Product Description

A guide to the basic steps of enlightenment, demonstrating how to practise morality, meditation and wisdom, while simultaneously delving deeper into the Dalai Lama's more general teachings, his spirit and sense of humour. His Holiness provides guidance on mental calm, altruism and compassion, refraining from harm and focusing the mind. The book is intended for use as part of daily practice, is easy to understand and filled with anecdotes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20226 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-07
• Original language: Tibetan
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
The Dalai Lama is the most influential person in the world --Time magazine

A symbol of serenity, a spiritual leader second only to the Pope --Independent

He draws crowds that no other spiritual leader or politician could hope to match...he seems to look at life in a different way to everyone else
-- The Times

About the Author
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of Tibet. Today, he lives in exile in Northern India and works tirelessly on behalf of the Tibetan people, as well as travelling the world to give spiritual teachings to sell-out audiences. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
TWO WAYS TO HAPPINESS

There are two ways to create happiness. The first is external. By obtaining better shelter, better clothes, and better friends we can find a certain measure of happiness and satisfaction. The second is through mental development, which yields inner happiness. However, these two approaches are not equally viable. External happiness cannot last long without its counterpart. If something is lacking in your perspective - if something is missing in your heart - then despite the most luxurious surroundings, you cannot be happy. However, if you have peace of mind, you can find happiness even under the most difficult circumstances.

Material advancement alone sometimes solves one problem but creates another. For example, certain people may have acquired wealth, a good education, and high social standing, yet happiness eludes them. They take sleeping pills and drink too much alcohol. Something is missing, something still not satisfied, so these people take refuge in drugs or in a bottle. On the other hand, some people who have less money to worry about enjoy more peace. They sleep well at night. Despite being poor in a material sense, they are content and happy. This shows the impact of a good mental attitude. Material development alone will not fully resolve the
problem of humanity's suffering.

In this book I offer you, the reader, valuable techniques from Tibetan traditions which, if implemented in daily practice, lead to mental peace. As you calm your mind and heart, your agitation and worry will naturally subside, and you will enjoy more happiness. Your relationships with others will reflect these changes. And as a better human being, you will be a better citizen of your country, and ultimately a better citizen of the world.

KINDNESS

We are all born helpless. Without a parent's kindness we could not survive, much less prosper. When children grow up in constant fear, with no one to rely on, they suffer their whole lives. Because the minds of small children are very delicate, their need for kindness is particularly obvious.

Adult human beings need kindness too. If someone greets me with a nice smile, and
expresses a genuinely friendly attitude, I appreciate it very much. Though I might not know that person or understand their language, they instantly gladden my heart. On the other hand, if kindness is lacking, even in someone from my own culture whom I have known for many years, I feel it. Kindness and love, a real sense of brotherhood and sisterhood, these are very precious. They make community possible and thus are crucial in society.

INTERDEPENDENCE

Much of the world is now connected by a web of electronic communication and instant information. In the twenty-first century our global economy has made nations and their people heavily dependent upon one another. In ancient times, trade between nations was not necessary. Today, it is impossible to remain isolated, so if nations do not have mutual respect, problems are bound to arise. Although there are grave signs of trouble between poorer and richer nations, and between poorer and richer groups within nations, these economic rifts can be healed by a stronger sense of global interdependence and responsibility. The people of one nation must consider the people of other nations to be like brothers and sisters who deserve progress for their homelands.

Despite the best efforts of world leaders, crises keep erupting. Wars kill innocent people; the elderly and our children die continuously, endlessly. Many soldiers who are fighting are not there by their own initiative; real suffering is experienced by these innocent soldiers, which is very sad. The sale of weapons - thousands and thousands of types of arms and ammunition - by manufacturers in big countries fuels the violence, but more dangerous than guns or bombs are hatred, lack of compassion, and lack of respect for the rights of others. As long as hatred dwells in the human mind, real peace is impossible.

We must do everything we can do to stop war, and to rid the world of nuclear weapons. When I visited Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped, when I saw the actual spot and heard the stories of survivors, my heart was deeply moved. How many people died in a single moment! How many more were injured! How much pain and desolation nuclear war creates! Yet look at how much money is spent on weapons of mass destruction. It is shocking, an immeasurable disgrace.

Advancements in science and technology have greatly benefitted humankind, but not without a price. While we enjoy the development of jet airplanes, for example, which make it possible to easily travel the world, enormously destructive weapons have also been created. No matter how beautiful or remote their homelands, many people live in constant fear of a very real threat: thousands of nuclear warheads poised for attack. But the button must be pushed by someone, and thus human intention is ultimately responsible.

The only way to achieve lasting peace is through mutual trust, respect, love, and kindness. The only way. Attempts by global powers to dominate one another through competition in armaments - whether nuclear, chemical, biological, or conventional - is counterproductive. How can a world full of hatred and anger achieve real peace? External peace is impossible without inner peace. It is noble to work at external solutions, but they cannot be successfully implemented so long as people have hatred and anger in their minds. This is where profound change has to begin. Individually we have to work to change the basic perspectives on which our feelings depend. We can only do so through training, by engaging in practice with the aim of gradually reorienting the way we perceive ourselves and others.

Customer Reviews

A guide for the seeker already on the path
Like most of the books the Dalai Lama has authored, this book serves as an introduction to the buddhist religious path. To really proceed in your quest for enlightenment, you need a living master -in person. However, this is a good substitute because it takes you by the hand and gives you a real nice overview.
This book is an attempt to clarify the sometimes complex Tibetan approach to Buddhism with its wonderfully simple structure, centered around the three tenets held by all Buddhists, morality, meditation and wisdom. In the morality chapter the Dalai Lama explains why a selfish attitude can't bring real satisfaction in life. He speaks about suffering and dying, and then gives a very special meditation on the actual process of dying.
Essential buddhist meditations are explained, and even the tantric deity mediations are not excluded here. In all, a wonderful book, which is not really suited for absolute beginners ("Open Heart" is an option for you), but more for the spiritual seeker who is already on the path but in need of guidance.

You don't have to be a Buddhist
A book that is meaningful to anyone, regardless of faith or spiritual beliefs. HH The Dalai Lama is one of the great teachers and anyone can benefit from a study of this book and its techniques. An answer to a stressful world.

Starting the path to enlightenment
This book is very good if (in this life) you are starting your journey to enlightenment, it offers real guidance, especially in the way it's been laid out, begining with the basic premisses of morality and perception, leading on to meditation, and later discusing wisdom and teaching. The Dalia Lama introduces steps one can implement before a buddhisttva can give personal guidance. I don,t have a personal teacher as yet, so find this book exceptionally helpful.