| 🤓 Admin Zone 🛠️ hidden to non-admins | |
Loving All: Stories from my Life, My Teachers and the Path of Compassion
Book
Please note that many items in our library are simply pages that represent a detailed library catalog entry and citation of someone else's work, presentation, or performance. Read our General Disclaimer for more information.
Description
Tulku Pema Rigtsal weaves together personal stories and Buddhist teachings to offer practical guidance on compassion, kindness, and wisdom. The teachings are based primarily on a commentary on Gyalse Tokme Zangpo's "The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva," given in Humla, Nepal, in October 2019.
This personal and practical exploration of the Buddhist path blends together the author’s own journey with the timeless wisdom of his teachers and lineage. Through vivid stories, historical anecdotes, and direct teachings, the narrative illuminates the transformative power of compassion, kindness, and wisdom. Drawing on the foundational principles of Mahayana Buddhism, the reader is guided through essential practices such as renunciation, patience, generosity, and the cultivation of bodhicitta—the altruistic intention to benefit all beings.
Tulku Pema Rigtsal emphasizes the importance of spiritual friendship, the challenges of overcoming attachment and anger, and the necessity of self-examination and mindfulness. Ultimately, this book serves as both an inspirational memoir and a practical guide, inviting readers to embrace the path of awakening in order to be of true benefit to others. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Citation
Pema Rigtsal. Loving All: Stories from my Life, My Teachers and the Path of Compassion. Translated by Laura Swan. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2026.
Table of contents
- Foreword by Matthieu Ricard ix
- About the Author by Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche xiii
- Translator's Note xv
- Preface xvii
- Introduction 1
- The Virtuous Beginning: The Introduction
- 1. The Title 15
- 2. The Opening Homage19
- 3. The Author's Commitment to Compose27
- The Virtuous Middle: The Main Body of the Treatise
- 4. The Preliminaries: Entering the Dharma33
- 5. Making Meaningful These Freedoms and Advantages That Are So Difficult to Attain 35
- 6. Abandoning Your Native Land, Source of the Three Poisons 51
- 7. Adhering to Solitude, Source of Good Qualities 59
- 8. Reflecting on Impermanence and Thereby Renouncing the Concerns of This Life 67
- 9. Avoiding the Adverse Condition That Is Bad Company 75
- 10. Relying on the Conducive Condition That Is the Spiritual Friend 81
- 11. Taking Refuge, the Gateway to the Buddhist Teachings 87
- The Main Part: The Paths of the Three Types of Beings
- 12. The Path of Lesser Beings: Avoiding Sinful Actions in Fear of the Suffering of the Lower Realms 95
- 13. The Path of Middling Beings: Detaching Yourself from Samsaric Pleasures and Redirecting Your Efforts Toward Liberation 105
- 14. The Path of Greater Beings 117
- 15. The Application: Cultivating the Two Types of Bodhichitta 127
- 16. How to Use Loss on the Path 135
- 17. How to Use Suffering on the Path 139
- 18. How to Use Disgrace on the Path 143
- 19. How to Use Slander on the Path 147
- 20. Being Wronged in Return for Kindness 153
- 21. How to Use Disparagement on the Path 159
- 22. How to Use Poverty on the Path 163
- 23. How to Use Prosperity on the Path 167
- 24. How to Use Objects of Anger on the Path 175
- 25. How to Use Objects of Attachment on the Path 181
- 26. Training in Ultimate Bodhichitta 187
- 27. In Post-Equipoise, Discarding Fixation on the Reality of Objects of Attachment 197
- 28. Discarding Fixation on the Reality of Objects of Anger 203
- 29. Training in Generosity 209
- 30. Training in Discipline 217
- 31. Training in Patience 227
- 32. Training in Diligence 233
- 33. Training in Meditative Concentration 239
- 34. Training in Wisdom 249
- 35. To Scrutinize Your Own Confusion and Give It Up 255
- 36. To Give Up Speaking of Bodhisattvas' Faults 259
- 37. To Give Up Attachment to the Households of Sponsors 263
- 38. To Give Up Harsh Words 267
- 39. How to Be Rid of the Afflictions 273
- 40. Training in Accomplishing Others' Good with Mindfulness and Vigilance 279
- 41. Dedicating the Virtue to Perfect Buddhahood 285
- The Virtuous End: The Conclusion
- 42. How and For Whom This Text Was Composed 293
- 43. The Unerring Nature of These Practices 295
- 44. Demonstrating Humility and Requesting Forgiveness 297
- 45. Dedicating the Merit of Composing This Text to Buddhahood 301
- 46. The Colophon Endowed with Four Perfect Qualities 303
- Structural Outline 305
- Notes 309
- Bibliography 335
- Index 339
Interconnections
1 Teaching on
Gyalse Tokme Zangpo's (1295–1369) highly influential work on Mind Training (blo sbyong) that outlines the training of a bodhisattva in a series of thirty-seven verses is still very popular today with Buddhist practitioners around the world. The colophon states: "This was composed at the Jewel Cave of Ngulchu by the monk Tokme [Zangpo], expounder of scripture and reasoning, for the benefit of myself and others." Since he gathered together all the paths of the bodhisattvas and composed them in the form of thirty-seven verses, the title is clearly fitting.
