Approaching the Buddhist Path
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- £11.99
Publisher Description
The first volume in a multi-volume collection presenting the Dalai Lama’s comprehensive explanation of the Buddhist path.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been publicly teaching Buddhism for decades. This series collects his presentations of every step of the path to enlightenment, compiled and coauthored by one of his chief Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron.
The Buddha wanted his students to investigate, to see for themselves whether what he said were true. As a student of the Buddha, the Dalai Lama promotes the same spirit of investigation, and as the rich tradition of the Buddha makes its way into new lands and cultures, His Holiness has recognized that new approaches are needed to allow seekers in the West to experience the relevance of the liberating message in their own lives. Such an approach cannot assume listeners are free from doubt and already have faith in Buddhism’s basic tenets. The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series, therefore, starts from the universal human wish for happiness and presents the dynamic nature of the mind. This first volume also provides a wealth of reflections on Buddhist history and fundamentals, contemporary issues, and the Dalai Lama’s own personal experiences. It stands alone as an introduction to Buddhism, but it also provides a foundation for the systematic illumination of the path in the volumes to come.
The Library of Wisdom and Compassion collects the Dalai Lama’s decades of presentations of every step of the path to enlightenment. It has been compiled and coauthored by one of his chief Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this first installment of the eight-volume series Library of Wisdom and Compassion, the Dalai Lama focuses on the teachings and doctrines of the Nalanda tradition. In Tibetan Buddhism, the lamrim texts serve as a guide to the stages of awakening, representing the stages progressing toward enlightenment. However, these texts presuppose not only faith, but also deep cultural familiarity with Buddha, dharma, and sangha a problem for Westerners who have neither. As an introduction to these potentially unwieldy texts, the Dalai Lama here explores the very basics of foundational Buddhist tenets, parsing out Buddhism's unique perspectives in the pantheon of religions. He then quickly moves to dense historical overviews of the spread of the dharma, the systematization of Buddhist teachings and practices, and practical advice for enriching one's dharma practice by engaging directly with the world. By presenting such a broad overview of the Buddhist tradition, the Dalai Lama aims both to teach the uninitiated and also to resolve the sectarianism that prevents Buddhists from fully cooperating for the welfare of the world. While some sections may prove too specialist and dry for the novice, this first volume is otherwise an excellent and intellectually stimulating introduction to the Buddhist way of life.
