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Ruling Your World Ruling Your World Ruling Your World
You're stuck in the airport security line, late for a flight. The line isn't moving. You're angry at the security personnel for taking so long, you're irritated at the other passengers for having so much stuff, you're mad at your boss for sending you on this trip in the first place. By the time you get to your gate you're angry, deflated, and exhausted. Then someone cuts in front of you in the line to board and you snap. "There's a line, you know " Is that really you, standing in an airport, yelling at a stranger, emotions raging? It happens to most of us more than we'd like to admit. In an instant, our lives seem out of control and overwhelming. It's always something, isn't it? But what if you could approach every part of your life-from the smallest decisions to life's biggest setbacks--with total confidence, clarity, and control? According to Sakyong Mipham, we all have that power. The secret is If you just stop thinking about yourself all the time, happiness and confidence will come naturally. It sounds absurd and, what's more, impossible. But in" Ruling Your World," Sakyong Mipham shares ancient secrets on how to take control of our lives and be successful while cultivating compassion for others and confidence in our own intelligence and goodness. The key to this well-being lies in the ancient strategies of the warrior kings and queens of Shambhala. The kingdom of Shambhala was an enlightened kingdom of benevolent kings and queens and fiercely trained warriors. No one knows for sure whether this kingdom was real or mythical, but there are ancient guidebooks to this land and practical instructions for creating a Shambhala in your own world, bringing peace, purpose, and perspective into your life and environment. Sakyong Mipham, the descendant of a warrior king, has inherited these teachings and gives us the lessons and myths of the great rulers and warriors of Shambhala. He makes these teachings relevant to our twenty-first-century lives in a fresh and witty voice and helps us all to realize our potential for power and control in a seemingly uncontrollable world. For the first time ever, revered spiritual leader Sakyong Mipham brings the lessons of the ancient Shambhala warriors and rulers to the Western world and shows us how to live our lives with confidence. "Most of us are living in a haze-sometimes helping others, sometimes helping ourselves, sometimes happy, sometimes sad. We don't feel in control of our own lives. The ancient teachings of Shambhala rulership show us that we all have the ability to rule our own world and live with confidence. To do this, we need to use our daily lives to be strong, as opposed to aggressive, and to act with wisdom and compassion. This may sound difficult, but when we begin to mix this ancient wisdom of rulership into our everyday life, we have both spiritual and worldly success. We don't need to abandon our life and become an ascetic or a monk in order to gain confidence and achieve this success. We can live in the world as a ruler no matter what we are doing. -from "Ruling Your World" "
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
107 people are currently reading
1232 people want to read
About the author
Sakyong Mipham
41 books180 followersSakyong Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche, The Kongma Sakyong II Jampal Trinley Dradül (born Osel Rangdrol Mukpo in 1962), most commonly known as Sakyong Mipham, is the head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage and Shambhala International, a worldwide network of urban Buddhist meditation centers, retreat centers, monasteries, a university, and other enterprises, founded by his father, the Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (XI Trungpa Tulku). Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is a high lama in the Kagyü and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He is believed to be the second incarnation of Mipham the Great, who is revered in Tibet as an emanation of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom. Rinpoche is an honorific (meaning "precious one" in Tibetan) commonly afforded to tulkus.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
April 3, 2011
This is a life changing book!
I have read Ruling Your World four times now and each time I go back I see new insights. You don't need to be Buddhist in order to read this book and gain your own insights that can be put into your own life. My life, especially in the military, has always been in a constant state of change; probably just like yours. Those changes can bring a lot of stress and pain, this book has helped me find ways to accept change and find more peace in my day to day life.
I have read Ruling Your World four times now and each time I go back I see new insights. You don't need to be Buddhist in order to read this book and gain your own insights that can be put into your own life. My life, especially in the military, has always been in a constant state of change; probably just like yours. Those changes can bring a lot of stress and pain, this book has helped me find ways to accept change and find more peace in my day to day life.
June 25, 2016
Loved it. This is the perfect companion for those trying to find more from life. It has Eastern wisdom written in a way that relates to those of the Western world without sounding cliche or arrogant. The anecdotes remind you that the author is still human, and allow you to be a little kinder to yourself while on your own journey towards enlightenment. It's all about finding happiness through letting go of the self; very similar in ideas to Eckhardt Tolle's work but unique in its sincerity. Really enjoyed it, and consider myself much more 'zen' after reading it! It's inspired me to put more effort into letting go of material things and negative emotions and just live in the present moment. Highly recommend.
May 18, 2009
This is my second time reading this book. I don't know if I've ever read the same book twice before... so I suppose that is testament to whether I liked it.
The middle gets a bit vague and uses a lot of jargon. I have found that many of these eastern philosophy self-help kind of books fall into a pattern of presenting their ideas as 8-step programs. For example, these are the four paths, within which are 4 other sub-paths, and these are the steps, and this is the order one needs to follow. After a while I feel like I should be taking notes on which steps and ideas follow one another.
Nevertheless, I really enjoy the beginning and end of this book. I may have finished it a second time, but it doesn't feel like the book is done with me. I would recommend it to anyone.
The middle gets a bit vague and uses a lot of jargon. I have found that many of these eastern philosophy self-help kind of books fall into a pattern of presenting their ideas as 8-step programs. For example, these are the four paths, within which are 4 other sub-paths, and these are the steps, and this is the order one needs to follow. After a while I feel like I should be taking notes on which steps and ideas follow one another.
Nevertheless, I really enjoy the beginning and end of this book. I may have finished it a second time, but it doesn't feel like the book is done with me. I would recommend it to anyone.
October 16, 2015
Excellent book on meditation and the nature of the mind. I really like Sakyong Mipham's writing style.
Quote: We're not playing Pollyanna, we're learning to let go and fly in the space of things as they are. Meditation has shown us that our mind is not solid. It is not made of earth. We cannot measure basic goodness. What brings measure to mind is expectation - hope and fear. Knowing the reality of change, we accept gain and loss - no hope and fear attached. When we do this, we become naturally and spontaneously lighthearted. We are no longer trying to cure change by applying fixation. Rather, we accept what the moment presents and use it to expand our heart and mind. - pg 127
Quote: We're not playing Pollyanna, we're learning to let go and fly in the space of things as they are. Meditation has shown us that our mind is not solid. It is not made of earth. We cannot measure basic goodness. What brings measure to mind is expectation - hope and fear. Knowing the reality of change, we accept gain and loss - no hope and fear attached. When we do this, we become naturally and spontaneously lighthearted. We are no longer trying to cure change by applying fixation. Rather, we accept what the moment presents and use it to expand our heart and mind. - pg 127
January 25, 2013
So I wanted to start the year out with an inspirational book that would lead me to inner peace. I had purchased this book at the Shambhala Center in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, some time ago. The subtitle "Ancient Strategies for Modern Life" appealed to me, as did the short chapters. But this book is really meaty and will take many readings before I even begin to understand all of the terms and concepts discussed. After reading the book, I decided to focus on one chapter at a time, in random order.
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April 22, 2021This book focuses on compassion and its practice to achieve happiness. At first, I was enjoying it, and then I found out the author has received multiple allegations of sexual assault. So obviously, my final reading was colored by that. With that in mind, I've decided to withhold any rating since I would be entirely biased against the author despite my appreciation of the teachings contained therein.
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January 29, 2011I love this book, even after several readings. Not just as a Shammbhala Buddhist, but as a person who really wants to keep being more and more compassionate and open in a world that encourages people to shut down. Practical, honest, and beautifully written.
July 14, 2008
a must read, for everyone.
August 5, 2008
Helping gain a more positive perspective.
December 15, 2008
Another practical handbook for Shambhala Buddhism. Accessible to the general reader, but containing a comprehensive overview for the committed practitioner
Currently reading
April 18, 2009I don't love this book as much as my mom did. I find it repetitive and didactic to a fault. But there are bits and pieces that are good to take away. It also helps me fall asleep!
July 12, 2013
Insightful and helpful.
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May 14, 2007I haven't always been obsessed with wind. Now I'm unknowingly drawn to it in all it's forms, even in my casual reading.
I picked up "Ruling Your World" by Sakyong Mipham, an excellent (so far) presentation of his meditation experiences and training. He describes the energy of the basic goodness of the world as "lungta", which translates from Tibetan directly as "Windhorse". Having wanted to kiteboard for some time now and finally taking my introductory course I can say that's exact what the kite feels like when you do a power stroke: a Windhorse.
I took my girls to the beach yesterday. It was an ideal southern California beach day: warm, sunny, surfers and boarders of all kinds playing in the open waters. We call Trinity our sea turtle because she is drawn to the water like a baby Olive Ridley. When I went with her into the surf I experienced the beauty of the clear water under my feet, the smell of salt air and the gentle draw of the breaking waves returning to sea. On a board you lose the stability of land. You need to work with the currents and the waves. You can fight it I suppose, but you won't do that long. If you're going to have fun boarding you need to get in sync with the flow of the water.
Similarly, Sakyong Mipham explains how solidity is an illusion in this world, and the primary illusion, the cause of all our experiences and suffering, is the illusion of "me". I may well be obsessed with wind and water, or perhaps I'm obsessed with losing solidity.
Kiteboarding adds another dimension to my love of the elements and especially the wind. On a basic level kiteboarding is water skiing without a boat: you use a kite in the wind in its place. There's enough appeal there to keep my interest. As a teenager I was a water skiing instructor in the Poconos. I loved it. I skied every morning. I had no money of course so getting that experience in took some ingenuity. I worked on a gas dock at the White Beauty View resort on Lake Wallenpaupack most days. We kept a tank on that dock for "extras" sometime just the drip left in the nozzle from the end of filling a tank – that can add up when you're filling tanks all day – sometimes late at night we'd siphon a gallon here and there from boats docked in the slips.
Water skiing is noisy and polluting. Even as a 13-year-old in 1973 I sensed there was something fundamentally wrong with what I was doing. I remember the anger of fishermen as we went whizzing by their boats, 90% of them tanked at the crack of dawn. I felt these issues all resolved today as I got up on a kiteboard for the first time. Let me back up and give the basic information.
I googled for kiteboard instructors in San Diego and came up with a few options. This isn't exactly as easy as you may think. "Kiteboard" brings up a lot of crap in google – it looks more like the result of a myspace search. I narrowed it down to 2 options and sent both an email. Paul Lang of West Coast Kiteboarding reponded. I'm lucky he did. When I showed up at Fiesta Island in Mission Bay, the primary spot for kiteboard training, the other guy was there. I didn't know who was who and drove right up to him and offered a cheery "Hi! I'm Kris." He spotted the West Coast Kiteboarding email on my passenger seat and dismissed me. He was a real dick. When I asked what was up he pointed to a black truck as said, "You're with Paul." My luck.
Read the rest here: click
I picked up "Ruling Your World" by Sakyong Mipham, an excellent (so far) presentation of his meditation experiences and training. He describes the energy of the basic goodness of the world as "lungta", which translates from Tibetan directly as "Windhorse". Having wanted to kiteboard for some time now and finally taking my introductory course I can say that's exact what the kite feels like when you do a power stroke: a Windhorse.
I took my girls to the beach yesterday. It was an ideal southern California beach day: warm, sunny, surfers and boarders of all kinds playing in the open waters. We call Trinity our sea turtle because she is drawn to the water like a baby Olive Ridley. When I went with her into the surf I experienced the beauty of the clear water under my feet, the smell of salt air and the gentle draw of the breaking waves returning to sea. On a board you lose the stability of land. You need to work with the currents and the waves. You can fight it I suppose, but you won't do that long. If you're going to have fun boarding you need to get in sync with the flow of the water.
Similarly, Sakyong Mipham explains how solidity is an illusion in this world, and the primary illusion, the cause of all our experiences and suffering, is the illusion of "me". I may well be obsessed with wind and water, or perhaps I'm obsessed with losing solidity.
Kiteboarding adds another dimension to my love of the elements and especially the wind. On a basic level kiteboarding is water skiing without a boat: you use a kite in the wind in its place. There's enough appeal there to keep my interest. As a teenager I was a water skiing instructor in the Poconos. I loved it. I skied every morning. I had no money of course so getting that experience in took some ingenuity. I worked on a gas dock at the White Beauty View resort on Lake Wallenpaupack most days. We kept a tank on that dock for "extras" sometime just the drip left in the nozzle from the end of filling a tank – that can add up when you're filling tanks all day – sometimes late at night we'd siphon a gallon here and there from boats docked in the slips.
Water skiing is noisy and polluting. Even as a 13-year-old in 1973 I sensed there was something fundamentally wrong with what I was doing. I remember the anger of fishermen as we went whizzing by their boats, 90% of them tanked at the crack of dawn. I felt these issues all resolved today as I got up on a kiteboard for the first time. Let me back up and give the basic information.
I googled for kiteboard instructors in San Diego and came up with a few options. This isn't exactly as easy as you may think. "Kiteboard" brings up a lot of crap in google – it looks more like the result of a myspace search. I narrowed it down to 2 options and sent both an email. Paul Lang of West Coast Kiteboarding reponded. I'm lucky he did. When I showed up at Fiesta Island in Mission Bay, the primary spot for kiteboard training, the other guy was there. I didn't know who was who and drove right up to him and offered a cheery "Hi! I'm Kris." He spotted the West Coast Kiteboarding email on my passenger seat and dismissed me. He was a real dick. When I asked what was up he pointed to a black truck as said, "You're with Paul." My luck.
Read the rest here: click
February 14, 2018
Very ideal but worth trying
Indeed the Rinpoche is full of wisdom, I guess all the best humanitarian discoveries are done over two thousand years ago, and the enlightened individuals like the Rinpoche are repeating and reaffirming them. Compassion, virtue, peace.
Indeed the Rinpoche is full of wisdom, I guess all the best humanitarian discoveries are done over two thousand years ago, and the enlightened individuals like the Rinpoche are repeating and reaffirming them. Compassion, virtue, peace.
November 14, 2012
Sakyong Mipham is the leader of Shambhala network of mediation and retreat centers. In this book, Sakyong shares the lessons of Tibetan Buddhism and Shambhala rulership, telling us that we can rule our own world and with confidence by acting with wisdom and compassion, instead of aggression. To do that, we need to learn to stop thinking about ourselves all the time, and happiness and confidence will come naturally. Through practicing discernment, exertion and discipline, generating compassion, accepting impermance and equanimity, we will gain the confidence in wisdom to rule our world.
Ruling Your World is a wonderful read for those who are just starting to understand Buddhism and for even for others who might already be familiar with the spiritual teachings.
Ruling Your World is a wonderful read for those who are just starting to understand Buddhism and for even for others who might already be familiar with the spiritual teachings.
January 8, 2015
OK, so I really liked this book (hence the 4 star rating). It wasn't quite amazing, but it was really good.
What did I like about it? It reminded me very much of the trainings that I have received through the Shambhala Training program. It really goes through everything from "Level I" to "Outrageous and Inscrutable". It's not a replacement for these trainings, but it is a good adjunct to them.
I really don't know what more to say without going into the teachings themself, and those would be spoilers. Somehow every time I tried to update my progress on this or other books, I couldn't figure out how to without posting a full on review.
What did I like about it? It reminded me very much of the trainings that I have received through the Shambhala Training program. It really goes through everything from "Level I" to "Outrageous and Inscrutable". It's not a replacement for these trainings, but it is a good adjunct to them.
I really don't know what more to say without going into the teachings themself, and those would be spoilers. Somehow every time I tried to update my progress on this or other books, I couldn't figure out how to without posting a full on review.
March 8, 2009
I'm writing my review even though I haven't finished the book. I'm taking a series of classes that cover the concepts in this book and I'm waiting for each class before I read the corresponding sections. I find the text accessible and uplifting. It takes you deeply into the Shambhala teachings and how they work in your life. I've learned so much from this path already and I'm excited to continue in the months and years ahead.
July 23, 2017
After learning about BooktubeAThon, I decided this was my chance to tackle 7 books on my TBR list.
I have had this book for many, many years. Started it a couple of times but, if I am to be honest, I don't think I was ready for it until now. I stayed up all night reading and pondering the knowledge and wisdom of this book. It has given me much to consider and I feel that every time you read it, you will gain something new.
I have had this book for many, many years. Started it a couple of times but, if I am to be honest, I don't think I was ready for it until now. I stayed up all night reading and pondering the knowledge and wisdom of this book. It has given me much to consider and I feel that every time you read it, you will gain something new.
September 7, 2007
A- This book is really great for Buddhists and spiritual beings living in a hectic world. It reminded me (to a degree) of City Dharma. He focuses on training your mind to be more open and compassionate. It was really intriguing. He's brilliant, and I find him more accessible than his father, Trungpa.
January 25, 2011
Step-by-step and straighforward thinking on Buddhist thoughts, practice and way of life. Really thought provoking and immediately pointed out changes that I would make in my life and my approach to it. Summary of meditations in the back of the book are helpful for reference. I have a feeling I'll be referring back to this book often.
March 13, 2011
Na het lezen van "Turning the mind into an ally" viel dit boek me wat tegen. De introductie van de tijger, leeuw, garoeda (soort mythische vogel met menselijke armen) en draak zijn interessant om te lezen. Daarna lijkt het alsof het boek vervalt in herhalingen. De persoonlijke illustraties met fragmenten uit het leven van Sakyong Mipham zijn wel plezant om te lezen.
March 7, 2012
Another book for my Contentment in Everyday Life Shambhala class. Mipham doesn't have the same succinct, deeply emotional style of his dad Chogyam Trungpa, and so this book came across as more of a modern, polite self help tome than a shot straight to my heart. That said, it did have some good things in it that are worth practicing.
August 24, 2016
Inspiring and well written, Ruling Your World should be a meditation for everyone to read. Although he would never claim this, Miphan brings insight into how to make this world a better place and the importance of just doing good for others. Definitely a read for anyone wanting to make a difference.
May 7, 2016
World-renowned spiritual leaders are often at risk of getting high off their own supply. Sakyong Mipham avoids this peril by writing clearly and without ego about the principles of Shambhala.
My only small reservations about this book are a lack of practical strategies and a slight disconnect between the author's spiritually exceptional upbringing and his readers' more earthly origins.
My only small reservations about this book are a lack of practical strategies and a slight disconnect between the author's spiritually exceptional upbringing and his readers' more earthly origins.
May 20, 2016
I like to constantly challenge my thoughts and views. This book provided great insights and thought provoking mental stimulation. I enjoyed the underlying themes of letting go, to gain control. I have as of late been considering the socioeconomic divide and my experience of it. I wonder if there isn't a connection between "I" focus and poverty and "w"e focus and prosperity.
May 5, 2017
I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for this book, probably would have gone 3.5 if that was an option, settled for four stars because there was a lot I liked in the first half of the book, but it really bogged down for me near the end. I'd read more of his books based on this, but I won't run out and seek them, if that tells you anything.
March 24, 2008
The follow-up to Turning the Mind Into and Ally, this book starts off reading a little more like a self-help book than it's predecessor, but eventually developed into a more interesting read once the focus shifted to traditional Tibetan Buddhist teachings.
May 20, 2011
Sakyong Mipham imparts ancient wisdom and techniques for improving your world and by extension, the lives of those around you, and he does so in an accessible, practical, 21st Century manner. Highly readable and highly actionable.
September 22, 2012
I've read this book countless times, refering back through the stuff I highlighted: I love the theme of compassion that establishes confidence based upon the premise of innate basic goodness, resulting in 'when your happy, I'm happy.' Very enlightening.
January 26, 2013
Currently reading. I am trying to read it slowly to really soak in/take in/understand/retain. The Sakyong's writing is direct... maybe too direct for non-Buddhists? Unsure. But I love the book and plan on re-reading as soon as I finish.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews