Book Review - The Shambhala Principle: Discovering Humanity's Hidden Treasure by Sakyong Mipham

I hesitate to post this because I doubt I could ever convince anyone here to read it. Be that as it may, I still think it's a pretty good book. Though I was raised Lutheran (more like indoctrinated), I have come to identify much more with a Buddhist outlook later in life. Conceptually, there are of course major differences between the two religions, not the least of which is that Buddhism is non theistic. In practice, however, there is considerable agreement between the two religions on what is and isn't appropriate conduct in daily life. For those more open minded, I think Buddhism has much to offer a Christian who is seeking to deepen or expand their spirituality and I've met more then a few practicing Christians at Buddhist programs I have attended. At a minimum, there is next to nothing in the more well known Buddhist teachings that in any way negates Christianity or any other religion. For what it's worth, though there is certainly a link to Buddhism in this book, this is not a book about Buddhism and as such, there is absolutely nothing in this book that confronts, challenges or denigrates any other religion.

In brief, the author of this book is the son of Chogyam Trunpa Rinpoche who was a Buddhist monk who fled Tibet in the 50's. Without a doubt, CTR was an enigmatic/charismatic/controversial figure and was one of the teachers who was truly instrumental in establishing Buddhism in the west. His audience were the hippies of the 60's who were dissatisfied with the culture. Seeing Buddhism as an escape from that culture, they gravitated to Buddhism only to find that CTR ultimately taught them Buddhism and then told them they needed to go and re-engage the world. This doesn't remotely do justice to what CTR was about, but the salient point is that later in life, CTR  was teaching quite a bit about Shambhala teachings rather then straight Buddhism, and this is what his son has picked up and what is the basis of this book. Again, in very simple terms, the Shambhala teachings have at their core a tenant of basic goodness that is present in every individual and in society itself. Though the term enlightened society is used by both CTR and his son, this is not some drippy utopia nonsense. Rather, it is a challenge to respond to what is truly the best in us while also promoting the same in the world around us by carrying a certain attitude with us at all times.

For sake of comparison, the concept of basic goodness is very similar to the concept that God dwells within each of us and that there is a possibility of connecting with and even becoming that perfection. Likewise, the same exists in society around us. Now, this is not to negate God or Christianity. Some would likely consider the concept of God and enlightenment to be essentially the same thing. This book does not make that comparison, however, it doesn't give us the out that a deity of some kind will eventually show up and set things right if we just sit back and wait for that day. Instead, we need to do the work ourselves and we need to do it now. The basis for the work is that basic goodness not only exists, but is accessible by anyone at any time. To the extent that we strive to reach for and react with basic goodness is the extent to which we can live beyond perpetual fear and beyond committing perpetual acts of aggression to make ourselves feel secure.

To again be clear, this is not a book that preaches utopia, nor is it a book that attacks capitalism, theistic religion or anything else. What it does do is suggest that within each of us, there is an intrinsic nature that is high above any of those conceptions. To take this into the world, however, is not to go out and preach it, rather it is to live it, which is always much more difficult.

Anyone else care to share what they are reading?