How to Solve Our Human Problems: The Four Noble Truths - Softcover

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0948006374 ISBN 13: 9780948006371

Publisher: Tharpa Publications, 2012

Synopsis

In this busy world, our experiences of happiness are fleeting and short-lived, while inner peace eludes us completely. Our negative states of mind, such as uncontrolled desire and anger, create endless problems for ourselves and others, and prevent us from fulfilling our deepest wishes. Geshe Kelsang begins by presenting Buddha's popular teaching on the Four Noble Truths, which offers a clear and simple solution to all our problems, guiding us to an oasis of peace within our hearts. He then focuses in particular on overcoming the problem of anger, learning how to develop and maintain patience when faced with even the most difficult circumstances.

About this title

About the Author

Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a fully accomplished meditation master and internationally renowned teacher of Buddhism who has pioneered the introduction of modern Buddhism into contemporary society. He is the author of 22 highly acclaimed books that transmit perfectly the ancient wisdom of Buddhism to our modern world. He has also founded over 1200 Kadampa Buddhist Centers and groups throughout the world.

Reviews

"All our problems... come from our delusions of attachment," writes Gyatso, a Tibetan-born teacher of Buddhism, and "Buddha's teachings are the supreme... method to solve human problems." Gyatso puts this thesis to the test by first offering very brief, general outlines of each of the Four Noble Truths. He spends the bulk of the book examining a particular delusion—anger—in chapters that more or less correspond to those Noble Truths. He begins by pointing out the many problems anger can cause, then investigates why we get angry. Gyatso then sets forth "patient acceptance" as a method of liberating one's mind from anger, and offers specific strategies for nurturing patient acceptance. He rounds out the book with several appendixes addressing topics such as reincarnation and meditation. Gyatso's discussions have mixed effectiveness. At times his insights are penetrating and his illustrations compelling, as when he explains that patient acceptance—far from being passive—requires strength and courage to resist "well-worn mental grooves of intolerance," but at other times he makes assertions with little or no explanation. Moreover, he fails to extrapolate lessons from his anger case study to address other human problems. Fans of Gyatso will find the book helpful, but others may feel he does not deliver on the book's ambitious title.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Tharpa Publications
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0948006374
• ISBN 13: 9780948006371
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 181