Book Review: The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams
I had a difficult time deciding whether to review this book or not. There is no question that it is significant and worthwhile, but I usually focus on more secular titles. What tipped the scales is the historical importance of some of the authors. The Dalai Lama fled his homeland of Tibet in the late 1950s and established a haven for Tibetan language, culture, and customs in exile in Dharamsala, India. Since then he has been an unceasing advocate for world peace. For his efforts, he has received the Nobel Peace Prize and the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. For decades Desmond Tutu battled apartheid in South Africa. When apartheid was abolished, he led the nation’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a groundbreaking effort that highlighted a new more compassionate way to move forward after the overthrow of oppressive regimes. He also was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; in addition, he has received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The occasion for the interviews that culminated in The Book of Joy was the eightieth birthday of the Dalai Lama. Although Tutu was suffering from cancer, he agreed to travel to Dharamsala to collaborate on the volume, which they hoped would be able to instruct many in the ways of peace. The main writer is Abrams, who conducted the interviews and added extra material corroborating the Dalai Lama and Tutu’s observations with current research by scientists and psychologists. It is important to emphasize that the authors address all the peoples of the world, not only Christians and Buddhists; they are inclusive of all of humankind regardless of their beliefs or lack of beliefs. In a way their message of hope and the possibility of potential joy for everyone has a bittersweet tang when we read about so much hate and intolerance in the news these days, but it is precisely because the world is so full of greed, hatred, frustration, pain, rage, and sorrow that they took the time and made the effort to share their thoughts. As Abrams reminds us: “Our empathy does not seem to extend to those who are outside our ‘group,’ which is perhaps why the Archbishop and the Dalai Lama are constantly reminding us that we are, in fact, one group – humanity.”
The book is broken into various sections corresponding to the questions Abrams put to the two leaders on each interview day. On the first day, they discussed the nature of true joy. On the second and third days, they spoke of the obstacles to joy, which include fear, stress, anxiety, frustration, anger, sadness, grief, despair, loneliness, envy, suffering, illness, and fear of death. On the fourth and fifth days, they shared the eight pillars of joy: perspective, humility, humor, acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion, and generosity.
The birthday celebration itself took place at the nearby Tibetan school. Among the most touching passages in the book are accounts by students of how they had to be smuggled out of Tibet by relatives to come and study at the school at Dharamsala; they had to leave their families and their way of life behind, and they had no idea when they might be able to see their loved ones again. But it was the only way they could study the Tibetan culture in the Tibetan language, which was forbidden in their homeland, at least as of 2015 when this book was written.
The Book of Joy may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but to those who venture into its pages it offers solace, reassurance, and, well, joy.
