Each of us struggles with the existential questions of meaning, purpose, and responsibility. In The Meaning of Life, the Dalai Lama examines these questions from the Buddhist perspective, skillfully guiding us to a clearer understanding that can liberate us from the prison of selfishness and suffering. The Dalai Lama bases his explanations on the Buddha's teachings of dependent arising, showing how every aspect of our suffering -- unhappiness, pain, even old age and death -- is ultimately rooted in our misunderstanding of our true nature.
Through detailed discussion and lively questions-and-answers, the teachings of the Meaning of Life address the myriad challenges we may meet daily -- dealing with aggression from both within and without; facing illness and helping someone who is dying; expanding our capacity to feel love for all beings; and reconciling personal responsibliity with the doctrine of selflessness -- all suffused with the Dalai Lama's incomparable intelligence, wit, and kindness.
The Meaning of Life, Dalai Lama, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 164pp, $15.95
His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in 1935 to a peasant familiy in northeastern Tibet and was reocognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predessor, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The world's foremost Buddhist leader, he travels extensively, speaking eloquently in favor of ecumenical understanding , kindness and compassion, respect for the environment, and above all, world peace.
Foreword
Introduction by Jeffrey Hopkins
Technical Note
1. The Buddhist World View
2. Life Impelled by Ignorance
3. Levels of the Path
4. The Value of Altruism
5. Compassion and Wisdom Combined
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
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