There's a rebel within you. It's the part of you that already knows how to break free of fear and unhappiness. This rebel is the voice of your own awakened mind. It's your rebel buddha, the sharp, clear intelligence that resists the status quo. It wakes you up from the sleepy acceptance of your day-to-day reality and shows you the power of your enlightened nature. It's the vibrant, insightful energy that compels you to seek the truth.

Dzogchen Ponlop guides you through the inner revolution that comes from unleashing your rebel buddha. He explains how, by training your mind and understanding your true nature, you can free yourself from needless suffering. He presents a thorough introduction to the essence of the Buddha's teachings and argues that, if we are to bring these teachings fully into our personal experience, we must go beyond the cultural trappings of traditional Asian Buddhism. "We all want to find some meaningful truth about who we are," he says, "but we can only find it guided by our own wisdomby our own rebel buddha within."

Dzogchen Ponlop (born in 1965) is one of the foremost scholars and meditation masters of his generation in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He is known for his sharp intellect, humor, and the lucidity of his teaching style. He is a prolific teacher and author, and an accomplished calligrapher, artist, and poet. He devotes much of his energy to developing a vision of a genuine Western Buddhism that is free from the cultural hang-ups that distract us from the Buddha's essential message of wakefulness.

	Contents: Rebel Buddha - on the Road to Freedom
	Introduction: Born to be Free	1
1.	Rebel Buddha	11
2.	What You Should Know	19
3.	Geting to Know Your Mind	31
4.	Buddha on the Road	43
5.	The Way to Go	51
6.	Relating with Confusion	63
7.	The Three Trainings	73
8.	Untelling the Story of Self	85
9.	Beyond Self	93
10.	The Altruistic Heart	105
11.	What's in Your Mouth	123
12.	Turning Up the Heat	137
13.	The Good Shepherd and the Outlaw	143
14.	A Lineage of Awakening	155
15.	Building Community: Heart Advice of the Buddha	169
	Editor's Note	181
	Editor's Acknowledgments	183
	Appendix 1. Instructions for Meditation Practice	185
	Appendix 2. Selected Poems	197
	Notes	201
	Index	203