A Book

As a reader there are innumerable books to get yourself immersed into. Books can bring us everything, namely; wealth, power, merriment, grief, humility, desire, wisdom, ultimate bliss, as well as hell, and so forth. Yet, without reading books no one improves or reaches merriment or blissful states.

As human beings we are by nature supposed to creep towards the virtuous life without any pause. This whim or vigor to do so is the best gift we have for all other beings. To be a virtuous and kind loving person towards others, reading books takes precedence for every single one of us. Well then how to be a virtuous and kind loving person through reading books is to be selective between right and wrong. Just one right book one can bring us all the ample insights that we could ever need.  Since the fact that we are all caught up in this samsaric marsh, all we have to do is just to follow or read the books by those great saints who have already extricated themselves from the marsh. Amongst the many other variety of books on the bookshelf of the world. I, as a slothful adherent of the path, found one reading, from my recent readings, very insightful and compelling. It is the “Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.’’ Concerning the virtuous path I have found this book to be crammed with discernments. This book has dragged me further on the path than any other book has ever done. It lucidly articulates the importance and unavoidability of death about which I have been very neglectful and ignorant. Although we are all destined to die, birth entails death and that is unavoidable, death comes equally to anyone when the time ripens. It does not differentiate the impoverished from the rich, fools from the wise, students from masters, Chinese from Tibetans. We don’t realized this phenomena and live as if we are deathless. This book wakens us from the deep sleep of such delusion of death and can instigate any of us to engage ourselves in the work of death preparation.

Moreover, it teaches the core of the entire Buddhist philosophy in a very concise and simple way. Buddhism is unfathomable and it is improbable for one to read everything about Buddhism in one lifetime. Yet, the above mentioned book would be equivalent to reading several other books. It is very profound as well as very easy to decipher. It is written according to the exact needs of people living in this age. Moreover, the author has written it not only with his mastery of Buddhism but also with his vast cross-cultural wisdom. Thus I am certain that anyone from any tradition, any spiritual belief, and cultural background will surely be greatly benefited just by reading even a few pages of the book. I also would like to suggest everyone to find time to open the book.

To put it in a nutshell, I am grateful and feel extremely fortunate to have received such generous offer to maintain my own pursuits in Nepal. This pursuit is the foundation with which I am able to further obtain similarly insightful books or instructions.

~ Champa from Tibet