Product Description

Imbued with a friendly tone and pithy wisdom, this handsome handbook to approaching life "in a better way" includes six of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's most accessible and inspirational public lectures. Following each talk are the original question-and-answer sessions in which His Holiness opens himself up to his listeners and-now-to readers everywhere. His characteristically candid guidance on living fully and responsibly, especially at the start of a new millennium, focuses on specific themes that range from religious tolerance to compassion and nonviolence. The book also includes a practical and highly readable introduction to Buddhism and the Dalai Lama's own spiritual heritage, written by the renowned Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.

Compiled and edited by Renuka Singh.
Introduction by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47145 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.com Review
Occasionally a book comes along that you want to take outside, shove into the hand of every passerby, and say, "Read this and be enlightened." The Dalai Lama's latest collection of lectures is like that. As you read, you begin to think what a wonderful world it would be if everybody thought like the Dalai Lama. Though the highest ranked leader of a world religion, the Dalai Lama insists that some of the most important aspects of Buddhist practice are nonreligious, particularly the training of the mind. This he sees as essential to cultivating basic decency in the day-to-day life of all people. To understand the motivations of others, to rein in negative emotions, to examine one's own motivations--these are the steps to living peacefully and responsibly in the world. On a deeper theoretical level, the Dalai Lama also introduces the importance of seeing through reality to the two levels of truth as well as exploring karma and the nature of existence. Impromptu question-and-answer sessions round out some of the lectures, giving the listeners a chance to pose their own questions. Read this and be enlightened. --Brian Bruya

From Publishers Weekly
The packaging of talks given by the Dalai Lama has become a publishing staple in the last decade. Here the Dalai Lama's student Singh, a university professor in India, has pulled together six talks delivered in New Delhi from 1988-1997. "In order to practice Buddhism, you have to first know about the mind," begins this labyrinthine journey that is ostensibly aimed at all people, not just Buddhist practitioners. The lectures are good examples of how the Dalai Lama must be supremely accessible in thought and speech, and yet must also articulate the more abstract philosophical underpinnings of Buddhism as a "science of the mind." Within each chapter both aspects are in evidence. For example, in "A Journey to Happiness" we read the clear directive, "Some people feel that compassion, love and forgiveness are religious matters. This is wrong. Love and compassion are imperative. There is no way we can ignore these things, whether one is a believer or not." Near the end of the same chapter the thinking takes one of its abstruse turns: "In Maha-Anuttara Yoga Tantrayana, one unique practice is making a distinction among the gross, subtle, and innermost subtle levels of mind." The book's ultimate message of happiness through compassion is a vital one, but this collection is geared for the adept with a philosophical appetite and a considerable intellect, not for the general reader.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Like the earlier audiocassettes The Art of Happiness, The Path to Tranquility, and Ethics for the Next Millennium, the Dalai Lama's Live in a Better Way, read by Losang Gyatso, is meant to be accessible as well as inspirational, taken from a decade's worth of his public lectures in India. While focusing on his own heritage of Buddhism, His Holiness urges his listeners to remember that all religious traditions in the world share a similar message and that only through "a genuine harmony amongst the traditions can humans create respect between faiths." He gently instructs non-Buddhists in the audience with a practical introduction to the belief of nonviolence and compassion, eventually guiding his listeners toward practical applications of the faith. He reminds seekers not to allow negative emotions to guide their actions and that mental actions are the only way to reach liberation of the spirit. Recommended for Buddhist collections and libraries with a large spirituality circulation. Pam Kingsbury, Florence, AL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Totally disappointed
The book came directly from Amazon with the back jacket torn and ripped. So this is a review FOR Amazon, not the book itself.

Good Basic Teaching
I listed to the book on tape, and it is the first book I have read by the Dalai Lama. He teaches very simply, and it is easy to understand his concepts. He gives a good overview of Buddhism, and the different types of Buddist teachings. On the Book on Tape I really didn't care for the person doing the reading, but that is a minor point. All in all, I got alot out of it.

Good Book on How to Live Your Life Meaningfully
"Pay attention not only to the cultivation of knowledge but to the cultivation of qualities of the heart, so that at the end of education, not only will you be knowledgeable, but also you will be a warm-hearted and compassionate person."

That's merely a brief excerpt from this book filled with whimsical and charismatic anecdotes from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The book is in effect a decade's collection of teachings he has given throughout his life, condensed into a book for our benefit. This collection of talks he gave in the 90's plainly lays out his viewpoint about how to follow the pathway of one's inner self. This is one of those books that you know you won't be able to put into practice flawlessly, but there are things here you will discover that can help you feel better about how you are living and benefit others.