Rude Awakenings

“It would be hard to imagine a more amiable, generous, or knowledgeable guide for a Westerner interested in Dharma than Samuel Bercholz. This book, filled with a lifetime of wisdom that Bercholz received directly from astonishing teachers of Tibetan Buddhism, is a great gift to the world.”
—George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo

“Samuel Bercholz is a jolly figure; I clearly recall his hearty laugh from the first time I met him. I was about eight years old, visiting the United States for the first time with my grandfather and root guru, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Samuel has had a fascinating life: He founded Shambhala Publications and later became a witness, assistant, and disciple of the first Buddhist masters to come to America. In Rude Awakenings, he kindly shares his remarkable life and experiences with us—a story rich in anecdotes and delight.”
—Rabjam Rinpoche

“Like having a cheerful companion walk you through a flaming pit of lava—an essential book of great spiritual benefit!”
—Devendra Banhart

“What a blessing it would be to sit down with the perfect person to answer every last question you have about the true Dharma and how to live it within the framework of ordinary life. This book is that blessing. From his decades of devoted practice and study with some of the greatest masters of our time, Sam offers the most profound teachings, fully intact and fully accessible. Both beginners and experienced practitioners will benefit from this view of how to live a life of ordinary magic, right here, right now.”
—Susan Piver, author of Start Here Now, Inexplicable Magic, and The Buddhist Enneagram


“This book is nothing less than a celebration of Buddhist practice as an art of joyful
awakening. I could feel Sam’s encouraging and caring presence in the conversational
style of the writing. I see this as a reference book, a handbook, and a ‘keeper’ indeed for all of us who seek a path to fearless loving-kindness.”
—David Richo, author of By Your Side

“An astounding unfolding of wisdom on practice and wakefulness in an authentic Vajrayana lineage, woven with fascinating anecdotes with wit and full dedication.”
—Kazuaki Tanahashi, author of Enlightenment Unfolds

“In 1969, a twenty-one-year-old Sam Bercholz offered the world a defining invitation: He founded Shambhala Publications. Since then, millions of teachers, students, and practitioners from sacred traditions from across the globe accepted his invitation, offering their curiosity, wisdom, and compassion to a world in need of help. Today, in Rude Awakenings Sam shares his wise and noble voice directly with us: fresh, playful, and utterly uncontrived. It was with deep gratitude that I read this book—a gratitude that countless hearts and minds for generations to come will no doubt discover for themselves.”
—Michael Carroll, author of Awake at Work

“In my opinion, this is probably the best book written to date about Buddhism. It is said that a teacher is best heard through his or her students. Sam’s root teacher was the remarkable Tibetan Buddhist Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, an absolutely brilliant import to the West. I knew Trungpa relatively well, at any rate well enough to recognize that Sam is transmitting Trungpa’s mind and voice. As a true student of Trungpa Rinpoche’s, Sam is stunningly transmitting what Trungpa had taught him.

That is one of the many reasons I love this book. Sam covers all the main aspects of Buddhism clearly, thoroughly, and brilliantly. Best of all, he offers short exercises where the reader can directly experience what he is explaining. This really is a wonderfully brilliant book—as I said, the single best book about Buddhism now on the market. As a prolific writer on self-help and spirituality, I am often asked what system or spirituality I think works the best or is the most ‘life-changing’ approach, and I always say ‘Buddhism.’ So get this book, read it, and have your life changed forever, thanks to the extraordinarily clear mind of Trungpa Rinpoche as wonderfully and brilliantly transmitted through the exquisite voice and understanding of Sam Bercholz.”
—Ken Wilber, author of Finding Radical Wholeness and A Brief History of Everything