Dragon Thunder

Dragon Thunder

Diana J Mukpo

“It was not always easy to be the guru’s wife,” writes Diana Mukpo. “But I must say, it was rarely boring.” At the age of sixteen Diana broke with her upper-class English family and left school to marry Chogyam Trungpa, a young Tibetan lama who would go on to become a major figure in the transmission of Buddhism to the West. Trungpa attracted thousands of students in North America and is credited for introducing many key Buddhist concepts into the English language and psyche. During his lifetime he founded more than one hundred meditation centers and authored dozens of popular books on meditation and Buddhism. Among Asian masters living and teaching in the West, Trungpa was known for having an unorthodox and unpredictable teaching style – and for leading an unconventional personal life.In “Dragon Thunder”, the reader gets an intimate look at this compelling and enigmatic figure through the eyes of his wife of seventeen years. Diana herself led an extraordinary and unusual life as the “first lady” of a burgeoning Buddhist community in the American 1970s and 80s. Diana gave birth to four sons, three of whom were recognized as “tulkus” or reincarnations of high Tibetan lamas. It is not a simple matter to be a modern Western woman married to a Tibetan lama, let along to be married to a man who is adored and sought out by thousands of eager students. Surprising events and colourful people fill the narrative as Diana seeks to understand the dynamic, puzzling, and larger-than-life man she married – and to find a place for herself in his unusual world.

Selected Reviews:

“The value of this book is to open household doors and tell a page-turning family story by which the controversial guru Chogyam Trungpa can be better understood.”–Publishers Weekly

“Gives readers a fresh yet intimate view of Trungpa and invites us to see the female strength that so often lies behind the man.”–Inquiring Mind

“An intimate and frank telling of the life of one of the great spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. Diana Mukpo’s extraordinary story as wife, lover, and friend to Chogyam Trungpa reveals her to be a courageous, independent woman with a depth of understanding of her husband’s life and teaching. More than just a history, it is a timeless illumination of the genuine Buddhist path.”–Melvin McLeod, editor of The Best Buddhist Writing series

For those with an interest in Buddhism and the Buddhist way of life and love in both spiritual and practical terms this is the essential book for you.