The foremost Tibetan lama of a new wave of Tibetan Buddhism spreading across China shares accessible advice for working with adversity and living a spiritual life.
Tales for Transforming Adversity is a translation of a bestselling work in Chinese, a popular expression of Buddhism that has sold tens of millions of copies. Each brief chapter takes up a different topic, weaving in stories from ancient classics and modern headlines, drawing on adages from Confucius to Mark Twain, to deliver simple and timeless insights about facing adversity and developing a good heart. The author, Khenpo Sodargye, is a Tibetan Buddhist monk and chief disciple of Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, who founded Larung Gar, a sprawling monastic complex of more than ten thousand practitioners on a green hillside in eastern Tibet that has been energizing a new generation of Tibetans and creating a sensation among Han communities throughout China. Now English-language readers can also benefit from this ageless advice on money, relationships, and mortality with a Buddhist spin.