A Buddhist master's guide to cultivating dignity through meditation to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.

The notion of dignity is crucial to the question of how best to live a meaningful and fulfilling life, particularly for today's environment in which so many of us experience self-doubt, low self-esteem, and feelings of being trapped by anxiety, dissatisfaction, or even success. How, in such a circumstance, can we gain authentic and unshakeable dignity? In Awakening Dignity, Phakchok Rinpoche draws from the Tibetan Buddhist wisdom tradition to offer a unique and fresh approach to answer this question.

From the Buddhist perspective, dignity is an inherent quality of fundamental wholeness and completeness that we all naturally possess: our true nature is pure and our heart is noble. In this guide, Phakchok Rinpoche shows how knowing that we are whole and complete already--and gaining trust and certainty in that understanding--can counteract the common feeling that we are not enough, that something is missing.

Gaining unwavering trust in ourselves protects us from life's ups and downs. With genuine dignity, we are not riddled with uncertainty, anxiety, or self-doubt. Rather, we are able to face any circumstance with confidence, clarity, and compassion. Through reflections, examples, and simple meditations--such as embracing adversity and practicing compassion--Awakening Dignity provides all the tools necessary to fully embody our fundamental dignity.

Awakening Dignity: A Guide to Living a Life of Deep Fulfillment, Phakchok Rinpoche and Sophie Wu, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 240 pages, $21.95

Phakchok Rinpoche (born 1981) is a teacher of the Nyingma lineage and chief lineage holder of the Taklung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is Vajra Master of Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling monastery, abbot of several monasteries in Nepal, and assists monasteries and practice centers in Tibet.. In addition, he serves as Director of the Chokgyur Lingpa Foundation, a nonprofit organization engaged in a wide range of humanitarian projects.

Sophie (Shu-Chin) Wu, PhD, is associate professor of history at Agnes Scott College. Trained in Chinese intellectual history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she teaches Asian history and philosophy, including Buddhism. As a longtime student of Buddhism, Sophie is a meditation instructor for Phakchok Rinpoche�s organization.