Customer Reviews

Great Eastern Sun

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I find this presentation of Trungpa's Shambhala vision much more intimate and satisfying than the first book, Shambhala. Both books offer clear and practical advice transparently; Great Eastern Sun leaves more of the edges and contrasts in the foreground, giving a more nuanced taste of the good times at Trungpa's house. This is a very rewarding volume, and as the other reviewers have noted, it's good to read this one more than once. (Really, that goes for all serious reading. Real books are not one-time-use disposables.)

That said, I would like to follow up on one of Trungpa's suggestions in Great Eastern Sun: "It would be worth investigation futher the origins of Shambhala vision in the European traditions... to conduct a study of Western historical figures who tried to achieve the Shambhala vision of englightened society" (p 134). Okay. Trungpa's contemporaries, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, had a vision of their own, and one quite resonant with Trungpa's: "Learning to undo things, and to undo onesself, is proper to the war machine: the 'not doing' of the warrior, the undoing of the subject" (A Thousand Plateaus p 400). So long, neurosis.

I'm a bit disappointed that some of Trungpa's actual words (the dreaded 'f-word' for one) were edited from this volume. Trungpa, like Joseph Conrad and V Nabokov, was a second-language master of the English tongue, and chose his words very carefully for impact. He chose punchiness in his diction, he took a risk; why pretend he played it safe?

Here's to Trungpa's successes, and to the birth pangs of a culture of englightenment. Cheers!

HOMAGE TO ACALA VIDHYARAJA, the Immoveable Radiant King! Namah samanta vajranam chanda maharosana sphotaya hum trat ham mam!

"The Great Eastern Sun" is presented as a companion volume to Chogyam Trungpa's spiritual classic "Shambhala: The Sacred Art of the Warrior."

Both books were based on Trungpa's talks, but "The Great Eastern Sun" has suffered (or benefitted) from a much lighter editorial hand. The result is that the present volume preserves a stronger flavor of Trungpa's teaching style. On the other hand, the talks in this book were intended for a more advanced audience who were presumed to be already familiar with the material presented in the earlier book.

My experience of Trungpa's books has always been one of a cumulative effect. It helps to read, to practice, to read again, and to practice some more. The extraordinary nature of the teachings grow clearer with time and practice, although sometimes very little comes through on the first reading.

Carolyn Gimian has done a wonderful job of sculpting a body of work that speaks to the essence of Shambhala Training and warriorship. She has painted a genuine portrait of Chogyam Trungpa through his training methodologies, poems, talks, and personal history. The book contains reference information for those readers who may want to pursue Shambhala Training, in their own quest to embrace life through direct participation. I would recommend this book to all students of Shambhala, present and future.

In her lovely Afterward, ed. Carolyn Gimian sensitively, yet honestly presents the life & work of Trungpa Rinpoche (TR)--context for the text's 21 (of 5000) TR talks: 2 public & 19 from 5th/final level weekend Shambhala trainings. Sections are different weekends; thus, some redundancy. It complements the prior "Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior." Gimian preserves TR's personality, humor, crazy wisdom, & humanity, adding relevant pictures, TR's poems, a glossary, & index. TR well-describes the teachings: p. 212: "In & of itself, the Shambhala vision is not overly complicated or difficult. Often we see it & say, "Oh, I know that." It feels like something very familiar to us. The real challenge is letting these principles penetrate our being & not letting arrogance & depression consume us. The Shambhala warrior knows that life can be simple. Yet these straightforward teachings have a profound effect. They are not theoretical spiritual exercises: they are pragmatic methods to help people raise their children, develop art, or run their own coffee shops. Through the years, the practical element of these teachings has become more & more powerful."

"Seemingly simple-minded teachings" include: meditation (p. 94), mantra (p. 202),
DISCRIMINATING WISDOM--
pp. 27-8: Discrimination in the Shambhala world means clear seeing or clear thinking.
p. 51: When I came to [USA]...my 1st message to them was, `Please be critical. Don't buy anything that somebody says. Question this. Try to develop critical intelligence."

BASIC GOODNESS--
p. 234: In the Shambhala teachings, basic goodness is the concept of Buddha-nature.
p. 124: the way to give yourself a good time is to be gentle with yourself. A lot of problems come from self-hatred. Let us let go of that.

SERVICE--
p. 13: It is about time that we become responsible for this world.
p. 175: The main point is to help others be good human beings in their own way.

And profound, delightful imagery/phrases: p. 123: "Listen to your own brook, echoing yourself & p. 153: The ordinariness of extraordinariness...ordinariness is extraordinary." No wonder Gimian says p. 223: "Privately everyone reads him, although not everyone admits it." Overall, the book is easy, relatively light, reading though it can be read on several levels. However, I did like the earlier volume better.

This book is a tough read, it becomes very tricky to piece together certain understandings. I would suggest reading it twice. But the profundity is there. I have not read any other Shambala teachings, but the "Primordial Dot" has been very intriguing to meditate upon. Along with the awakening from the "shadow world" of the autonomous mind; this parralels other buddhist teachings. A nice addition to any collection, the hardcover is bleach white with the great eastern sun symbol in gold. It complements my Art of War hardcover which is completely black and the same size.

As a beleiver in the Shambhala tradition and legacy left by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, this tome builds on his writings and complements the tiered instruction to be coming a warrior along the path. This book is most beeneficial if you take the teachings and actualize the steps with meditation and reflection. Perusing the book will render soime insight, but it will be shortlived. One needs to follow through with a plan for encapulating the teachings in one's life with meditation, reflection, and activity. Take the effort to ask yourself "How can represent this in my everyday life?" and you will reap the benefit. This takes effort and time, but I can promise you that the rewards are worth it.

Im a student of Shambhala/Trungpa Rinpoche, and I highly recommend this to anyone needing spiritual uplifting and grounding no matter what your path is.

It provides an inspiring and heartbreaking approach to awakening and embracing life and ourselves, touching our own fundamental goodness.

A constant companion from one of the great masters and beings to walk this earth.