Chapter 9: "The Spiritual Path" Summary

According to Sogyal, the purpose of life is to achieve enlightenment. The only way to achieve this is to undertake a spiritual journey with a trained master. While Sogyal does accept that the current state of the world, samsara, is extremely deceitful in its illusion of grandeur, he also notes there is hope for enlightenment, that of the masters. He points out that choosing a master can be difficult, but once one is chosen, a disciple should remain with the same master throughout their journey. A master should be kind, compassionate, tireless in their effort to share knowledge, non-abusive, and humble. In addition, the master must provide teachings consistent with those of the Buddha. As one is trying to find their own path, Sogyal stresses, one should examine spiritual books of all traditions, and find...