In Love With the World

"One of the most generous, beautiful, and essential books I've ever read - beautifully written, thoroughly engaging, so clear, so honest, so courageous and full of wisdom... This book has the potential to change the reader's life forever." George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche's experience begins the night he has chosen to embark on a four-year wandering retreat, slipping past the monastery gates. Alone for the first time in his life, he sets out into the unknown. His initial motivation is to step away from his life of privilege and to explore the deepest, most hidden aspects of his being, but what he discovers throughout his retreat - about himself and about the world around us - comes to define his meditation practice and teaching.

Just three weeks into his retreat, Rinpoche becomes deathly ill and his journey begins in earnest through this near-death experience. Moving, beautiful and suffused with local colour, In Love With the World is the story of two different kinds of death: that of the body and that of the ego, and how we can bridge these two experiences to live a better and more fulfilling life. Rinpoche's skilful and intimate account of his search for the self is a demonstration of how we can transform our dread of dying into joyful living.

“I loved this book. It is moving and inspiring, profound and utterly human. It will certainly be a classic. Mingyur's life-changing adventure carries us with him and teaches us how to find the unshakable heart amidst it all.”

On the path to enlightenment, Mingyur Rinpoche had to escape from the sanctity of a Buddhist monastery, where he lived a privileged cossetted life, to find himself in the down-and-out railway stations, malodorous toilets, and flophouses of India. His misadventures along the way make for a rollicking travelogue. And yet this slim book also moved me, and left me with a better appreciation of Tibetan Buddhism than so many weightier tomes that I've struggled to understand. -- Barbara Demick, Baillie Gifford award-winning author of Nothing to Envy In his book, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche gifts us with more than just a mesmerizing read. As Rinpoche narrates his spiritual journey, he lays bare his early hopes and aspirations, his doubts, indignities, bodily and emotional suffering, and his vulnerabilities. He offers these with great skill, clarity, and love to encourage and inspire us to travel our own spiritual journeys. -- Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Love This artfully told spiritual adventure casts a spell-you can't put it down, and you don't want it to end. I recommend it without reservation: I bet you'll love it, too. -- Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence Through the unfolding of the wisdom of his personal story, Mingyur Rinpoche shows us the true value of investigating and freeing our minds. A courageous trailblazer, he illuminates a clear path, making it more accessible for others. This book will change many lives. -- Tara Bennett-Goleman, author of Emotional Alchemy In this vivid, compelling account, Mingyur Rinpoche reveals his own struggle and awakening as he faces the loss of worldly identity and the threat of dying itself. This book is a rarity in spiritual literature: Reading the intimate story of this wise and devoted Buddhist monk directly infuses our own transformational journey with fresh meaning, luminosity and life. -- Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge Part thriller, part deeply personal autobiography, and part Buddhist teachings on how to live a meaningful life, this is an extraordinary book. It is a cliffhanger that recounts the journey of a modern wandering yogi who courageously gave up everything to challenge his mind and heart and live in the most difficult of circumstances. A gripping narrative of how the process of dying, letting go of our fixed selves and constraining habits, can liberate the human spirit and promote flourishing, this book has something profoundly important to teach each of us. -- Richard J. Davidson, best-selling author of Emotional Life of Your Brain, co-author of Altered Traits, and Founder and Director, Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison With this book, we enter into the interior life of a remarkable young Buddhist teacher. After setting off by himself on a wandering retreat, he immediately encounters fear, aversion, sickness, and near death. Yet the same emotional and physical difficulties that would throw the average person for a loop become opportunities for Mingyur Rinpoche to work with his mind, and to deepen his commitment to transforming adversity into awakening. His willingness to describe this process in such intimate detail has been an immense help to my own path, and makes this one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. -- Pema Choedroen, author of When Things Fall Apart One of the most inspiring books of our times. An extraordinary testimony and a profound teaching that keeps you reading with wonderment, page after page. A treasury of insights to go ever deeper in your spiritual practice and in giving meaning to your life. -- Matthieu Ricard, author of Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill and Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World -- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart One of the most generous, beautiful, and essential books I've ever read - thoroughly engaging, so clear, so honest, so courageous and full of wisdom. In it, deep Buddhist teachings are presented with frankness and great clarity - like a friend talking to a friend. It is also a great adventure story, really, about the most important adventure any of us can ever embark upon; the story of one noble soul attempting to come to an understanding of the workings of his own mind and thereby live in a truly sane and loving way. This book has the potential to change the reader's life forever. -- George Saunders, Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo This book makes me think enlightenment is possible and necessary. -- Russell Brand

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche was born in the Himalayan border regions between Tibet and Nepal. His book, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into over twenty languages. In early June, 2011, Mingyur Rinpoche walked out of his monastery in Bodhgaya, India and began a 'wandering retreat' that lasted four and a half years.

Helen Tworkov is the founder of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and author of Zen in America: Profiles of Five Teachers. She has studied in both the Zen and Tibetan traditions. She began studying with Mingyur Rinpoche in 2006 and worked with him on Turning Confusion into Clarity, A Guide to the Foundation Practice of Tibetan Buddhism.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.