Turning Toward Awareness: Stop Suffering Start Living - Hardcover

by Ven George Teng (Author), Francis Paone (Editor)

Turning Toward Awareness posthumously shares wisdom from a western monk ordained in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Written in 1974, Ven. George Teng's incisive writing and unique insights into the workings of the mind still provide an excellent foundation for spiritual practice. Buddhists as well as those who follow other faith traditions will find the author's thoughtful reflections inspiring. Even those without any faith tradition will benefit from his presentations on developing a meaningful life that brings happiness in the present and hope for the future.

The author shows how human growth becomes arrested and dysfunctional when our awareness is misguided by distorted beliefs. His work sheds light on the ways we try to protect ourselves, such as hiding our ignorance because we feel it is shameful; reacting to fear with cowardice; and embracing weakness as a lifestyle to gain others' energy and attention. His wisdom helps us become aware that our unhealthy mental habits are obscuring our innate nature of wisdom, compassion, and power, which have the potential to manifest in every moment through our intelligence, love, and creativity.

Turning Toward Awareness will help readers stop the suffering arising from wrong views and start living a life of true happiness.

Author Biography

Ven. George Teng was born in Estonia. After fighting in World War II, he headed for California where he turned his mind toward spiritual transformation. After renouncing worldly activity and pleasures, he became a Tibetan Buddhist monk at age fifty-four and devoted the remainder of his life to practicing dharma and teaching others of all faiths. Ven. Teng maintained a silent retreat for eight years prior to his death in 1997.

Francis Paone met Ven. George Teng, his first Dharma teacher, in 1969. After receiving a BA in Study of Religion from UCLA in 1978, he continued to study Buddhism with Ven. George Teng, Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen and other Tibetan masters. In 1997 Francis and his wife Jean began a long meditation retreat under the direct guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Currently they retreat most of the year and teach occasionally.