Rating: 
Summary: Good Book on How to Live Your Life Meaningfully
Review: "Pay attention not only to the cultivation of knowledge but to the cultivation of qualities of the heart, so that at the end of education, not only will you be knowledgeable, but also you will be a warm-hearted and compassionate person." That's merely a brief excerpt from this book filled with whimsical and charismatic anecdotes from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The book is in effect a decade's collection of teachings he has given throughout his life, condensed into a book for our benefit. This collection of talks he gave in the 90's plainly lays out his viewpoint about how to follow the pathway of one's inner self. This is one of those books that you know you won't be able to put into practice flawlessly, but there are things here you will discover that can help you feel better about how you are living and benefit others.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book on How to Live Your Life Meaningfully
Review: "Pay attention not only to the cultivation of knowledge but to the cultivation of qualities of the heart, so that at the end of education, not only will you be knowledgeable, but also you will be a warm-hearted and compassionate person." That's merely a brief excerpt from this book filled with whimsical and charismatic anecdotes from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The book is in effect a decade's collection of teachings he has given throughout his life, condensed into a book for our benefit. This collection of talks he gave in the 90's plainly lays out his viewpoint about how to follow the pathway of one's inner self. This is one of those books that you know you won't be able to put into practice flawlessly, but there are things here you will discover that can help you feel better about how you are living and benefit others.
Rating:
Summary: Simply great
Review: Hey, read this book! All stuff from Enlightened beings of every religion, philosophy, social caste, skin colour, etc. such as Dalai Lama, Jesus Christ, Jahve, Osiris, Druids or maybe your silent and smiley neighbour are always a good reason to buy, read, listen, etc. their acts and activities!
And is always a pleasure to read/listen/whatever, so may they can infect us with their wonderfull enlightened and happyness virus!! I wanna be infected! I haven't finished to read this book though, but I can say that it is simply a demonstration's of Dalai Lama's Wide Open Brain! Impermanence is the right word that resumes this book to me => What is eating meat, beans, grains, fruit, milk or vegetables but simply feed the food's need of anyone? Is that really important? Really? Who we are to judge anyone for doing this or that? When we, short of brain humans' may understand? When are we going to start doing simpler stuff such as being happy and infect people around with this happyness, so everybody can only have to time for joy instead of violence in any of its forms? Yeaps, I have read some "deeper" books, but hey, what is deepness?
Is "high intellectual" stuff better than having peace inside, and live in happyness with all our surroundng people/sentient beings/wanna-be-sentient beings/or things? (: Smile :)
Life is short and we all have a lot of things to do!! Read this book and use it for your growing purposes!! Luz Shiva Futten
Rating:
Summary: This is a must read!
Review: I came into reading this book with very little knowledge of Buddhism. The book is not really about any religion at all. Its about learning how to deal with problems, anxiety, and becoming a better person. This book is small, but perfect in any way. It is one of the best and most important books that I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. I am not a student of the Dalai Lama but I did enjoy this work. I thought the lectures gave the novice a good idea about Budahist thought. I would suggest this book to those of different faiths who are curious but do not want a deep thelogical work. This particular work is more like a set of sermons from a Christian preacher might be. While it does not give you the full picture it does give you enough to have a pretty good idea about what is going on in the faith. I liked very much the discussions compassion. The idea that compassion not only leads to enlightenment but a happier existence here is something all of us no matter what faith we are could follow.
Rating: 
Summary: Hypocritical!
Review: I found this book to be highly motivational and inspirational. It halped me focus on the good and unburied me from the abyss of depression. It will make anyone want to meet the Dalai Lama in person. In fact, I have planned a trip to see him speak this year!
Rating:
Summary: BEST WAY OUT OF A DEPRESSION
Review: I found this book to be highly motivational and inspirational. It halped me focus on the good and unburied me from the abyss of depression. It will make anyone want to meet the Dalai Lama in person. In fact, I have planned a trip to see him speak this year!
Rating:
Summary: Hypocritical!
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. I had always been a big fan of the Dalai Lama...BUT this book was so vague and full of generalities and hypocrisy! I almost could not believe that although the Dalai Lama professes vegetarianism to be the only way to lead a compassionate life .... he feels that he "has" to eat meat to stay healthy. What??? Eating meat is against every basic principle of Buddism! And that is not where the hypocrisy ends...I shared this book with others who also found much fault in the Dalai Lama's latest book. He is steering away from true Buddism ... and becoming as "middle of the road" as the rest of societies apathetic leaders. Shame.
Rating:
Summary: A warm-hearted and compassionate series of talks.
Review: Losang Gyatso reads the works of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a clear and understandable series of talks that represent a decade's worth of public lectures. The themes are diverse, but are presented in a way that is thoughtful and inspiring. I have listened to these tapes now several times and do not tire of hearing them. They always present me with good thoughts on living fully and responsibly, and focus on non-violence and deep compassion. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T GET HUNG-UP ON DALAI LAMA EATING MEAT
Review: There is good evidence, at least from reading the Pali texts, that the Buddha and his followers did eat meat so long as certain conditions were met. These conditions were that a monk should not have seen, heard, nor have any reason to suspect, that the meat was from an animal killed specifically for him. If these three conditions were met then the meat was said to be 'blameless'. There are some four references to the 'blamelessness' of eating meat-once in both the Majjhima and Anguttara Nikayas, and twice in the Vinaya. However, for a householder to have an animal killed in order to feed a monk was reckoned to result in great demerit. In the Sutta Nipata a previous Buddha, Kassapa, is admonished by a brahmin for eating 'stinking meat'. Kassapa replies with a long list of unskilful mental states and declares that such are 'stench', not the eating of meat. There is also the notion from the Vinaya that meat and fish are 'excellent food' for those who are ill. In fact, just as one can argue that Christianity flourished with a little help from Emperor Constantine's conversion, along with much of the dogmaticism inherent in any official state religion, one can also argue that this idea of strict vegetarianism came into vogue and cemented into dogmaticism during the reign of the Buddhist king Ashoka. The oldest extant written records which reflect the Buddha's teaching-the Ashokan edicts-show the king to be very concerned, as a Buddhist, with the welfare not only of his human subjects, but also with that of animals. Hunting and fishing were prohibited in his kingdom, no animals were killed in his kitchens, and the killing of animals for food was restricted elsewhere in his kingdom. Indeed, he even reports the establishment of medical services for animals. And since, if my memory serves me correctly, Ashoka even sent out "missionaries" to disseminate Buddhism, it would not at all surprise me to learn that he chose men for the job who were in line with his views and sure to spread his more zealous opinions along with the traditional teachings. If you're going to argue that taking the life of an animal or even a bug is wrong for any reason, based on the argument that ALL life is sacred, then you better stop picking flowers too. I'm serious. Don't flowers too have life? Yet they are a staple of Buddhist Monasteries every where, and if it's not okay for you or I to decide on the relative worth or unworth of an animal or bug compared to a human-being, what right do we have to decide that it's okay to uproot a plant? Because it's one rung lower on the evolutionary chain? But wait! that's the kind of horrible arrogance these militant vegetarians would accuse us meat-eaters of!
| 
