[close] Continuing the literary work he began with The Art of Happiness, in this book, Tibet's revered spiritual teacher the Dalai Lama discusses the importance of giving and receiving love as the quintessential step to achieving a life of true happiness and fulfillment. In his characteristic direct and simple-to-understand fashion, the Dalai Lama offers guidelines and illustrative examples from his own life that instruct readers on how to move away from self-centered egotistic concerns and habitual tendencies to rigidly judge and categorize others, in order to become more compassionate and accepting of everyone we encounter throughout the day. To assist this process, he also shares exercises and techniques that have been part of Tibetan Buddhist teachings for many centuries.

By committing ourselves to becoming more compassionate and nonjudgmental about others, the Dalai Lama maintains, we are primarily benefiting ourselves, for the end result is one of open-hearted relationships capable of transforming all aspects of our lives and leading us ever closer to a life guided by the principles of wisdom and unshakeable joy. As with all of his writings, How To Expand Love is written in a simple yet elegant style, while imparting profound and powerful teachings that, if committed to, can lead to a realization of our true state of oneness with all of life. This is a very valuable book for today's fractious times. Larry Trivieri Jr. This text refers to the hardcover edition. [close]