The Five Wisdom Energies: A Buddhist Way of Understanding Personalities, Emotions, and Relationships [Paperback]

Irini Rockwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 2002

This book invites us to celebrate our strengths and work with our weaknesses by learning to identify and utilize five basic personal styles or energies. Written in a playful and accessible way, this is the first general-audience book on a Tibetan Buddhist system known as "the five buddha families"—an insightful way of understanding human behavior and promoting personal growth.

Each of the five wisdom energies is associated with particular ways of perceiving and interacting with the world and also with particular colors, elements, senses, seasons, and times of day. With easy, fun, and engaging exercises and stories, Irini Rockwell shows us how to identify which energies are active in our lives, and how we can work with them in any situation to improve self-awareness, communication, and creative expression.

According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, each of us has one or two dominant energies, but these can shift and change over time, and we can manifest different energies in different areas of our lives. Each of the five energies has its unique wisdom, but also its neurotic tendencies. By learning to recognize which energies we possess—and which are present in those around us—we can learn to relax and appreciate our natural traits and those of others, and we can move away from our neuroses toward the wisdom-aspects of our character.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A wise tool for self-understanding, this book uses the insights of Buddhist psychology to show how basic energy patterns present themselves as different personality types, and how understanding these energies can help us to integrate spiritual practice into daily life."—Helen Palmer, author of The Enneagram



"Rockwell has created a wonderful guide for understanding ourselves in relationship to others. This book offers a deep appreciation of the energies that move in each of us."—Margaret Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science and Turning to One Another



"Direct and reader-friendly, this book reflects the teachings on the five buddha families like a bright jewel."—Joan Halifax Roshi, Head Teacher, Upaya Zen Center

From the Publisher

"A wise tool for self-understanding, this book uses the insights of Buddhist psychology to show how basic energy patterns present themselves as different personality types, and how understanding these energies can help us to integrate spiritual practice into daily life" - Helen Palmer, author of The Enneagram

"An engaging and insightful exploration of the light of wisdom within the darkness of confusion." - Tara Bennett-Goleman, author of Emotional Alchemy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1 edition (March 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570624518
• ISBN-13: 978-1570624513
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Locating and engaging one's own energy sources, August 9, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Five Wisdom Energies: A Buddhist Way of Understanding Personalities, Emotions, and Relationships (Paperback)

The Five Wisdom Energies: A Buddhist Way Of Understanding Personalities, Emotions, And Relationships by Irini Rockwell (Director, Five Wisdoms Institute) is a thoughtful and informative survey of the five wisdom energies or "buddha families", and how they relate to an understanding of human personalities. Exercises in locating and engaging one's own energy sources, enlivening one's emotional intelligence, balancing the five styles of relating to others, and more are covered in this intriguing guide to incorporating the benefits of Eastern philosophy into one's life. The Five Wisdom Energies is a welcome and highly recommended contribution to the growing library of Psychology, Buddhist, and Eastern Philosophy, literature and reference materials.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Five Wisdom Energies" are energizing, October 8, 2003

By 

Mark Bourdon (Fargo, ND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Five Wisdom Energies: A Buddhist Way of Understanding Personalities, Emotions, and Relationships (Paperback)

If you really want to understand the interconnections between the mind and body, this is a must. Not only is it an easy read but I found myself wanting more. This is a great introduction into the "five wisdom energies" or "buddha families" that each of us embodies. What makes this even more helpful, is we not only display different energies in different areas of our lives, but Irini Rockwell teaches us how to identify and cultivate self-awarenss and improve communications as a result.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening New Interpretation of a Traditional Spiritual View, February 15, 2008

By 

L. Skutch (Norwalk, Ct. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Five Wisdom Energies: A Buddhist Way of Understanding Personalities, Emotions, and Relationships (Paperback)

Having had the pleasure of studying personally with Ms. Rockwell, I this text is a inspiring complement to her work. Based on the ancient Buddhist tradtion of the "five Buddha Families", Ms. Rockwell updates the teachings colorfully for modern Western students. Her compassionate style helps one understand, in great detail, our "wisdom and neurosis", how closely they are aligned, and how compassion for oneself is at the heart of all transformation. Her teachings are invaluable and I wish I had had the benefit of this information earlier in attempts at intimacy with those of "different natures". What Ms. Rockwell has done so successfully for me in my life is help me find the space around my own particular "view" as part of the "Padma" family, and find humor and relief in letting it be "okay". I highly recommend this book to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.