The Passionate Buddha: Wisdom on Intimacy and Enduring Love

by Robert Sachs

Discusses the Buddhist meaning of true love and how to attain it in the modern world.

• Interweaves Tantric Buddhist teachings with modern concerns such as monogamy and contraception.

• Gives a holistic view of a healthy relationship, from physical pleasure to emotional connections and spiritual transformation.

• Discusses love in the broader Buddhist concepts of karma and reincarnation.

Beginning his book with the ringing question "what are you waiting for?" Robert Sachs goes on to interweave traditional Buddhist thought with the concerns of the modern couple. Using clear, playful language, Sachs describes the different aspects of healthy relationships within a Buddhist context. However, rather than just setting an ideal, he clarifies how Buddhist practices not only can be integrated into a modern lifestyle but also can be powerful tools for the many changes that occur in any loving relationship.

Sachs also 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 offers techniques for finding oneself both in and out of a relationship and ideas on how to deal with anger and other emotions that arise in the course of life, emotions that occur most intensely over the course of an intimate relationship. The Passionate Buddha acts as a guide for all of those "fumbling toward ecstasy" in today's confusing world of relationships.

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2002

About the author

Robert Sachs was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He started his college years at Case Western Reserve University, then moved to England where he lived and studied for many years. Along with a more conventional education, Robert began to study with Tibetan Buddhist masters and embarked on a study of Asian healing systems. He received his B.A. in comparative religion and sociology at the University of Lancaster and then moved to London, where he studied macrobiotics with Michio Kushi and Rex Lassalle at the Kushi Institute and hatha yoga under the guidance of Jonathan O’Dell and Johanna Auld, while also training as a mental health counselor with the Richmond Fellowship. He is certified as a hatha yoga instructor with the All India Board and Inner London Education Authority, completed shiatsu training with Rex Lassalle, and was instrumental in starting the Community Health Foundation’s Growing Family Center in London.

After returning to the United States, Robert went on to receive a massage license from Central Ohio School of Massage and a Master’s in Social Work at the University of Kentucky. Of particular interest to Robert since the late seventies has been the practical preventive health care aspects of Tibetan medicine, which he studied under the guidance of Dr. Lobsang Rapgay. Robert also focused on the healing meditations of Tibetan Buddhism, including those practices that prepare one for the time of death under Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, Lama Ole Nydahl, and other Buddhist masters. Currently, Robert continues to study under the guidance of Tibetan Buddhist master Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche.

For the last thirty years, Robert has worked with physicians, clinics, hospitals, and private individuals and organizations teaching stress management and preventive health care. He is sought after as a lecturer at national holistic health care conferences and has hosted his own talk radio show. He has written numerous articles for national and international health magazines and authored nine books, all focusing on physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Several of these titles have been translated into a number of foreign languages.

Besides his books, Robert has also released a number of podcasts on the topic of civility, which are available on YouTube and the websites of the Worldwide Civility Council. Along with his wife Melanie, Robert runs Diamond Way Ayurveda, the considered the foremost promoter of Ayurvedic training and education by the spa and beauty industries.

Reviews

[_goslowly_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book includes several references to books and texts related to mindfulness, love, and our Buddhanature. I now have a list of books and authors that I want to research to deepen my understanding on the matter. This book offers a kind of introduction to the different ways we can approach the topic of relationships (with ourselves, and others) from different Buddhist perspectives.

[Al · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't care for this one. It was a bit too heteronormative for me.