Openness Mind

The point of meditation is not to take a daily fifteen-minute break from our lives. The point is to employ meditation to transform life so that we would never want to take a break from it.

Tarthang Tulku describes his book as a ‘trail guide’ to extending the insights gained from meditation throughout our lives. The ‘openness’ of the title is key. When we open our senses, the grip of ego automatically relaxes. Body and mind synchronise. As we open to the world, the relationships between thoughts and emotions, between sensations and awareness, clarify and transform. Here we find balance, enjoyment and peace. This is the way beyond fear and frustration into effective, unconflicted action.

Although the book is not primarily a meditation manual, Tarthang Tulkus presents several simple exercises that are helpful as a supplements to the fundamental shi-nè practice.

The book is written in exceptionally clear, straightforward English. More experienced readers may be surprised to see subtle concepts from Dzogchen—normally buried in layers of arcane academic complexity—presented painlessly in plain language. For beginners, the challenge is to read the book slowly and carefully enough to catch its profundity. The ease of the prose makes it easy to glide over what often sounds like simple common sense, without noticing how radical the path it describes actually is.

Tarthang Tulku’s approach is unfailingly gentle and sweet. If you prefer a more rugged style, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism covers much of the same material.

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