How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life

Entering into the Spiritual Thoughts of the Dalai Lama

Many religious leaders share the teaching of their faith and exhort you to follow their precepts. Rarely do religious leaders explain the mental processes they go through to attempt to follow those precepts themselves. While How to Practice certainly captures Buddhist beliefs, it is remarkably detailed in both how the Dalai Lama disciplines his mind and in exercises that you can follow. For Buddhists, this book is a plus. For nonBuddhists, there still are valuable lessons for following goodness, although you may choose not to follow some of the exercises. The book¿s premise is that you will learn ¿valuable techniques from Tibetan traditions which, if implemented in daily practice, lead to mental peace.¿ The Dalai Lama summarizes the essence of the Buddha¿s teaching as: ¿If possible, you should help others . . . at least . . . do no harm.¿ If you want to get a quick overview of what the recommended daily practices are, these are summarized on pages 214-223. If you are like me, you will come away very impressed with the magnitude of the moral focus behind these mental disciplines. I was impressed to learn about the different types of meditation that are possible, which each accomplishes, how sutras are used, and what Tantra practice is. The essence of the discipline is ¿morality, concentrated meditation and wisdom¿ developed in that order. The Dalai Lama also takes on a detailed description of what Enlightenment is all about, a most important Buddhist concept. Although I have heard many Buddhists speak about Enlightenment, I felt this explanation helped me to understand the concept much better than I did before. The book has a gentle persuasiveness that made me feel warm and appreciated. ¿I accept everyone as a friend.¿ The Dalai Lama also encourages you to ¿minimize anger and cultivate kindness and a warm heart.¿ May you find the truth that you seek, and share its warmth with all those you meet!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A Good Introduction for Those With a Basic Understanding

I wouldn't quite call "How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life" by the Dalai Lama a primer on Buddhism, because I feel that someone with no foreknowledge of Buddhist philosophy and practice might quickly get lost amidst the vast amount of information contained in this little volume. However, if you understand the basics, His Holiness presents the details of how to practice, in the Tibetan way, in a very clear and concise presentation. I found myself coming to several new and exciting revelations as I read this book, things I will be working on in my own meditations for some time to come.

I did have a few issues with this book. As with most books intended to teach a way to practice (whether it be religion, philosophy, or even sports) there is a certain amount of repetition. By the third or forth time the same thing was repeated I was ready to just skip over it, which would have been a shame because intermixed with some of them were a few wonderful stories about the Dalai Lama himself and his own journey toward Buddhahood. I also found some of his examples to be distracting, especially when they were taken from traditional teachings or contained particularly difficult names. I plodded through these sections and gleaned what I could from them, but feel a less traditional approach might have translated better.

If you have more than a passing interest in Buddhism or the ways of meditation, then you can't do much better than this book by the Dalai Lama himself!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

How to Practice offers concrete steps

This is my second time reading this book; the first time was a few years ago and I enjoyed the way The Dalai Lama laid out concrete steps to spiritual understanding in terms that make sense.

I'm reading it again because the first time I read it as an enjoyable read. I am reading it again because I am now ready to incorporate some of practices in this great little book!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good stuff...

If you are familiar with the Dalai Lama, then you are not going to find much new here. But the content and ideas set fourth are truely transformational. Developing compassion is the hallmark of the Dalai Lama's teachings, indeed the hallmark of Budah's teachings as well. I enjoyed the audio book as it provided a great feel for the Budhist tradition: the four noble truths, emptiness, compassion, wisdom, and meditation. Incorporate what is useful to you and others out of the book in your own life and your own spiritual tradition, and leave the rest for contemplation.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Creating Peace of Mind

This book demonstrates how ordinary daily activities themselves can become a form of spiritual practice. It explains there are two basic ways to create happiness: External and internal. By obtaining material goods, etc, we find satisfaction externally. Through internal development, we develop even greater happiness. This book emphasizes that developing peace of mind helps us manifest both types of happiness. I also highly recommend a little book of Buddhist wisdom titled 'Open Your Mind, Open Your Life' which is a great companion book to the works of the Dalai Lama.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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