The Passionate Buddha: Wisdom on Intimacy and Enduring Love Paperback - 2002

First line

By the time Siddhartha Gautama was in his early twenties, he had it all.

From the rear cover

RELATIONSHIPS / SELF-HELP "The Passionate Buddha is a wonderful book on the proper handling of the magnetics of the heart--its irrepressible attraction as well as its unremitting opposition. It is about the great work that only the heart is great enough to handle." --Stephen Levine, author of Who Dies?: An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying "The Passionate Buddha is a must for anyone seeking to practice the profound path of intimate relationship, as it contains meditations and practical tools for joining deep awareness with passionate intensity." --Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and founder of Tara Mandala Retreat Center Beginning his book with the question "what are you waiting for?" Robert Sachs goes on to discuss the meaning of true love and how to attain it in the modern world. Interweaving traditional Buddhist thought with the concerns of the modern couple, Sachs uses clear and playful language to describe the different aspects of healthy relationships--from physical pleasure to emotional connections and spiritual transformation--all within a Buddhist context. However, rather than just setting an ideal, he considers the role of each individual in a relationship, showing that a couple may develop or possess qualities of being an indivisible unit, but that where the real work lies is when two people are committed to grow and change with one another. He shows how to deal with anger and other emotions that occur most intensely over the course of an intimate relationship. The Passionate Buddha acts as a powerful guide for all of those "fumbling toward ecstasy" in the challenging world of relationships. ROBERT SACHS has spent the last twenty-five years studying with some of today's most noted Tibetan spiritual leaders and Ayurvedic physicians. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, he is also the author of Tibetan Ayurveda and Perfect Endings. He lives with his wife and children in San Luis Obispo, California.