Book excerpt: The Kalachakra Path offers a profound method for actualising your greatest potential and contributing to greater peace and harmony within this world. For the first time ever, this extraordinary path is revealed in a step-by-step manner, allowing students to gradually approach this uniquely comprehensive system in a structured and methodical way. Drawing on more than 30 years of intensive training in more than 25 different monasteries from each of the major Tibetan traditions, Khentrul RinpochE offers an expansive understanding that transcends all sectarian boundaries and cuts through to the essential meaning of the Buddha's teachings. In this first of three books, RinpochE explores the external reality of the world that we encounter on a daily basis. Through a wealth of practical advice, he provides us with a variety of methods for working with the many ups and downs that we face. He then encourages us to probe deeper into the very nature of our experience in order to develop insight into what is truly important to us and how to make the most of the precious opportunities that this life has to offer.