The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy

by Andrew Holecek, Dzogchen Ponlop (Foreword)

We all encounter obstacles on a daily basis—from small inconveniences and nuisances to the really big hardships wreaking havoc with our lives. Sometimes just the small things are enough to set us reeling. Andrew Holecek offers us a progressive path beginning with common, easily understood hardships and moving on to more subtle and challenging ones that commonly arise on our spiritual journeys.

Genres: Spirituality, Buddhism

296 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2010

About the author

Andrew Holecek has completed the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat and offers seminars internationally on meditation, dream yoga, and death.

His work has appeared in Parobla, Shambhala Sun, Tricycle, Utne Reader, and other periodicals. He is the author of The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy; Preparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Perspective; Meditation in the iGeneration; How to Meditate in a World of Speed and Stress, and the audio learning course Dream Yoga: The Tibetan Path of Awakening Through Lucid Dreaming.

Andrew holds degrees in classical music, physics, and a doctorate in dental surgery. He lives in Lafayette, Colorado.

He is also the co-founder of Global Dental Relief, and travels each year to India and Nepal to provide free care to impoverished children. http://globaldentalrelief.org/

Reviews

[Demi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very wonderful to read. So often, books about Buddhism portray the blissfulness of enlightenment or focus on the intellectual facets of the path. It is far more practical & encouraging to read about the difficulties & obstacles that are inevitable in the development of a Buddhist Practioner. The Mahayana path is laid out very clearly & the last chapter, describing how Ignorance occurs was very insightful. A great read.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many morsels of incredible wisdom in this book. It was a very slow read for me, as I had a tendency to read a few pages, and ponder/digest what I had just learned. Definitely a must read for anyone on the Buddhist path.

[Hecate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a first for me---a book that took me over a month to get through, which I still adored! I'm quite familiar with Buddhist concepts both in my personal practice and as a psychotherapist utilizing much from the philosophy and techniques, yet I felt (positively) like I had to be careful to absorb every word with this book as it was filled with insights and motivation. I know it sounds like a slog, but it was more that it just wasn't fast reading for me. The concept of both accepting hardship and turning it into a "learning experience" is a familiar one, but so difficult, and rewarding!

Highly recommended, but not for beginners looking for an introduction to the concept of suffering and the end of suffering.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good book in terms of dealing with difficult emotions. There are a lot of Buddhist concepts in this book though with no explanation given, so it is best if you have some background in Buddhist thought and some meditation experience. I would say experience with shamatha-vipassana, tonglen and maitri practices would help readers grasp the truths outlined in Holecek's book. He refers to teachers from Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. If you have the patience and fortitude to read this, it is very helpful. I am particularly interested in implementing his ARTS approach to dealing with various emotions.