The Path to Tranquility (Reissue): Daily Meditations by the Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama, His Holiness The

ISBN 10: 1442343559 ISBN 13: 9781442343559

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2011

Synopsis

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s classic bestseller, The Path to Tranquility, is being reissued on audio to coincide with the hardcover and audio publication of his latest work, How to be Compassionate.

This collection of daily quotations drawn from His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s own writings, teachings, and interviews offers words of guidance, compassion, and peace that are as down to earth as they are rich in spirit. Suffused with endearing informality, warmth, and practicality, they cover almost every aspect of human life, secular and religious—from loneliness, suffering, anger, and everyday insecurities to happiness, intimacy, and responsibility to others. The Path to Tranquility is a fresh and accessible spiritual treasure to return to day after day, year after year.

About this title

Review:

Wouldn't it be nice to have a handy collection of highlights from the Dalai Lama's writings and teachings? Renuka Singh, a student and friend of the Dalai Lama, brings together a sampling of his words for each day of the year in The Path to Tranquility. In her selections you can sense the intimate encouragement of the student-teacher relationship. The Dalai Lama's words are not distant platitudes or profound proclamations but rather small insights and patient exhortations to keep trying. "We can deny everything except that we have the possibility of being better." "As a spiritual trainee, you must be prepared to endure the hardships of being involved in a genuine spiritual pursuit." "Nothing is more important than guarding the mind." These thoughts are germane to practical cultivation, and pondering a daily passage is a great way to keep the mind coming back to its center. Take a page from the Dalai Lama, and set yourself on the path to tranquility. --Brian Bruya

About the Author:

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He frequently describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. Born in northeastern Tibet in 1935, he was as a toddler recognized as the incarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and brought to Tibet's capital, Lhasa. In 1950, Mao Zedong's Communist forces made their first incursions into eastern Tibet, shortly after which the young Dalai Lama assumed the political leadership of his country. He passed his scholastic examinations with honors at the Great Prayer Festival in Lhasa in 1959, the same year Chinese forces occupied the city, forcing His Holiness to escape to India. There he set up the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, working to secure the welfare of the more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles and prevent the destruction of Tibetan culture. In his capacity as a spiritual and political leader, he has traveled to more than sixty-two countries on six continents and met with presidents, popes, and leading scientists to foster dialogue and create a better world. In recognition of his tireless work for the nonviolent liberation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In 2012, he relinquished political authority in his exile government and turned it over to democratically elected representatives.

His Holiness frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of interreligious harmony, and securing the welfare of the Tibetan people, focusing on the survival of their identity, culture, and religion. As a superior scholar trained in the classical texts of the Nalanda tradition of Indian Buddhism, he is able to distill the central tenets of Buddhist philosophy in clear and inspiring language, his gift for pedagogy imbued with his infectious joy. Connecting scientists with Buddhist scholars, he helps unite contemplative and modern modes of investigation, bringing ancient tools and insights to bear on the acute problems facing the contemporary world. His efforts to foster dialogue among leaders of the world's faiths envision a future where people of different beliefs can share the planet in harmony. Wisdom Publications is proud to be the premier publisher of the Dalai Lama's more serious and in-depth works.

Robert Thurman is the author of the critically acclaimed, popular original books Inner Revolution and Infinite Life and a translator of sacred Tibetan texts, including The Essence of True Eloquence and The Tibetan Book of the Dead. He teaches at Columbia University and holds the first endowed chair in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in America. Cofounder of Tibet House US and Menla Mountain Retreat Center, he lives in New York City and Woodstock, New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1442343559
• ISBN 13: 9781442343559
• Binding: Audio CD