Description

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An introduction to the Dharma for millennials by a young Tibetan lama.

This unique and fresh presentation of Tibetan Buddhism provides all the tools a millennial needs to navigate the Buddhist path in a modern world. The twenty-five-year-old lama, Avikrita Vajra Sakya, was born and raised in America and now lives in a monastery in India, training in and teaching meditation and Buddhist philosophy to hundreds of monks and nuns. He has thousands of students all over the world, with over 100,000 people following him on Facebook. His style of writing is frank and open, hitting straight to the heart of young people's concerns for why they should bother with a spiritual path in the age of cell phones and shopping malls.

There is no other book like this available that makes such a direct argument for being a twenty-first century Buddhist, whether you are living in Seattle or in a Himalayan hermitage. Fundamentally, we all have the same hang-ups and all equally have the potential to become buddhas ourselves by cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, and wisdom. And this book teaches readers to do just that.

About the Author

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AVIKRITA VAJRA SAKYA is a young, dynamic Buddhist teacher who is tuned in to Western culture and has trained in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Rinpoche straddles both worlds through growing up in America and now living in the Dzongsar Institute in India, studying Buddhist philosophy and teaching monks and nuns throughout the Himalayas. He is Head Lama of Sakya's Phunstok Phodrang and Sakya Monastery in Seattle and is ranked as one of the highest lamas in Tibetan Buddhism. He has thousands of students throughout America, Europe, and Asia and regularly travels internationally to teach.

Praise For…

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“Wake Up to What Matters, a book by Khondung Avikrita Vajra Sakya Rinpoche of the Sakya Phuntsog family, elucidates many philosophical ideas and practices of Buddhism…in a contemporary, readable manner.” —From the Foreword by H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

“I am encouraged that Avikrita Vajra Rinpoche, at such a young age, is already reaching out to young, modern people in a language and style to which they can relate. My wish is that this basic introduction to the dharma will attract many such people to the path of awakening and that it will encourage them to go ever further and deeper with their practice and study. I am sure it is with this in mind that Avikrita Rinpoche’s grandfather, H. H. Jigdal Dagchen Sakya, encouraged him to write this book. May Wake Up to What Matters bring great benefit to countless beings!”—Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

“This thorough yet approachable treatise on Mahayana Buddhism will be invaluable reading for newcomers to the religion.”—Publishers Weekly