buddhism

Having read with great interest a lot of the Dalai Lama's other books, I found this one easily the most compelling. The language is simple and direct which has the effect of making some very complex ideas easy to understand. The Dalai Lama emerges as someone with a thorogoing understanding of human nature. But whereas his image is generally of someone who is limitlessly patient and benign, in this book he clearly shows that he has both depth and edge.

The Dalai Lama makes a very clear connection between human happiness and what he calls inner discipline. He also makes clear that it is not really meaningful to speak of compassion except in the context of self-restraint. This shows that Buddhism is much more than the feel-good religion it is sometimes taken for in the west. It also shows that Buddhist ethical thinking is much closer to traditional Judeao-Christian and even Catholic social teaching than one might suppose. In fact when this is taken on board it becomes much easier to understand the Dalai Lama's near insistence that people stick to the religious tradition of their own culture.

One of the most remarkable things about this book is his assertion that each of the major faith traditions are effective means of attaining human happiness. Stranger still for a major religious leader is his statement that, although religion is helpful, it is not actually essential if we are to be happy. What is essential is that we develop what he calls our basic human qualities. The first of these are love and compassion, but he also talks a lot about patience, tolerance, generosity and humility - each of which presuppose a degree of self discipline.

It is tempting to write the Dalai Lama off as an oddity - especially given the way he seems all too ready to cosy up to celebrities. But reading this book, you begin to get the feeling that there really is something going on inside his head. In none of his other books have I been able to detect the intelligence, the cogence and the incisiveness that is so obvious even through the sometimes mangled translations when you see him in the flesh.

As a would-be Catholic I can also say that the Dalai Lama's spiritual teachings are as relevant as any from within my own tradition. Is there any way the Pope could make him a Cardinal!?

How can we be happy in today's materialistic, competitive world? Not by amassing more wealth and possessions, according to the Dalai Lama. He recommends that we focus on internal, spiritual issues: we need to recognize our connectedness with all human beings, learn to restrain anger and other negative thoughts and emotions, and develop patience and compassion for others. For the way to be happy is by being a good, ethical person. This is useful advice that can help anyone who takes it seriously. But self-change is difficult; considerable effort and will are required. Getting ahead by pulling other people down is widely accepted in our society, and those who most need the Dalai Lama's advice may be the least likely to read this book and follow his teachings.

Despite being a book by the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, this is not a religious work. Nor is it spiritual or a plea to act against the miserable state of Tibet. It is as void of pretence as a scientific book on ethics. Well, which is what it is: a scientific, sociologic book on ethics.

But the Dalai Lama manages to make more from it. He is teaching the reader on his subject, not by preaching or swaying, but purely by illustrating and logic. He doesn't use easy language the entire time, nor does he put everything in metaphor or make a thrilling story of it. Yet, there is something between the lines of exposition with which he manages to instil on the reader that he speaks words of wisdom and truth.

I could find only one word that describes this text accurately: convincing. This is the sort of book that, upon finishing, needs to be read again - purely out of angst that the lesson you have just received, might dissipate with time. It leaves you feeling that with a little patience and devotion, you will be a happier, warmer person.

This book needs no preaching or swaying, this book will make you stand up and act out of own impulse. And get this: it will work too.

This book gets five stars.

Bram Janssen,
The Netherlands