Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chogyam Trungpa
Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chogyam Trungpa
by Diana J. Mukpo
Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston, MA ©2006 (Biography) 420 pp.
Primarily a personal memoir about Chogyam Trungpa written by
his ex-wife, Dragon Thunder is a fascinating glimpse into
Mukpo’s life and a jolly good read. This is a fly-on-the-wall perspective on life with the intriguing and often controversial Tibetan spiritual
leader.
However, any qualms I might have had about Chogyam Trungpa
(his organization, his personal life, his crazy wisdom form of teaching) were
not quelled by reading Dragon Thunder. Much of the book’s emphasis was
on a literal telling of her story, along with elaborate descriptions of the
exoteric forms of Tibetan Buddhism. If I worked hard to read between the lines,
I could glean a bit of information about the spiritual aspects of Mukpo’s life,
but very little about her actual practice. For example, when she described
Trungpa’s insistence that she continue with her dressage training, she made no
explicit connection with the training as a spiritual practice. I can only
assume it was part of the process. Her
descriptions of Trungpa’s teaching seemed to emphasize the crazy part rather
than the wisdom part.
Finally, I do recommend this book, simply because it brings up for the reader (but does not answer) questions about the relationship between a teacher’s worldly life and his or her spiritual teachings. And, as mentioned above, it’s a jolly good read.
Finally, I do recommend this book, simply because it brings up for the reader (but does not answer) questions about the relationship between a teacher’s worldly life and his or her spiritual teachings. And, as mentioned above, it’s a jolly good read.
-- reviewed by Camilla Bayliss