The Intelligent Heart: A Guide to the Compassionate Life [Paperback]

Practical instruction in a Tibetan Buddhist method for developing radical compassion--from a contemporary master with a gift for making the ancient teachings speak to modern hearts.


Dzigar Kongtrül's lively and accessible presentation of the Tibetan training method known aslojong(mind training) focuses on what he considers the heart of that practice:tonglen, the practice of exchanging self for other, for taking in others' pain and suffering and sending out kindness, ease, and consolation. It's a powerful method for developing compassion of the most tranformative kind, and its supreme expression is found in the classic textThe Great Path of Awakeningby Jamgon Kongtrül. This book is Dzigar Kongtrül's commentary on that beloved text, based on a series of talks he gave on it. It includes his fresh translation of theGreat Path, and it is full of his characteristic humor as well as his skill in translating esoteric concepts into terms that not only are easily understood but that speak directly to the heart. The Intelligent Heartoffers a profound new approach to awakening readers’ loving hearts to the essence of bodhisattva wisdom: cherishing others more than oneself. This jewel of a book teaches us how to shower the light-of-love into even the darkest corners of our stressed world. —Tulku Thondup, author ofThe Heart of Unconditional Love

“A wonderful addition to the growing and essential lojong literature. Dzigar Kongtrul’s homey, earthy words evoke the very best of the Tibetan spirit of common sense compassion. Deceptively simple, this book carries with it enormous depth of practice and understanding. My copy is rife with underlining!”--Norman Fischer, Zen priest, author ofExperience: On Thinking, Writing, Language and Religionand coauthor ofWhat Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner's Mind

 “This is a wonderl¸