare, the first Gyalwang Drukpa and founder of the school. The 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, Jigme Pema Wangchen, is the current lineage holder.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Sujata Sahni]

Buddhism is a living philosophy that has to be put into practice. The practice has to be based on the philosophy that rejects the theory of a creator who controls your life and makes your life better or worse. Instead of the almighty creator, you believe in yourself and increase your understanding within yourself. This is the authentic Buddhist approach. Appreciate the fact that everything is impermanent and will help you develop a deep understanding of your own life and the interdependence of everything and every living being in this universe. For example, you are not the same person as you were yesterday or as you were as a baby and yet, there is no real difference. You are still you, even though something is continuously transforming and changing, moment by moment, such as your looks, your thoughts, your personality, your life, etc. the world is also changing, everything around you is also changing. Nothing is on a standstill, even when it is silent, everything is subject to constant change. Even our relations with others and our possessions are subject to the impact of impermanence. Understanding impermanence is an important part of the practice of Buddhism as a philosophy and as a spirituality, as this will change the way you look at life and the world you live in. You will be more appreciative of the people around you and whatever experiences you are going through, whether they are happy or sad experiences, you will be able to go through them with full acceptance and appreciation. Understanding impermanence is also an antidote to afflictive emotions and negative sentiments caused by our own ego. It will gradually help us to develop the foundation necessary to realise the nature of our own mind and our existence. The three treasures - the real Buddha, the real Dharma and the real Sangha. The Buddha should not be respected as an object which is outside of yourself. It has two qualifications, the purified state of mind and the accomplished state of mind. It is not something that can be expected outside or seen as existing outside. The holy Dharma refers to " repairing" if something is broken, like if you have a broken watch, you go to a workshop to try and repair it. So similarly, what you do by practicing Dharma is that you repair the faults within yourself. The Sangha means the desire or wanting to do virtuous or good deeds. This also has to develop within ones own mind, within ones own attitude. There is nothing other than that. Buddha is not a statue or to be found in a shrine. It is not separate from you. The heart of enlightenment is also called Bodhicitta. In English, it is translated into the heart of full understanding. Meditation is familiarising yourself with the things around you. Often, we don't care about what's happening around us. We only care about what we care, then that is the one thing that we dedicate ourselves diligently to. And if it doesn't work out, we get very angry, very disappointed and if it does work sometimes then we get very excited. All that we do is so stupid and we are so stubborn. The two different types of mind within the heart of enlightenment are the aspiring mind and the practical mind. The inspirational mind is connected to the aspiring mind, as a practitioner, you need to be inspired by something. If you are practicing Bodhichitta, it means you are practicing compassion and loving kindness. You have to then be thoroughly inspired and familiarise yourself with something that will move you. You must be inspired by familiarising yourself with things around you. The entire practice of Buddhism or any other religion is to inspire you.some religions have this theory of inspiring their God through chanting, offerings, such like. Buddhism doesn't really strongly emphasise about God but says that it has to be found within you. Buddhist believe that God or authentic nature has to be found within oneself. So with the help of practices, contemplation, meditation or familiarisation, you will be able to be open to inspiring yourself. Buddhist practitioners always look for the ultimate result. We are always on the spiritual path, but we often don't realise it and that's why we encounter obstacles. Of-course formal practices are important, but our informal day to day life also needs to be considered as practice. The path is there and everybody has a path, Buddhists believe in the spiritual path. The terms "old age" or "Morden age" don't really make much sense, because time is simply time. We should go through our lives without judging whether things are good or bad. It is our attitude that makes something good or bad. The real Buddha is the reality state of your own life. Do not regard this teaching as dharma, if you do, you will never approach Dharma. This is because this teaching is only an instruction, but if you think that it is ultimate, it will become a barrier and obstacle. This mis-understanding will prevent you from realising the nature or truth of Dharma. If you really wish to develop your life, you must first develop your mind. We are very often trapped by the material world and on top of that, don't get into the spiritual trap. We have to be materially and spiritually free. Authentic happiness should be experienced right now. Love, faith and compassion can bring you true happiness. Authentic happiness has to be developed now onwards, every day and every minute of your life. Authentic happiness can only be achieved from setting yourself free from all labels. Faith and attachment are the same thing. When we speak of non-attachment, you are recommended not to misunderstand. It means you have to understand, you shouldn't be trapped by misunderstanding. An external guru is to help us realise the nature of our own mind, the ultimate guru that resides within ourselves. The ultimate guru is simply the guru that is to be realised within ourselves. Karma can be changed by blessings from your internal guru. It may be perhaps something you did aeons ago which is the cause. Then the effect, the fruit or result may ripen this life or possibly in future lives. Nevertheless, the result will follow, being fully dependent on the cause that we created ourselves. Unconditional compassion is the universal truth. We must learn to concentrate on our spirit, the mind. That is what needs to be improved upon. Many of us have no idea what our mind really is, how it functions or even what it looks like. These are things we have to understand. Even if we only understand intellectually and not experientially, this understanding can be of tremendous help to start with. But that's not enough. This intellectual knowledge has to be brought down to the heart. You have to practice experientially, so that you can control everything within yourself. This is the spiritual path or spiritual way of showing the ultimate realm. The world is full of solutions, full of possibility. Yes, degeneration is present but there is a solution. If you want to be a fearless person, you have to first of all be in reality. Reality only means separating yourself from misunderstanding.

[Brono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reading with some great insights on meditation practice and how to recognise that which creates all the misery and suffering in the world as well as happiness and contentment.

Few things are very repetitive (it's not a complain just something to point out).
Perhaps if the book had a good editor it would be even easier to read...but don't get caught up with that and put all the teachings into practice because that's what matter.

I do have to mention though that from all the masters and sages and teachers I've read HHGD is the one that emphasised the non-killing of animals and our connection to the environment.

Want to be happy...perhaps you should start from there.