Repeating the Words of the Buddha

by Tulku Urgyen, Erik Kunsang (Translator)

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche spent many years in retreat, assimilating the teachings within his experience. He spoke with humor and true understanding, expressing plainly and simply what he himself had undergone. Consequently, his teachings are uniquely accessible, with a powerfully beneficial impact on those who hear or read his words. This book, a selection of his oral and written teachings, spells out the essential points of spiritual practice and leads readers along the same path they would follow in the presence of a master. Through direct, pithy instructions, students are encouraged to question the master repeatedly, while at the same time processing their own experiences. Representing the heart of Rinpoche’s teachings, Repeating the Words of the Buddha shows that the enlightened essence is present within the mind of any sentient being, and that it can be recognized by all who seek it.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Buddhism

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche ((Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་ཨོ་རྒྱན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, Wylie: Sprul-sku O-rgyan Rin-po-che, where "Rinpoche" is an honorific meaning "Precious One," not a surname) was a Tibetan Buddhist Lama of the Kagyü and Nyingma schools, and a teacher of Dzogchen. He is most widely known in the West through the works of Erik Pema Kunsang and Marcia Binder Schmidt.

Reviews

[David Scharff · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the rare books on Buddhism that is perfect for someone who knows nothing about the path, as well as being valuable to meditators of the highest caliber. Tulku Urgyen can sum up the most complex concepts and teachings with the simplest of phrases. The wisdom in this volume is distilled through his years of personal experience. A must read

[Charlotte Frejya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the title suggests a rather matter of fact re-run, this actually a bit of a misnomer. Upon reading, you'll find that the narrative is actually what buddha said when filtered through the Four Dharmas of Gampopa, the founder of the illustrious Kagyu sect.

Gampopa himself can be said to be an utter genius. A book that merely repeats what he said would already be excellent. To add the genius of Buddha Sakyamuni into the question, the greatest teacher of men and gods ever to have walked the earth, might make you wonder if the authour was setting himself up some type of monstrous own goal - who has a stride so big they can follow in the footsteps of such giants and yet add something of genuine value?

Reading it, I came to realise why Tulku Urgyen came to be the last guru of a great living buddha, His Holiness the 16th Karmapa. There is a clarity and luminosity to his words that only the very highest masters like heng-yen Lu have. It touches exactly on the points that need to be said whilst completely excluding superfluous noise.

The Kagyu approach of Gampopa's Four Dharmas can be seen as a contemporary of The Four Thoughts That Turn The Mind Towards Practice used by other lineages, making it worthy of study by all. The two ways of getting the right mindset very much complement one another, without contradiction between either despite their different approaches.

This is a small book with short chapters. Reading for just 5mins a day, you'll have finished in a fortnight. At that point you'll feel really pleased with yourself as there's a lot of nourishment here - well worth the effort.

[Martin Mühlpacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small and short book about core tibetan buddhism teachings written in not so accesible language for “us “ westeners and thats why it was quite hard to connect with it and use the wisdom in personal life. I am not saying its a bad book, but since i have read fair amount of buddhist books, this one just didnt strike me as useful.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very positive book. I really enjoyed it.