Transcending Madness: The Experience of the Six Bardos (Dharma Ocean Series)

I bought this book out of interest in Bardo and the psychological angle at which it takes. The book is laid out with different talks that Chogyam gives (it is often referenced this was taking place during a retreat) which are then followed by questions and answers between Students and Chogyam. I like the basic layout and some of the questions and answers do drift into unexpected places that are also interesting in general. There are some occasional moments of odd humor.Most of the lessons being taught come through relatively clearly. The question and answer portions at times become more difficult to grasp with almost overly abstract or esoteric, to the point at times it seems like even the students who were actually in attendance were having a difficult time understanding the responses. Adding to this, some of the topics discussed diverge almost entirely from the teachings and into Zen, Japanese traditions, and more. Which are often unhelpful, especially if one is not familiarized with what they are referencing. There are also a few teachings that gave me pause as they are potentially not approached the same way by all Buddhist traditions.Overall, the book does have some interesting high points and I did feel I learned from it. This would not be a book for a beginner, though. It has a heavy subject matter which requires some basic understanding of Buddhism before getting into.

This book is wonderful for those who have serious interest in Tibetan buddhism and the intricacies of our mind. It's not for beginners. This is a book that is to be read and studied with meticulous patience. This is book that conveys wisdom and insight rather than information. It provides unique into how patterns of anxiety, depression, anger are basically manifestations of samsara--and our inability to distinguish between the reaction of our mind/mindstate on the challenges of living in this world.

Good teachings here, but sometimes the text moves at an extremely slow pace. I am sure there is a teaching in that for me, but I think it may have been able to be edited better.

I think that Chögyam's work, teachings, and writings are mostly stellar; I first learned who he was when I discovered his book 'Truth of Suffering'. I couldn't put it down. When I started this book, however, I was so put-off by the teacher-student-back-and-forth-transcript formatting that I actually put it down and never finished it. That type of disjointed formulation sometimes works well when used for small articles, but it wasn't put together well here at all. The real shame is that there was probably hugely important information there. I just couldn't get through it.

A difficult and wonderful reading on a mostly hidden and avoided and extremely necessary subject of our lives. A classic from Chögyam Trungpa and the precious treasure of Tibetan Budhism.

In depth discussion of the 6 realms and their function within the context of bardo. Well worth reading.

This is an excellent description of the Bardos and the 6 realms. One must have had advanced Shambhala training to appreciate what Chogyam Trungpa has brilliantly laid out for us Shambalians

This is a complex book and is not for the layman, inexperienced meditator. It will make a great deal more sense if you are a regular practitioner with a teacher.

If a Rinpoche is talking in the forest and there's no one there to hear him, is he actually saying anything? In this case, no. Chogyam Trungpa's book is full of the sort of enervating circular discussions that give Buddhism a bad name. Everything is nothing and nothing is illusion and they are both the same anyway! This is no way to transcend madness.