A Profound Mind

Zusatztext The teachings of the Buddha are of vast benefit to us. Like effective medicine! they address our own personal issues in a specific way. And of course they share striking resonances with teachers and teachings of other spiritual paths. Love! compassion! charity! honesty! kindness! generosity! altruism! joy! and forgiveness are qualities most if not all beings recognize and admire. Buddhism puts great emphasis on developing these wonderful qualities to their fullest. None of this is easy. It all takes effort. The Buddha himself almost died with the effort. But the rewards are great. Beyond measure. I find it incredibly moving that these great beings like His Holiness the Dalai Lama still do the heavy lifting! still do the hard work on themselves every day! all day. Even with the vast wisdom and compassion His Holiness has generated over countless lifetimes! still he arises from sleep each day at 3:30 a.m. to set his altruistic motivation and begin his hours of practices before engaging in another full day of being of benefit to others. What an inspiration! From the Afterword by Richard Gere Informationen zum Autor The Dalai Lama, Edited by Nicholas Vreeland, Afterword by Richard Gere Klappentext For the first time for general readers, the Dalai Lama presents a comprehensive overview of the most important teaching of Buddhism. Perhaps the main difference between Buddhism and other religions is its understanding of our core identity. The existence of the soul or self, which is central in different ways to Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is actually denied in Buddhism. Even further, belief in a "self" is seen as the main source of our difficulties in life. Yet a true understanding of this teaching does not lead one to a despairing, cynical worldview with a sense that life has no meaning-Far from it, a genuine understanding leads to authentic happiness for an individual and the greatest source of compassion for others. In 2003 and in 2007, the Dalai Lama was invited to New York to give a series of talks on the essential Buddhist view of selflessness. This new book, the result of those talks, is now offered to help broaden awareness of this essential doctrine and its usefulness in living a more meaningful and happy life. While the Dalai Lama offers a full presentation of his teachings on these key philosophical points for contemplation, he also shows readers how to bring these teachings actively into their own lives with recommendations for a personal practice. It is only by actually living these teachings that we allow them to bring about a genuine transformation in our perception of ourselves and our lives A Profound Mind offers important wisdom for those committed to bringing about change in the world through developing their own spiritual capabilities, whether they are Buddhists or not.Chapter 1 Diverse Spiritual Traditions Buddhists believe that we are responsible for the quality of our lives, our happiness, and our resources. In order to achieve a meaningful life we must transform our own emotions, as this is the most effective way to bring about future happiness for ourselves and for all others. No one can force us to transform our minds, not even the Buddha. We must do so voluntarily. Therefore Buddha stated, "You are your own master." Our efforts must be realistic. We must establish for ourselves that the methods we are following will bring about our desired results. We can't merely rely on faith. It is essential that we scrutinize the path we intend to follow to establish clearly what is and what is not effective, so that the methods of our efforts may succeed. This, I believe, is essential if we wish to find any true happiness in life. I hesitate to tell you about a spiritual tradition that is not your own. There exist many fine religions that have, over centuries, helped their f...

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The Dalai Lama, Edited by Nicholas Vreeland, Afterword by Richard Gere

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For the first time for general readers, the Dalai Lama presents a comprehensive overview of the most important teaching of Buddhism.

Perhaps the main difference between Buddhism and other religions is its understanding of our core identity. The existence of the soul or self, which is central in different ways to Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is actually denied in Buddhism. Even further, belief in a "self" is seen as the main source of our difficulties in life. Yet a true understanding of this teaching does not lead one to a despairing, cynical worldview with a sense that life has no meaning-Far from it, a genuine understanding leads to authentic happiness for an individual and the greatest source of compassion for others.

In 2003 and in 2007, the Dalai Lama was invited to New York to give a series of talks on the essential Buddhist view of selflessness. This new book, the result of those talks, is now offered to help broaden awareness of this essential doctrine and its usefulness in living a more meaningful and happy life.

While the Dalai Lama offers a full presentation of his teachings on these key philosophical points for contemplation, he also shows readers how to bring these teachings actively into their own lives with recommendations for a personal practice. It is only by actually living these teachings that we allow them to bring about a genuine transformation in our perception of ourselves and our lives

A Profound Mind offers important wisdom for those committed to bringing about change in the world through developing their own spiritual capabilities, whether they are Buddhists or not.

Échantillon de lecture
Chapter 1

Diverse Spiritual Traditions

Buddhists believe that we are responsible for the quality of our lives, our happiness, and our resources. In order to achieve a meaningful life we must transform our own emotions, as this is the most effective way to bring about future happiness for ourselves and for all others.

No one can force us to transform our minds, not even the Buddha. We must do so voluntarily. Therefore Buddha stated, "You are your own master."

Our efforts must be realistic. We must establish for ourselves that the methods we are following will bring about our desired results. We can't merely rely on faith. It is essential that we scrutinize the path we intend to follow to establish clearly what is and what is not effective, so that the methods of our efforts may succeed. This, I believe, is essential if we wish to find any true happiness in life.

I hesitate to tell you about a spiritual tradition that is not your own. There exist many fine religions that have, over centuries, helped their followers attain peace of mind and happiness. There may, however, be aspects of Buddhism that you could bring to your spiritual practice.

Also, some of you have put your religion aside and are looking elsewhere for answers to your deeper inquiries. You may have an inclination toward Eastern philosophies with their belief in karma and past lives. A few young Tibetans have similarly discarded their Buddhist origins, finding spiritual solace in Christianity and Islam.

Unfortunately many of us from the various traditions of Buddhism, including Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Sri Lankan, simply call ourselves Buddhists without really knowing the meaning of Buddha's word. Nagarjuna, one of Buddhism's greatest scholars and practitioners, wrote many explanatory works on Buddhist thought and practice that reflect the need to know Buddha's teaching well. In order to develop our understanding we must study those teachings. If deep understanding were not so crucial to our practice of Buddhism, I doubt that the great scholars of the past would have bothered to write their important treatises.

Many misconceptions about Buddhism have arisen, partic-ularly around Tibetan Buddhism, which is often depicted as mysterious and esoteric, involving the wors…