Glimpse After Glimpse: Daily Reflections on Living and Dying

by Sogyal Rinpoche

This collection of meditations - one for every day of the year -shows why readers around the world have been captivated by the profound insights of Sogyal Rinpoche. These gems of wisdom will inspire readers to cultivate a more mindful approach to living and explore new ways to care for the soul. Glimpse After Glimpse includes original meditations as well as some adapted from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying . It offers clear and enlightening ways of applying wisdom to the daily concerns we all face. Each day readers will find ideas on topics such as nature of change, the acceptance of death, working with doubt, putting compassion into action in our daily lives, and the trials and rewards of the spiritual path - a perfect companion to anyone's spiritual practice.

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion, Philosophy

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 1995

About the author

Sogyal Rinpoche (Tibetan: བསོད་རྒྱལ་, Wylie: Bsod-rgyal) was born in the Tibetan Fire Pig year (1947-8) and raised by one of the most revered spiritual masters of this century, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, who recognized him as the incarnation of Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa (1856-1926). With the Chinese occupation of Tibet, he went into exile with his master, who died in 1959 in Sikkim in the Himalayas. After university studies in Delhi, India, and Cambridge, England, he acted as translator and aide to several leading Tibetan masters and began teaching in the West in 1974. Rinpoche sees his life's task in transplanting the wisdom of Buddha to the West by offering training in the vision set out in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. This training can enable those who follow it to understand, embody, and integrate Buddhist teachings into their everyday lives.

Rinpoche's reputation as an authority on the teachings associated with The Tibetan Book of the Dead and his dialogue with leading figures in the fields of psychology, science, and healing make him a sought-after speaker at international conferences and lectures. He travels extensively, teaching in Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia, and is the founder and spiritual director of Rigpa, a network of Buddhist centers and groups around the world.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a year ago, just after the New Year's celebrations of 2011, as I was reorganizing a bookshelf in a burst of resolution-fired energy. I, frankly, did not even remember purchasing it; I suspect I did so not long after it was published in 1995, put it on my bookshelf, and then -- intending to read it at some later date -- promptly forgot it. Last January, however, thoughts on living and dying were frighteningly real to me as my brother and I were then caring for my mother during the final days of her life. I decided that the time had come to read these daily Buddhist reflections and to spend some time each morning, well, reflecting on the greater meaning of life and its ending and the grace that remains. I also, quite honestly, felt that I needed more strength than I had and hoped that somewhere in the pages of this book would be the words to help me find it.

My mother passed away on March 26 of 2011. Her death was, at least according to her hospice nurse who knows of such things, as peaceful a transition into the next world as one is likely to get. Was I strong during that long passage? Well, I was there, and I was doing my best, so I suppose I was strong enough. Did reading this book help me to be that? Actually, yes, it did -- there IS wisdom in this book. But the REAL wisdom came in taking the time each morning to be silent, to read the words of someone who has spent far more time in spiritual relection than I have (thank you, Sogyal Rinpoche), and to allow myself to ponder . . . just to ponder . . . the great mystery of our presence here on earth and our eventual leave-taking from it.

I knew only the barest essentials of Buddhist thought before beginning this book. In the first month of readings (only a paragraph or two a day), the author introduced a number of Buddhist concepts by name and brief explanation. Because most of these concepts were unfamiliar to me, I often found myself struggling to remember just what a particular word meant when I encountered it again in a later month and had to page back to January's readings in an attempt to refresh my memory. For me, a glossary would have been helpful. But even so, many of the passages were so beautifully meaningful that I marked them for future reference. And, in truth, some of the passages were so obscure and esoteric that they completely escaped my understanding! I suspect that such is the nature of spiritual learning.

I finished this book right "on time" with the final day's reading on December 31st, 2011. And perhaps the sincerest endorsement of this book I can give is to say that I found my year of reading its pages so enriching that I have decided to continue the daily practice, but this time with a book from a different spiritual tradition. My hope (and my belief, too, actually) is that when it comes time for me to take my own journey into the next world -- whatever that world turns out to be -- I will set foot on its shores a wiser soul.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book by my bed for years. It is my favorite thing to read before, bed, upon waking, whenever. Year after year I always find something new!

[Vladislav Ivanishin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. Very inspirational and insightful at times. I feel it has changed me in a profound way.
I think it can be said, that the book contains a gentle introduction to the Dzogchen tradition (it surely shows glimpses of it).
Not always was it a light and easy read (maybe due to my setting: most of the book was read while commuting, and that might have been a mistake, in retrospect).
This book (unsurprisingly) made me reflect on death a little, and I would like to read on the topic and reflect some more for full effect. It certainly improved my meditation (it actually was the reason I wanted to read this book in the first place) and made me appreciate the importance of following a master (I don't have a master yet and don't mind not having a master though if positive karma allows it, some day I will).
I wish everyone to realize the nature of their mind, be spacious, free from delusions of the ego and other forms of attachment and aversion, feel the infinite compassion and merge with the wisdom mind of all the buddhas :)

[Cheryl Xavier · Rating 5 out of 5]

just so good. everytime i read it daily, learn something, get something new. calming.

[Phil Calandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a daily reminder of the important examples of Buddhist doctrines specifically related to how we can find true meaning and the nature of our lives through meditation. All of the teachings of Buddhism are aimed at looking at the true nature of the emptiness of mind in addition to showing us the uselessness of the fear of death. One of the central tenets of Buddhism is that there is nothing that has any inherent existence and the chief cause of our suffering is the clinging and attachment to things that for their very nature are impermanent. Our eternal Awareness is who we really are that extends beyond our bodies, senses and our very individual lives and deaths.

[Mandy Cormier]

Oops o😬 sorry on purpose but this

[T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, it took me forever to read this book, almost a year. But that's because it is a book of daily reflections. It is not a format that I prefer, I like my words of wisdom in larger doses. Sogyal Rinpoche's book "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" is one of my all-time favorites and I am sorry that I cannot day I like this one as much. But if you like to either start, or end, your day with a short inspirational reading, then its quite good. I am including one quote that I particularly liked: When you have learned, through discipline, to simplify your life, and so practiced the mindfulness of meditation, and through it loosened the hold of aggression, clinging and negativity on your whole being, the wisdom of insight can slowly dawn. And in the all-revealing clarity of its sunlight, this insight can show you, distinctly and directly, both the subtlest workings of your own mind and the nature of reality." Now there is a thought to ponder!

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may have set the finish date to today, but the truth is, I read this book every day, and I have done so for years. With a short inspirational passage for every day (except February 29th,) there is something to think about as I go through my day. Sometimes it's a very Tibetan Buddhist thought, and other days its a general message for living your life in a better, more serene way. Today's reading, for instance, suggested cultivating an eye for beauty - a smile, a face, the drape of a lovely fabric in a shop window as it's bathed in sunlight.
You don't have to be a Buddhist at all to enjoy the refreshing wisdom you'll find here.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not like books that lead you by the hand, day by day, over the year, so what I did with this was, I would read a week to two weeks worth, then set it down until I was back to the date I left off and take it up again, and so on throughout the year. It has some nice thoughts in it, and lots of them. I sure wouldn't want to be one of those people that sits and meditates on one silly page at a time for 365 days, though.

[Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology of comments, observations and guides. It isn't a text to be read once. It is arranged in a calendar year format for the reader to revisit daily. Designed to stimulate a thought and a state of mind.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful Day by Day reflections on living and Dying.

[Madeleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Dagend Inzicht"

[Venelin Iliev · Rating 5 out of 5]

С тази книга си струва да завършваш всеки ден, в продължение на година. Ако не се лъжа, точно 365 размисли има вътре.

[Raymond Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Day after day thus book offered me a diffent glimpse and helped me through a rather low point in life!

[Geri Degruy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book every morning (or most mornings) this year. It is full of Zen wisdom for living with the knowledge of dying, and it started my day off on the right foot.

[Bryan Wade · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting and gave pointers and thought probing.