“I think I had automatically an intense devotion for Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö from the moment I read the first words about him. It was like my first experience of Guru Yoga. Then I felt the same for Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and for Dudjom Rinpoche. At the end of the book, my devotion to all these teachers was essentialised in devotion for the author of the book, and for the Buddha who most inspires him: Guru Rinpoche…”

Juan Brouilhet, from Valencia, Spain writes: “During the 1995–96 Christmas season, my sister, to whom I will always be grateful for what I describe below, must have heard some comment about my special interest for eastern philosophies… and that must have inspired her choice of a Christmas gift for me. She went to a bookstore and asked the bookseller: “My brother is very fond of Buddhism, what do you recommend?” The bookseller, as luck would have it, replied: “We have a wonderful book that has just recently come out.”

This book was The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, and although I had actually never mentioned Buddhism to my sister, this misunderstanding on her part turned out to be the thing that would change my life.

When she gave me the present, I mistook it at first for the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which I had heard about.

I still remember with great clarity, when I started reading the introduction to the book, where Rinpoche tells us about his birth and how he was recognized as the incarnation of a great master by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. As he described and talked about his teacher, the devotion radiating from those first pages thrilled me so much that I could not put the book down for the entire Christmas season, and I read it from beginning to end for the first time in the space of a couple of weeks.

I think I had automatically an intense devotion for Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö from the moment I read the first words about him. It was like my first experience of Guru Yoga. Then I felt the same for Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and for Dudjom Rinpoche. At the end of the book, my devotion to all these teachers was essentialised in devotion for the author of the book, and for the Buddha who most inspires him: Guru Rinpoche.

Yet it took many years until I had the chance to connect with Rigpa in Spain (in January 2003) because there was no group here as far as I was aware. However, for all those years, it was my bedside book, I read it again and again, praying that I could soon come into contact with Rinpoche and his organisation, Rigpa.

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying has always been a constant inspiration in my life. Every so often I like to read the preface again, and bring back to my mind the devotion I felt when I read the first pages, and which has since then permeated my life.

I have immeasurable gratitude towards Sogyal Rinpoche for having written the book. It has changed my life, giving it real meaning.”

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