The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin (S U N Y Series in Buddhist Studies) [Hardcover]

Zabs-Dkar Tshogs-Drug-Ran-Grol (Author), Matthieu Ricard (Author)

Book Description

Series: S U N Y Series in Buddhist Studies | Publication Date: August 1994

Regarded by many as the greatest yogi after Milarepa to gain enlightenment in one lifetime...a source of inspiration to Buddhist practitioners and general readers alike.--The Dalai Lama

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a source of inspiration to Buddhist practitioners and general readers alike." --The Dalai Lama --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"This thorough, well-conceived edition of an important text will be welcomed by scholars and serious practitioners of Buddhism." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 705 pages
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791418359
• ISBN-13: 978-0791418352
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,827,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Emaho! ("How marvelous!"), November 16, 2004

By 

Peacock Eye - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin (Paperback)

This is the splendid autobiography of Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangrol (1781-1851), a yogi who wandered far and wide expressing his realization, as a fully accomplished adept of the Great Completion (Dzogchen).

From the Foreword by HH the Dalai Lama: "Regarded by many as the greatest yogi after Milarepa to gain enlightenment in one lifetime (...) as source of inspiration to Buddhist practitioners and general readers alike." HH Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche: "As one reads it, one's mind cannot resist being turned toward the Dharma."

This autobiography is full of humor, wit and playful joy, intense self-discipline as well as magnificant flights of imagination. An accessible book full of telling stories, a must-read, must-own for those interested.

"Man -
If you have any self-respect,
A heart in your chest,
Brains in your head, and
Some sympathy for yourself,
Regret your past actions and
Improve your whole behavior.
It's time! It's very late!
- Shabkar

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous !, February 16, 2000

By 

Thomas Roth (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin (S U N Y Series in Buddhist Studies) (Hardcover)

Matthieu Ricard has created a work of art. Remaining true to the poetic beauty of the Tibetan original he has for the first time presented this important work to the west. Also, his notes and appendixes on historical and buddhist backgrounds are invaluable. For the first time the reader is presented with the life of a Tibetan saint and his lineage formerly largely unknown among western students of Tibetan buddhism. A tuely inspiring page-turner !

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the master works of Tibetan religious heritage, July 16, 2006

By 

Kalden (Amsterdam) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin (Paperback)

Considered as one of the master works of Tibetan religious heritage.
For people who have a connection with Tibetan Buddhism this book is a true treasure. And, dear vegetarians, you are right :-), many Tibetan Buddhists might prefer to ignore the fact, but Shabkar as a non sectarian Tibetan yogi gave up eating meat for the rest of his live when he was 27 years based on his sincere conviction that a Buddhist - at a certain stage - should gave up "the negative act of eating the flesh of beings" (p.232). See also his book Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat, ISBN 1590301161.