In Love with the World

A Monk's Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying

By: Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Helen Tworkov

Narrated by: Feodor Chin

A rare, intimate account of a world-renowned Buddhist monk’s near-death experience and the life-changing wisdom he gained from it

“One of the most inspiring books I have ever read.” (Pema Chödrön, author of When Things Fall Apart)

“This book has the potential to change the reader’s life forever.” (George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo)

At 36 years old, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche was a rising star within his generation of Tibetan masters and the respected abbot of three monasteries. Then one night, telling no one, he slipped out of his monastery in India with the intention of spending the next four years on a wandering retreat, following the ancient practice of holy mendicants. His goal was to throw off his titles and roles in order to explore the deepest aspects of his being.

He immediately discovered that a lifetime of Buddhist education and practice had not prepared him to deal with dirty fellow travelers or the screeching of a railway car. He found he was too attached to his identity as a monk to remove his robes right away or to sleep on the Varanasi station floor, and instead paid for a bed in a cheap hostel. But when he ran out of money, he began his life as an itinerant beggar in earnest. Soon he became deathly ill from food poisoning - and his journey took a startling turn. His meditation practice had prepared him to face death, and now he had the opportunity to test the strength of his training.

In this powerful and unusually candid account of the inner life of a Buddhist master, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche offers us the invaluable lessons he learned from his near-death experience. By sharing with listeners the meditation practices that sustain him, he shows us how we can transform our fear of dying into joyful living.

Praise for In Love with the World:

“Vivid, compelling... This book is a rarity in spiritual literature: Reading the intimate story of this wise and devoted Buddhist monk directly infuses our own transformational journey with fresh meaning, luminosity, and life.” (Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge)

“In Love with the World is a magnificent story - moving and inspiring, profound and utterly human. It will certainly be a dharma classic.” (Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart)

“This book makes me think enlightenment is possible.” (Russell Brand)

©2019 Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"With this book, we enter into the interior life of a remarkable young Buddhist teacher. After setting off by himself on a wandering retreat, he immediately encounters fear, aversion, sickness, and near death. Yet the same emotional and physical difficulties that would throw the average person for a loop become opportunities for Mingyur Rinpoche to work with his mind, and to deepen his commitment to transforming adversity into awakening. His willingness to describe this process in such intimate detail has been an immense help to my own path, and makes this one of the most inspiring books I have ever read.” (Pema Chödrön, author of When Things Fall Apart)

“Readers seeking a deep exploration of Buddhist philosophy will be richly rewarded by Rinpoche’s thought-provoking and ultimately inspiring story.” (Library Journal)

“Part thriller, part deeply personal autobiography, and part Buddhist teachings on how to live a meaningful life, this is an extraordinary book. It has something profoundly important to teach each of us.” (Richard J. Davidson, author of The Emotional Life of Your Brain)

Informative, Honest, Helpful.

These type of personal, spiritual stories are inspirational and inform my own experiences. Loved the openess, lack of pretence and specific focus on the mind and death. Very modern communication style.
Wish the narrator had been better schooled in Sanskrit pronunciation, but otherwise clear and informative, like a newscast.

Wow!

What a wild ride. Mingyur Rinpoche’s journey in this book is quite a listen. A lot happens during his journey and he does a great job interweaving meditative and Buddhist insights into each moment, providing a sort of real-world application to his strategies. Very cool, would recommend for both meditator and non-meditator, Buddhist and non Buddhist.

Inspirational autobiographies needed now more than ever

We need to hear more stories like this now more than ever.
To be inspired to be curious, courageous, and compassionate.
Articulating clearly the journey, we find that we too can embark and achieve the becoming “In Love with the world »

a perspective unimaginable

this story will stay with you for a long time. my mind and heart has opened wider.

my only gentle complaint is that the author reads almost like a game show host. but, it did not detract from the story being told.

What a gift!

As a long-time Buddhist, this is one of the clearest teachings on the Bardos I’ve read. And it is filled with many accessible teachings on how to live, study and practice. Exceptional. What a gift from Mingyur Rinpoche to all of us.

wonderful personal and deeply meaningful

this book addresses deep questions about living and more specifically, dying, while struggling to live a spiritual life. loved hearing of the author's adventures on the spiritual plane and the physical one. narrator did a good job of staying in the background. would have especially liked to hear it read by the author though. Thank you for this gem!

Pause for the Presence

Awareness and spacious emptiness contrast with the point of view(ing) of the dualistic seeing and seeking of my ego self. Not-enough ness forever. But the sign on the pub says free beer tomorrow.
What Wilber terms “the Great Search” is the automatic endless dissatisfaction (Dukkha) condition of that ego. Vs Pausing for the Presence for Awareness as a new way of being related in a non dualistic non-transactional non-strategy of Awakening. Never fixed always faithful. At least that’s me.

Great story combined with teaching

I enjoyed this book so much I listened twice. The author tell how he gave up everything and learned what it is like to live as a beggar. In the telling he clarifies spiritual practice and spins a great story.

Amazing

Brought me to tears many times. This is a book every practitioner should read. What a journey home.....

whoever you are, you will learn something

great story, super great narrator. it was such an interesting story I wished the plot covered a longer timeline