This book is a collection of passages from lectures by the Dalai Lama. The teacher who speaks here is not the Buddhist philosopher, nor the head of state of the Tibetan people, but the spiritual friend, the one with a sharp, compassionate, and humorous understanding of the human condition. The Dalai Lama answers our concerns about the source of our anxieties, our limitations, the problem of death, and the deepest responsibilities of our lives.
Publisher's Weekly says: "Not a book for beginners in Buddhism, this has considerable, complex depth that transcends the implied simplicity of the subtitle's "Living the Four Noble Truths" by addressing suffering and it cessation. This selection will, however, be of good value to advanced practitioners who can never have too much of a good thing. A notable exception for beginners is the seven pages of "Specific Instructions on Meditation," in which the world's foremost practitioner and proponent of Tibetan Buddhism gives the benefit of his measureless experience in clear, useful terms. For all this cerebral material's weight, the Dalai Lama's charming sense of humor at times pokes through."
Addressing deep spiritual concerns by asking key questions such as How can we end our suffering? How can we become truly compassionate? and Does the potential for happiness lie in our own hands?, this collection of meditative dialogues by the Dalai Lama expands and illuminates the Four Noble Truths in his characteristic voice, known for its sharp yet compassionate charm and good humor. Each passage is a skillful transcription of the Dalai Lama’s eight famous addresses at the Institute Karma Ling in Savoie, France in 1997, and includes the question-and-answer exchanges that followed each speech. Speaking to advanced Buddhist practitioners, each address receives the full benefit of the Dalai Lama’s measureless experience in clear, useful terms.
