A rare, intimate account of a world-renowned Buddhist monk's near-death experience and the life-changing wisdom he gained as a result.
'One of the most generous, beautiful, and essential books I've ever read – thoroughly engaging, so clear, so honest, so courageous and full of wisdom.' George Saunders, Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche's experience begins the night he has chosen to embark on a four-year wandering retreat, slipping past the monastery gates. Alone for the first time in his life, he sets out into the unknown. His initial motivation is to step away from his life of privilege and to explore the deepest, most hidden aspects of his being, but what he discovers throughout his retreat – about himself and about the world around us – comes to define his meditation practice and teaching.
Just three weeks into his retreat, Rinpoche becomes deathly ill and his journey begins in earnest through this near-death experience. Moving, beautiful and suffused with local colour, In Love with the World is the story of two different kinds of death: that of the body and that of the ego, and how we can bridge these two experiences to live a better and more fulfilling life. Rinpoche's skilful and intimate account of his search for the self is a demonstration of how we can transform our dread of dying into joyful living.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche was born in the Himalayan border regions between Tibet and Nepal. He teaches throughout the world. His bestselling book, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into over twenty languages. In early June, 2011, Mingyur Rinpoche walked out of his monastery in Bodhgaya, India and began a 'wandering retreat' through the Himalayas and the plains of India that lasted four and a half years. When not attending to the monasteries under his care in India and Nepal, Rinpoche spends time each year travelling and teaching worldwide.
Helen Tworkov is the founder of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and author of Zen in America: Profiles of Five Teachers. She has studied in both the Zen and Tibetan traditions. She began studying with Mingyur Rinpoche in 2006. The renowned Tibetan Buddhist teacher recounts the adventure story of his life and brush with death during his four-year wandering retreat, combined with innovative meditation techniques for a more enlightened and happier life.
