Customer Reviews

A Path Strewn with Flowers and Bones

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A wonderfully straightforward and accessible look into Tulku Sherab Dorje's experiences in living and being in the world while at the same time living the great river of the Dharma. His writing invites us to learn from his own lived experiences as counsel in a high profile litigation firm alongside his coming into Dharma practice through experience, teachings and the very presence of great Masters. Tulku Sherab Dorje cautions us about limitations in thinking we can get 'there' through scholarship alone and he speaks of the need for solid foundational practice while at the same time recognizing that everything that happens to us and around us in the world is a reminder to practice. "Buddhas don't appear in this world because they manage to avoid its trappings long enough to escape to a pure place, but because they are able to, aspire to, connect to the world from a completely pure and sane perspective." Tulku Sherab Dorje's story offers an honest and clear glimpse into the naturally impressive ways of the Dharma.

I enjoyed this memoir - it's told fairly well, and he has an interesting story to tell. Tulku Sherdor really plunged into dharma practice in the Vajrayana tradition - took a late 70s trip to India & Nepal as a college student and connected with Tulku Ugyen. Caught the 16th Karmapa's funeral. Did a little postgrad work in Buddhist Studies at UVA with Hopkins. Did the first 3-year retreat at Kalu Rinpoche's KTC in Wappingers Falls. Did a one-year solo in a cabin upstate NY. Eventually hooks up in the 90s with the Notorious OKL (Orgyen Kusum Lingpa) who becomes his main teacher and through the auspices of whom he gets recognized a tulku. Eventually starts his own dharma center, also in upstate NY.

He's more candid than these memoirs usually are when it comes to hardships. He has a falling out with one of his lamas over the lama hitting on nuns and then getting abusive whenever confronted about it. I wish he's been more clear about which lama it was though, because by not naming names suspicion falls on many (if you know who it was please comment).

A little too much time was spent for my taste on the details of his cases as a lawyer, but that is a pretty minor quibble. Also, note that the first 180 pgs or so is a memoir, and then it makes an unannounced shift into a random collection of thoughts on dharma.

I liked this book. It is an interesting story of an American that apparently was born with a ticket to the upper levels of buisiness wealth and power. His curious nature, intellect and drive led him into a search for fulfilment, and ultimately into the upper echelons of Tibetan Buddhism. He undoubtedly has more adventures ahead of him. Perhaps this story is "to be continued".

Tulku Sherdor began this life as a Jewish kid from Montreal, but his memoir A Path Strewn with Flowers & Bones, is a far cry from The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. The first part of the book is a memoir of the author's life to here. Whether you accept that he is a reincarnated lama does not alter the fact that he has lived many lives in this lifetime. The book recounts his intellectual and spiritual quest to grapple with questions of life, death, perception, and consciousness. The book recounts not only his travels to Asia and studies with Tibetan lamas, but also his work as an attorney involved in some of the most high-profile corporate litigation in U.S. history. He moves between these two worlds, translating sacred texts at one moment and preparing legal cases the next, as well as offering the sometimes painful twists and turns of his personal life. The second part of the book serves as an accessible discussion of Tibetan Buddhist principals and practices designed to help people break free of the prisons we create for ourselves by our preconceptions and desires. It offers a glimpse to a path down to become more mindful, virtuous, and open our hearts to compassion.

I really liked reading this book. It was very captivating and read smoothly. It impressed upon me the depth of the Buddhist path and the spiritual understanding of advanced practitioners. I found it very unique in that Tulku Sherdor exercised an impressive degree of openness with his most intimate spiritual experiences and observations. The reader is the primary beneficiary of such sharing. I highly recommend it for any reader.