The Guru Drinks Bourbon?

An enlightening, accessible, and highly entertaining guide to the guru-disciple relationship, the heart of Tibetan Buddhism.

The humility and compassionate activity of the Dalai Lama is something many people can connect with, but how can one understand the stories about some other Buddhist teachers' unorthodox behavior? The centrality of and reliance on a guru is one of most misunderstood elements of Tibetan Buddhism and one that is most often veiled in mystery. Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse here rips the veil off the role of the guru, revealing it to be nothing other than a skillful means for enlightenment, and a practical one at that.

By envisioning one's guru as the Buddha and uniting one's mindstream to his or hers through practice, the profoundest kind of insight becomes attainable by the student. Though this path of devotion may not be the best route for everyone, it may be useful for many, and he provides priceless guidance here not only for determining if it's the path for you, but also for finding the right teacher and for relating to the teacher properly once you've established the relationship.

The book is useful not only for those interested in Tibetan Buddhism, but also for anyone seeking insight into student-teacher relationships in any spiritual tradition, for which Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse provides much wisdom along with a good deal of humor.

About the Author

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse (Khyentse Norbu) is a Tibetan Buddhist lama who travels and teaches internationally and is also an award-winning filmmaker (The Cup, Vara, Travelers and Magicians). He is the abbot of several monasteries in Asia and the spiritual director of meditation centers in Vancouver, San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Taipei. He is also head of several large Buddhist organizations including Siddhartha's Intent, the Khyentse Foundation, and the chair of 84000.