Brave, Generous, and Undefended is a profound teaching on how to become and how to live as a bodhisattva, dedicated to the liberation of all. To the classic pith instructions of "The 37 Bodhisattva Practices," by 14th-century Tibetan teacher Tokme Zangpo, contemporary Western teacher Barbara Du Bois brings her fresh, energetic, penetrating wisdom from the heart. Rich with insight and fearless love, these teachings embrace us as participants in intimate, dynamic discussions that vividly demonstrate the transformational power of the bodhisattva intention in relation to life purpose, suffering, relationships, and spiritual path. Arrows of love and truth pierce our illusions of self and separation, showing us that we already are what we aspire to become: embodiments of truth and love. This profound and practical book will encourage, guide, and invigorate beginning seekers and advanced practitioners in any tradition, as well as those with or without a formal spiritual path. "The 37 Bodhisattva Practices," considered the essence of the enlightenment path, require no erudite explanations or secret initiations, but they do upend our minds, so it is helpful to have a teacher unpack them for us. Du Bois delights in the task, as a longtime practitioner familiar with both the tricky conditioned mind and what it is hiding from. Addressing both our own longings for happiness and freedom and the root causes of our confusion and pain, the bodhisattva trainings turn our self-absorption inside out, revealing the good heart that seeks ultimate freedom - for all. Du Bois's teachings show clearly how love and compassion bring us onto the bodhisattva path, in the intentional, wholehearted process that transmutes mind of self-grasping to the "awakening mind," bodhicitta. Her invitation: take what speaks to you and test it for yourself; contemplate and practice on it until you attain confidence, and then continue, for the benefit of all. Brave, Generous, and Undefended: Heart Teachings on the 37 Bodhisattva Practices, Du Bois Barbara, White Cloud Press, Paperback, 220 pp, $17.95
Lopon Barbara Du Bois, PhD, is known for the clarity, freshness, humor, and fearless love with which she meets us, shining a frank Western light on the path. Her principal gurus in this lifetime are H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and H.E. Garchen Rinpoche.
Barbara has been teaching Buddhadharma since the mid -1980s. In 2002 H.H. Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche conveyed the blessing of the lineage, his hands upon her crown, and in 2004 H.E. Garchen Rinpoche appointed her Lopon (Master Dharma Teacher); she is the only disciple to receive this title from Garchen Rinpoche in the United States. He has said of Lopon Barbara that she is "an authentic, genuine lama, able to tame beings according to their needs." In accord with Rinpoche's personal instructions, Barbara�s teachings elucidate the essence of the Buddhadharma, pointing always to the union of the Two Truths.
Barbara�s long lifetime of service has included work with the United Nations, disarmament, refugees from colonial regimes and genocide, and an indigenous women�s peace movement during an active civil war in Africa. Formerly also a social scientist and artist, Barbara is more recently the author of Brave, Generous, & Undefended: Heart Teachings on the 37 Bodhisattva Practices (2020) and Light Years: A Spiritual Memoir (2011); she has also compiled and edited works by two Western indigenous spiritual teachers, Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo and David Chethlahe Paladin. Lopon Barbara currently resides in Arizona.
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