Buddha heart, Buddha mind

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

"Dalai Lama" on Amazon.com's search engine pulls up an impressive 186 matches with publication dates from 1983 to 2001, a prodigious outpouring by any assessment. Many of these titles, of course, are about the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, but quite a few credit His Holiness as the author. This is one such volume. Typically, however, this book is not technically "written" by His Holiness, but is actually a skillful transcription by Jigm Khyents Rinpoch of eight addresses the Tibetan leader delivered (and the subsequent question-and-answer periods) at the Institut Karma Ling in Savoie, France, in 1997. 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. This will no doubt satisfy and enlighten emerging Western bodhisattvas. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Buddha Heart, Buddha Mind: Living The Four Noble Truths is a compilation of passages from lectures delivered the His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. As The Dalai Lama addresses such timeless issues as how personal suffering can be ended, how to become truly compassionate, and whether or not the potential for happiness resides within our own power, he speaks as a spiritual friend with a sharp, compassionate, and humorous understanding of the human condition. A core title for contemporary Buddhist philosophical and instructional collections, Buddha Heart, Buddha Mind reveals answers to basic sources of anxiety, personal limitations, the problem of death, the deepest responsibilities of human life, and much more. REVIEW%> THE WRITING/PUBLISHING SHELF