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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607001381501 | Adult Nonfiction | 294.3 DALAI | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Based on three days of teaching in London May 1999, this book is an edited version of the Dalai Lama's discourse on one of the most profound and sacred texts in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The Eight Verses on Generating Compassion are known in Tibetan as lojong - literally, transforming your mind.
Author Notes
The exiled 14th Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935 to a peasant family living in a former Tibetan village. He was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous spiritual leader of his nation at the age of two and enthroned on February 22, 1940. In 1959 he and 100,000 followers fled the country following a failed revolt against the Communist Chinese forces that had occupied Tibet for almost a decade.
Since that time, the Dalai Lama has met with numerous world leaders and U. N. officials in a tireless effort to free his country and preserve the traditional Tibetan way of life. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and has been awarded honorary citizenships by many international cities and countries, as well as multiple honorary degrees and human rights awards. In 2007 the Dalai Lama received the United States Congressional Gold Medal. He has written many books and lectures around the world. His book, My Spiritual Journey, made the iBooks bestseller list in 2016. He is the author of the best seller, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, with the Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Based on a seminar the Dalai Lama gave in London in 1999, this slender volume offers His Holiness's reflections on The Eight Verses of Transforming the Mind, a short work by Langri Thangpa, an 11th-century Tibetan teacher. The book is distractingly disjointedÄLangri Thangpa's original words are hidden away in an index, and each chapter concludes with a Q&A in which the Dalai Lama offers comments that are not obviously connected to the preceding chapter. Furthermore, the reader who bears with the careless organization may be disappointed by the book's content. Many of the Dalai Lama's ruminations are familiar from his other recent bestsellers. For example, he suggests that in the new millennium, we need to work toward interfaith understanding by participating in interfaith dialogues and meetings and visiting sites that are sacred to practitioners of other religious traditions. When he turns his attention to meditation, His Holiness seems less inspired than usual: meditation is valuable, but he admits that it can be tough. Meditators tend to get distracted, drowsy, lax, and agitated. We need to take both physical and mental responses into account when trying to deal with these obstaclesÄif we struggle with drowsiness, we must make sure we are getting enough sleep, and we should focus on "ideas which have a naturally sobering effect" if we are agitated. These teachings may be transformativeÄbut they add little to the many teachings by the Dalai Lama already available in book form. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
Another addition to the growing list of titles by the Dalai Lama, this book is a transcription of three days of teachings in May 1999 in London. The focus is on The Eight Verses on Transforming the Mind, an important 11th-century Tibetan work included in an appendix. Books such as these risk the excessive intrusion of the editor or interpreter, but this succinct and carefully accomplished text gives the impression that a real effort was made to convey the essence of the Dalai Lama's message as well as the characteristic warmth and humor of his delivery. He explores the development of compassion as it is understood in Buddhism and presents interesting distinctions among various schools of Buddhist thought with regard to ideas such as the concept of self and the nature of emptiness. The teachings are at times difficult, but ambiguity is minimized, and the interspersed question-and-answer exchanges help keep the reader engaged. A bonus is "Ethics for a New Millennium," a lecture given by the Dalai Lama during the same London visit, in which his message is simple, clear, and welcome. A good choice for most libraries.--Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. vii |
| 1 The Basis of Transformation | p. 1 |
| 2 Transforming through Altruism | p. 43 |
| 3 Transforming through Insight | p. 89 |
| 4 The Eight Verses on Transforming the Mind | p. 109 |
| Appendix I The Eight Verses on Transforming the Mind | p. 135 |
| Appendix II Ethics for the New Millennium: A public lecture | p. 137 |
| Recommended Reading | p. 167 |