Customer Reviews

You Are the Eyes of the World

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Longchenpa was the great systematizer and transmitter of Dzogchen and his writings combine visionary poetic expositions of the nature of reality with lucid explanations and practical advice. He's one of the greatest Buddhist masters of all time. A true genius in every sense of the word. If you read his more esoteric books you will be astounded at the clarity and brilliance of his mind. This book is one of his most accessible texts -- it is essential for anyone practicing Dzogchen because it focuses on integrating the practice with ordinary daily life. The translation is especially accurate having been approved by Namkhai Norbu, one of the most eloquent and erudite contemporary Dzogchen teachers. It's a definite must-have for anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism and in particular Nyingma philosophy and Dzogchen. It's also a great text for anyone trying to integrate their spirituality into daily life.

This little book is like having an old dear friend put their arms around you to draw you close and whisper in your ear "I know your heart". Absolutely relevant to our time and place, Longchenpa's work is written with you in mind.

I grew up on Krishnamurti and his " "you are the world" challenge. For about 20 years I tried to understand and apply his teachings on choiceless awareness. I felt overwhelmed by what seemed to be his ethical standards. I found in Buddhism what seemed to be similar but less severe teachings and I studied and practiced Zen for 7 years, largely on my own. Then I discovered Dzogchen: the bookstores were carrying an increasing number of books on Dzogchen. I don't know if this was the case (Krishnamurti says he never read any religion's scriptures but he may have been influenced by speaking with others, e.g. the Theosophists who raised him), but it seemed as if Krishnamurti's teaching on choiceless awareness was very close to the Dzogchen teaching of naked awareness. Meanwhile, Dzogchen is presented as transcending its Tibetan Buddhist manifestation, so, at least naively, I've been able to feel that the Dzogchen teachings are close to those of Krishnamurti. Not to mention that Theravada Buddhism also teaches choiceless awarenes (etc etc).

Which brings me to "You are the Eyes of the World". I do not know the original language but the translation seems smooth and Namkai Norbu Rinpoche, who seems to be one of the most reputable living Dzogchen teachers, vouches for the translation's quality in the introduction. The English translation of the main text by Longchenpa is only 36 pages long. The translators provide an introduction and commentary, which may help you, although the main value is clearly Longchenpa's teachings themselves.

"The Jewel Ship: A Guide to the Meaning of Pure and Total Presence The Creative Energy of the Universe"

Sounds awesome, doesn't it? I've referred to it as the "big wow" approach, although it can be calming. 32 years since I first learned of choiceless behavior via Krishnamurti, I'm a big dummy when it comes to it. So when I saw this book on a bookshelf, I ordered it from Amazon and it provided the biggest "big wow" I've had yet from the choiceless awareness teachings. It's that clearing of thoughts that occur as I read such teachings and which lasts a short while. Then, when I try to apply it all to my life as husband, dad, and worker, it breaks down.

Lately I've found that the recent Western Cognitive Therapy practices provide a way to deal with my thoughts that overlaps what choiceless awareness seems to do.

"You are the Eyes of the World" replaces Padmasambha's "Self-Liberation through seeing with naked awareness" as my current favorite Dzogchen text. Longchenpa seems to me to be clearer about what the self-liberation of thoughts is about.
Padmasambha's work is brilliant and I also recommend it highly but at the moment "You are the eyes of the world" has seized my attention and does seem clearer. The real test will be how well I can apply it in my daily life. I often get caught up in activities including thoughts and forget about anything like what I consider naked awareness to be.

There are modern day teachers of choiceless awareness, but I feel more comfortable with the ancient texts like this one and
Padmasambha's. In the past decade, many of the ancient Dzogchen texts have become available in English translation. I remain skeptical, in general, of the choiceless awareness teachings: despite having studied and tried to practice them for years, it's not clear to me that aren't simply exploiting natural aspects of my consciousness. Whether the ancient teachers weren't gaining by misleading people I don't know but some modern spiritual teachers (not necessarily choiceless awareness teachers) seem to have, so I'll take my chances with the ancient teachers. In "You are the eyes of the world" , there is a command to keep the teachings away from disinterested people and not to broadcast them (e.g. not teach them to "a group of more than 5 people". It is explained in the text why this is so. So one may wonder whether modern day teachers who broadcast teachings of choiceless awareness choose to do so: they may have good reason, but I'd be curious if they are in conflict with Longchenpa's warning.

Dzogchen is a powerful teaching which seems to be spreading in the last decade thru the world (and across the Internet). "You are the Eyes of the World" is a pithy presentation that I, at least, have found as helpful on choiceless awareness as anything I've encountered. I don't think it requires prior study or interpretation by others to put it into context.

As to why I still struggle often with my family, job, and concern about world conditons despite exposure to the choiceless awareness teachings, I can't say. I've believe I've begun to understand that no amount of choiceless awareness will remove many of the challenges life provides. Perhaps you will fare better, but I am not complaining as the choiceless awareness teachings, more than any other, keep me aware of how awesome life is. Until, perhaps, my boss gives me a crummy task.

The last writing to affect me this way was "The Cloud of Unknowing," a seminal piece of Christian mysticism. "You Are the Eyes of the World" similarly stands traditional Buddhist dogma on its ear. Surely the best of the dozen or so books on Dzogchen I've read. Some of the wisdom found here is quite shocking, so much so that you'll occasionally find yourself forced to pause as you consider the implications.

Exciting, fascinating book.

Reading the text one can definitely get a lot of insights into the deepest teaching of the planet(if not the universe)... Prejudice apart, the book IS a real thing taught by eminent Lonchenpa and translated into English with a high degree of precision. Thumbs up!