As It Is, Vol. 2 [Paperback]

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (Author), Marcia Binder Schmidt (Compiler), Erik Pema Kunsang (Translator), Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (Author), Erik Pema Kunsang (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2004

The teachings presented in As It Is, Volume II are primarily selected from talks given by the Dzogchen master, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, in 1994 and 1995, during the last two years of his life. The unambiguous Buddhist perception of reality is transmitted in profound, simple language by one of the foremost masters in the Tibetan tradition. Dzogchen is to take the final result, the state of enlightenment itself, as path. This is the style of simply picking the ripened fruit or the fully bloomed flowers. Tulku Urgyen's way of communicating this wisdom was to awaken the individual to their potential and reveal the methods to acknowledge and stabilize that prospective. His distinctive teaching style was widely known for its unique directness in introducing students to the nature of mind in a way that allowed immediate experience. This book offers the direct oral instructions of a master who inspired admiration, delight in practice, and deep trust and confidence in the Buddhist way.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche was someone with extraordinary experience and realization, a fact known throughout the world. It is evident to everyone that he was unlike anyone else when it came to pointing out the nature of mind, and making sure that people both recognized it and had some actual experience."- Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche"Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche was an incredible master, one who was both learned and accomplished. The great masters of this time – the 16th Karmapa, Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche – all venerated him as one of their root gurus and a jewel in their crown ornament. He was someone who achieved the final relization of the Great Perfection."- Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche

About the Author

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920-1996) was one of the outstanding Tibetan Buddhist teachers of his generation. Forced into exile by the Communist invasion of Tibet, he came to settle in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Though spending over 25 years in retreat, he not only taught extensively, but also founded numerous monasteries and retreat centers the world over. He is the author of such popular books as Rainbow Painting and As It Is Vols. I & II.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 1st edition (May 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9627341398
• ISBN-13: 978-9627341390
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #338,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some redundancy, some great points, Mahamudra&Madhyamaka ref, December 31, 2004

By 

Neal J. Pollock (VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: As It Is, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

This is a good book on the ultimate view of Dzogchen, Mahamudra, and Madhyamaka, but not, I think, the author's best work. I liked volume I (and "Rainbow Painting") better. But, it's certainly worth your time reading it. The title of this book reflects its main tenet (p. 97 "nothing needs to be accepted or rejected; it is already perfect "as it is." i.e. the title of book). It's also taken from a quotation (pp. 140-1) from Padmasambhava's "Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpa" -
"Empty cognizance of one taste, suffused with knowing,
Is your unmistaken nature, the uncontrived original state.
When not altering what is, allow it to be as it is,
And the awakened state is right now spontaneously present.
`As it is here means actuality. `Actuality' means seeing directly how it is, not as an idea or a concept. This matches the philosophical (and Rosicrucian) use of Actuality for "what is" vs. Reality for our perceptions of "what is."
Interestingly, the title of the publishing company similarly reflects the writings of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche: (e. g. on p. 94) Rangjung Yeshe = "self-existing wakefulness." This is reminiscent of Tulku Urgyen's son Drubwang Tsoknyi's book "Present Fresh Wakefulness."
This view is similarly described in Kagyu Mahamudra, Madhyamaka (The Middle Way philosophy), and Nyingma Dzogchen. The author describes these similarities in several places in the book (e. g. pp. 97, 122 &. 233). He also includes quotations from the three traditions throughout the book (e. g. pp. 117-8, 207, etc.) and even some stories on Chö (d) on pp. 222-3.
However, the first half dozen chapters are considerably redundant with volume I as well as with each other. Repetition may be beneficial in order for the reader/practitioner to absorb the view at a deeper than intellectual level. Chapter 7 (pp. 127-143, "The Highway of the Victorious Ones") is very different from the rest of the book-it's my favorite chapter! In it, the author includes a concise yet enlightening description of Trekchö and Tögal (the 2 main Dzogchen practices) on pages 136-7. He has a poetic way of pithy description of the essence of the teachings (somewhat like a koan), such as on pp. 141-2:
"See the view of no viewing.
Train in the meditation with nothing meditated upon.
Carry out the conduct of nondoing.
Achieve the fruition in which there is no thing attained."
On the down side, it is difficult to tell if he is using mythological beliefs just for illustration or not. For example, on p. 117 he uses the example of insects born only from heat and moisture and describes the physical activities of obstructing gods on p. 221. On the other hand, he clears up the question of life after death logically: (p. 225): "mind is not some `thing' that can die. The reason why there can be a succession of lives is because of this mind. If mind could die, there would be no rebirth" and (p. 228): "In actuality, death is only the death of the body; mind does not die."
He also provided some interesting quotes for my collection:
p. 118 "It is not all right to let simplicity be fettered by complexity."
p. 149 "a thought is simply the extroverted expression of knowing, of awareness."
p. 234 Tibetan Proverb: "The wise may still find truth in the words of a rascal" which is quite similar to the Western Proverb: The wise can learn even from a fool, but a fool cannot learn even from the wise. (Oscar Wilde and others).
Finally, pp. 225-8 Chapter 14 "Death Row" is an actual transmission from the author to a prison inmate and serves as a very good summary of book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly excellent, November 21, 2011

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D. Folk "df" (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: As It Is, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

This book was not written for the novice or the merely curious. I would guess that it will go right over the head of, and could be easily misunderstood by, those checking out Buddhism for the first time.
Hard for me to say enough good things about this book. I read through it very slowly to try to fully absorb it and will certainly reread it. To me the book was one nugget of gold after another and was an overview of the basic underlying fundamentals of practice, but not presented in a dumbed down elementary way.