How To Practice

How To Practice: The Way To A Meaningful Life Audio CD – Unabridged, Audiobook, CD
Author: Visit ‘s Dalai Lama Page ID: 0743507789

.com Review

As a primer on living the good life, few books compete with How to Practice, another profound offering from the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Westerners may be confused by the book’s title, assuming that it focuses solely on Buddhist meditation and prayer techniques. Though it does address meditation and prayer, at its core this is a book that demonstrates how day-to-day living can be a spiritual practice. There are two ways to create happiness:The first is external. By obtaining better clothes, better shelter, and better friends we can find a certain measure of happiness and satisfaction. The second is through mental development, which yields inner happiness. However, these two approaches are not equally viable. External happiness cannot last long without its counterpart…. However, if you have peace of mind you can find happiness even under the most difficult circumstances. As he has in previous books (An Open Heart, The Art of Happiness), the Dalai Lama reminds us that developing peace of mind means paying attention to our daily attitudes and choices as well as taking the time to meditate and be prayerful. The six-part book covers Buddhist meditation techniques and visualization exercises as well as daily thoughts and actions that foster morality and wisdom. –Gail Hudson –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The Dalai Lama, a formidable teacher, presents a way that is the middle way, but not necessarily the easy way. Because the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism has a natural gift as well as the translating and publishing resources that makes his teachings accessible, it is easy to forget the rigor and depth of those teachings. Too, Buddhism so often appears in the West as a system of daily behavior and practice that it is also easy to overlook the compelling intellectual challenge it presents to the Western understanding of reality. His Holiness starts on familiar Buddhist ground (morality of action, suffering, compassion) and chapter by chapter adds doctrine and complexity until teachings from the heights of imaginative Tantra and Tibetan deity yoga are being explicated. For the uninitiated the climb is steep, and those seeking general ethical guidance would do better with an easier text (His Holiness has written those, too). For the serious, however, the Dalai Lama offers elegant clarity about the paradoxes at the heart of Buddhism including the central Heart Sutra itself, the teaching of form-is-emptiness and about the intellectual intricacy of Buddhist teachings. Tibetan Buddhism is considered the esoteric wing of Buddhism; this slice shows some layers of its complexity while whetting the spiritual appetite for more understanding, or what Buddhists would call the intention for enlightenment.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Audio CDPublisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (January 1, 2002)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0743507789ISBN-13: 978-0743507783 Product Dimensions: 1 x 5 x 5.5 inches Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Best Sellers Rank: #751,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #113 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Dalai Lama #614 in Books > Books on CD > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity #874 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Rituals & Practice
This book by H.H. the Dalai Lama may be read by those wishing an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and by those wishing to begin or develop their practice.

The Dalai Lama attempts to answer the basic question: "How can people be happy?" His answer outlines a path of spiritual growth and practice. Although based upon Tibetan Buddhism, there is wisdom in the book for anybody seeking spiritual growth, within or without any specific religious practice.

The book consists of six short sections. It begins with a brief discussion of the life of the Buddha which, as the Dalai Lama points out, encompasses the basic teachings of the Buddhist path: morality, concentrated meditation and wisdom. The Dalai Lama then explains the basis of each teaching in short chapters. It is good that the book gives its focus to moral practice — curing anger, lust, hatred, and agression and wishing well to oneself and others.

Chapter III of the book discusses meditation practices and will introduce the beginner to the value of meditation and to several meditation techniques. The Dalai Lama stresses the need for consistent practice and for patience and for the need of controlling one’s expectations.

There are several chapters which discuss the difficult but key Buddhist teaching of dependent origination. Much of this material the Dalai Lama also covers in an earlier book called "The Meaning of Life."

There is a concluding section on Tantra, a uniquely Tibetan practice. I think it is better for the average person to remain with the practices of morality and concentration described earlier in the book.
This is not really an introductory Buddhist text, although the previous reviews suggest that some (but not all) non-Buddhists have gained by reading it. Rather, it’s title exactly describes it – if you are a practicing Buddhist, it tells you "How To Practice".

Of course, there is no single way to practice – in fact, there are at least 84,000 ways to practice spread over many traditions (Theravadan (SE Asia), Mahayanan (Zen, Pure Land), and Vajrayana (Tibetan). This book is primarily written for Tibetan Buddhists, but the guidelines are sufficiently broad that I have given this book to Zen and Theravaden Buddhists who found much to agree about.

The book is broken into three major sections – mirroring the three fold grouping often applied to the 8-fold path: morality, meditation and wisdom. The book also introduces the Tantric methods of Vajrayanan Buddhism.

Each chapter covers it’s topic in a clear, concise fashion, and ends with a "Summary for Daily Practice". This helps tie the writing (which can be somewhat theoretical) into the title of the book "How To Practice".

The first section introduces the Four Noble Truths, and expands upon them and finally brings them to ground in practices such as such as the Four Wholesum Practices, the Six Perfections, etc.

The second section is a brief but very clear introduction to various types of meditation, including analytical and stabilizing meditation, etc. I have loaned the book to other practitioners and they agree that this is a great book to loan to beginners.

The third section is about Wisdom – the nature of reality and relative and ultimate truth (and for those of you who are really dedicated – emptiness).
Download How To Practice: The Way To A Meaningful Life Audio CD – Unabridged, Audiobook, CD

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