The Compassionate Life

By Dalai Lama XIV

Book Overview

"The key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion." --His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Giving and receiving affection is the key to happiness, and compassion is the key that opens our hearts to affection. Illuminating themes touched upon in The Good Heart and The Art of Happiness, this generous and gentle book contains some of the most beloved teachings on compassion that the Dalai Lama has ever offered. Touching and transformative, The Compassionate Life is a personal invitation from one of the world's most gifted teachers to live a life of happiness, joy, and true prosperity.

Collected here for the first time are four of the Dalai Lama's most accessible and inspiring teachings on compassion. The purpose of life is to be happy, His Holiness reminds us. To be happy, we should devote ourselves to developing our own peace of mind; the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own peace of mind. Therefore, we must develop compassion for others in order to be truly happy.

In these four teachings--imbued with the gentle humor and extraordinary kindness of this incomparable teacher--His Holiness explores altruism and the need for compassion on an individual as well as a global scale. He offers specific practices for developing loving-kindness and compassion in even the most difficult situations.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0861713788
• ISBN13: 9780861713783
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.6" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Simnple but powerful

I have heard the Dalai Lama's seemingly simple message before, but he is truly a practitioner or compassion. Perhaps no one more the he embodies "If we truly wish to learn, we should consider enemies our best teachers". "Overcoming the enemy within" may be more difficult, by observing your own mental states and quitting them. Perhaps some of the teaching on attachment and detachment seem strange to my western mind but "Detachment does not mean indifference to the world or life - precisely the opposite". The chapter on religious pluralism is especially important in this day of fear. Faith and tolerance and listening are important. Though Buddhist, the Dalia Lama is not advocating abandoning your own religion, but rather compassion as the underlying principle of all religions. The book concludes with basic Buddhism including the Four Noble Truths, and understanding the role of the mind. The final chapter includes eight versus for training the mind (from a 12th century master Langri Tamgpa). The Dalai Lama calls himself "a rather lazy Dalai Lama" so if the 8 versus are too long for you, the book concludes with three versus for "generating the mind for enlightenment" .

Simply Compassionate, Simple Read, Great Book

Simply Compassionate, Simple Read, Great Book4.5 StarsIn my opinion His Holiness The Dalai Lama has two types of books - those that are incredibly complicated and difficult to read and those that are easy to read and more easily understandable - don't get me wrong they are all great books and I always get a lot out them.The Compassionate Life is one of the easier ones. One of the easier reads and less complicated to digest.It's focused on compassion and how to achieve a compassionate view - as well as the benefits of compassion.I know this sounds somewhat simplistic as a description, but that's really what this boils down to - a simple and easy read - a focused topic for the student/listener - compassion.I love reading what His Holiness The Dalai Lama has to say - like all his books - I closed this one with a smile on my face.

Inspiring and Beautifully Written

The Compassionate Life is an inspiring and beautifully written work, deceptively simple. The Dalai Lama is a man with firm beliefs and his writings make that clear. You certainly don't have to be a Buddhist to find something inspirational here. I think anyone with an open mind will find this inspiring work a rewarding read.