Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom Hardcover - 2010 - 1st Edition

Media reviews

“Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche shatters old myths and sweeps away cultural baggage, presenting the essence of the Buddha’s teachings in a fresh, contemporary voice. With uncommon clarity and authority, he offers a new vision for the future of Buddhism that is at once shocking and hopeful. This is a small book with a big message that is timely and important.”—Pema Chödrön, author of When Things Fall Apart <o:p> </o:p>

“Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche has a remarkable ability to present the wisdom of the Buddha’s teachings in a manner that is as fresh and accessible as it is profound. With Rebel Buddha, he goes straight to the core of the spiritual path, showing how the Buddha’s liberating insights transcend race, religion, and culture. This book is sure to provoke, inspire, and move us one step closer to creating a thoroughly modern approach to spirituality.”—Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, author of The Joy of Living

“A seminal work for the growth of Buddhism in contemporary society. Fearlessly and intelligently, Ponlop Rinpoche invites the reader to make these ancient tools meaningful in our lives, without any fetishizing of someone else’s culture. Rinpoche’s voice roars with the relaxed confidence of authenticity, and the fierce urgency of now. In Rebel Buddha, Rinpoche establishes himself as something we need now much more than a Tibetan lama: he is among the first of the American Buddhist masters.”—Ethan Nichtern, author of One City: A Declaration of Interdependence

“This book does a wonderful job of bringing the Buddha’s teachings to all of us here in the West. Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche has great insights into the workings of our minds, guiding us from delusion to clarity.”—Sharon Salzberg, author of Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience

“Dzogchen Ponlop is a gentle voice for an emerging and more accessible Buddhism. He seems comfortable in the role of ‘Rebel Without a Cause,’ but in his case, a rebel willing to meet everyone where they live. Dzogchen Ponlop exposes some of the cultural overlays of Buddhism and unearths aspects of the essential teachings. He is a kind of second-generation pioneer…a product of both traditional and modern lifestyles. Rebel Buddha is in many ways the perfect representation of a more mature Buddhism in America, a Buddhism that has put down roots but with fresh and unknowable revolutions ahead.”—Tricycle


“Concisely shares insights into all Buddhism has to offer the modern mind today, with a global view that transcends the limitations of culture. It is a true meeting of East and West.”—San Francisco Book Review


“Rebel Buddha is uniquely straightforward and well-suited to the Western reader.”—New Age Retailer