The Guide to Enlightenment: Why the Teacher Still Matters in Buddhism Today

Allison Choying Zangmo · Carolyn Kanjuro

Oct 2021 · Shambhala Publications

About this ebook

Navigate the transformative potential of the student-teacher relationship with advice and personal stories from two female Buddhist teachers with decades of experience working with spiritual guides.

Taking a spiritual path that genuinely transforms our lives is no easy task. It engages the deepest parts of ourselves, and there are many pitfalls and ravines that can carry us away on this sometimes treacherous path. A spiritual guide who is genuine and experienced is vital for navigating such obstacles--someone to give perspective, someone to trust, someone to light the way. The teacher-student relationship has been a core part of Buddhism from the time of the Buddha and his first disciples over 2,500 years ago, and it continues to be central to navigating a spiritual path of meditation and reflection.


In this intimate collection of personal stories and advice, Allison Choying Zangmo and Carolyn Kanjuro team up to reflect on their experiences as longtime practitioners of Buddhism, their own unique relationships with their partners who are also their spiritual guides, and to celebrate and uphold the transformative power of the student-teacher relationship. As both students and leaders in their Buddhist communities, Allison and Carolyn share insights into how we can successfully interpret traditional Buddhist understandings of spiritual mentorship for today’s world. From guidance on how to find a teacher to how to face issues of miscommunication and confrontation, Kanjuro and Zangmo help readers consider their own goals and emotional boundaries as a starting point for building a positive new spiritual connection.

Ratings and reviews

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Buddhism, meditation and the spiritual path. It gives us an inside look into what it’s like to have a close relationship with a Buddhist master and how to navigate the path with confidence and skill. This is a book I will come back to again and again. A true gem!

This book is a must-read for anyone on the Buddhist path, especially Westerners wanting to develop or already developing a connection with a spiritual teacher. Authors Allison and Carolyn's firsthand experiences living with Buddhist masters are laid out in a way that makes walking the Buddhist path feel more accessible for us, and is expressed in a way that is easy to understand. The blurbs on this book by some of the most respected and realized masters of today made me even more excited to read it, and they were all right-- this book is incredibly inspiring; a true gem!

Endless gratitude to Allison and Carolyn for sharing their heart advice in this down-to-earth and extremely practical guide, using clear language alongside inspiring real-life examples to point the way for all spiritual seekers and especially students of Tibetan Buddhism. It reads like personal advice, pithy and direct while warm and approachable. I will keep this book close to my heart for many years to come, reading it again and again to reap the maximum benefit of their wisdom and experience. I feel already it has increased my devotion, not just in my spiritual teacher but also in the path itself. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I’ve already ordered a few more copies to give to friends and family!

About the author

ALLISON CHOYING ZANGMO is Anyen Rinpoche's personal translator and a longtime student of both Rinpoche and his root lama, Kyabje Tsara Dharmakirti. She has either translated or collaborated with Rinpoche on all of his books. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

CAROLYN KANJURO was a writer and creative collaborator. She served as creative director for Secrets of the World, an award-winning audio series for children featuring global storytellers, and taught meditation, theater, and contemplative archery to kids throughout North America.