--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Kenny H" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi There, I have a question for you. The author of the book, "The > Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" is Sogyal Rinpoche. Is this his > actual name and if you looked him up in an index would his name be > listed as: > > Rinpoche, Sogyal > > or is one of these words/names a title? > > Thank you!!
'Rinpoche' is a title, meaning 'precious one.' It has far less of a meaning in the West than in a strong, structured Tibetan tradition. In many such traditions, one really has to *earn* the title of 'Rinpoche,' and it would be considered an affront of the highest order to call yourself 'Rinpoche' without having deserved the title. Flash forward to the West, where no one has much of any idea about the traditions in question, and anyone can call themselves what they want. So. Are there people out there on the spiritual smorgasbord circuit who call themselves 'Rinpoche' who never did anything to deserve the title? You betcha. Is Sogyal Rinpoche one of them? I don't think so. His title seems to have been well- earned; AFAIK he's a legitimate Tibetan Dzogchen master of the Nyingma tradition. His organization, Rigpa, is worldwide; there are even branches near where I live in France. That said, he has not been above controversy him- self, having been accused in 1994 by a female devotee of having coerced her into a sexual rela- tionship with him. One blogger, who runs a site called the Integral Options Cafe, refers to him as "a perfect example of a flawed man who was still a valuable teacher." Like Chogyam Trungpa before him, Sogyal Rinpoche seems to be capable of being very human while writing some of the best Buddhist teachings going. His "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" is an absolute classic. Go figure.
