Light Comes Through: Buddhist Teachings on Awakening Our Natural Intelligence

Friend and teacher of the high-profile author Pema Chödrön, Tibetan Buddhist lama Kongtrül grew up in a monastic environment and received broad training in Buddhist doctrine. Steadily gaining in sophistication in its three sections, this slender book has wisdom for practitioners of all levels. The first part lays bare the five self-centered emotions of jealousy, aggression, attachment, arrogance and stupidity. The second, which delves into working with others, offers fresh material on working with a teacher, as well as understanding the pull of our emotions and thoughts in everyday relationships. The final part, on emptiness, is more suited to advanced practitioners who are ready to embrace esoteric teachings. Kongtrül's primary mission is to help readers train their minds in wisdom. There is a comforting bravery in his thinking about the difference between “trying to arrange the world according to our preferences” and “delighting in the way our experience naturally unfolds.” (July 8)