Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (born Lhamo Döndrub), the 14th Dalai Lama, is a practicing member of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism and is influential as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the world's most famous Buddhist monk, and the leader of the exiled Tibetan government in India.
Tenzin Gyatso was the fifth of sixteen children born to a farming family. He was proclaimed the tulku (an Enlightened lama who has consciously decided to take rebirth) of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of two.
On 17 November 1950, at the age of 15, he was enthroned as Tibet's ruler. Thus he became Tibet's most important political ruler just one month after the People's Republic of China's invasion of Tibet on 7 October 1950. In 1954, he went to Beijing to attempt peace talks with Mao Zedong and other leaders of the PRC. These talks ultimately failed.
After a failed uprising and the collapse of the Tibetan resistance movement in 1959, the Dalai Lama left for India, where he was active in establishing the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan Government in Exile) and in seeking to preserve Tibetan culture and education among the thousands of refugees who accompanied him.
Tenzin Gyatso is a charismatic figure and noted public speaker. This Dalai Lama is the first to travel to the West. There, he has helped to spread Buddhism and to promote the concepts of universal responsibility, secular ethics, and religious harmony.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, honorary Canadian citizenship in 2006, and the United States Congressional Gold Medal on 17 October 2007.
May be not for me... I thought that this book will be about transformation principles and mantras.. Yep this was sort of... But it was too theoretical and I can't see how it may benefit anyone. Okay book but did not touch the right cords. I had big expectations, but brought to ground... Will start search again...
As an extract of the longer "Transforming the Mind", this excellent little book capable of being read in one sitting. However, the teachings therein require a lifetime of practice. Perfect to carry with you on commutes or vacation to reread & consider the lessons more deeply.
A terrific book to carry in your purse or travel bag. The Buddhist way of living as described by the Dalai Lama is something I can read over and over and always find a new insight.
This is having the same affect on me as The Four Agreements...it's not just a one time read. It is a wonderful and often very difficult journey that requires me to return to the book again and again to remember the teachings...if you are not ready to bring yourself to account then you probably don't want to read this book right now...can't put the milk back in the pitcher once its been spilled...it is a crime against wisdom to pretend you don't know when you do...this comes from one who is guilty again and again! One step forward two back aye?
Treat everyone as though they were your Mother. Such wonderful words of wisdom. The world would be a much better place if people would live by that one little sentence.