A Human Approach to World Peace Deluxe Edition

by Dalai Lama, Richard Gere (Foreword by)

Overview

This beautiful keepsake edition of His Holiness’s classic essay is updated and expanded for today’s world, with a new foreword from Richard Gere and beautiful, intimate photographs of His Holiness.

In this moving book His Holiness the Dalai Lama shares his perspective on the urgent question facing the world today: How do we make our societies more humane, just, and equitable?

Created to commemorate the occasion of His Holiness’s ninetieth birthday, this special edition contains fourteen rare and beautiful photographs from throughout his life, taken by world-renowned photographers:

Manuel Bauer • Kenro Izu • Richard Gere • Jetsun Pema • Raghu Rai • Herb Ritts • A. T. Steele • Nicky Vreeland • Sonam Zoksang

This is a monument to honor a life spent ceaselessly calling for peace and tolerance, as well as a clarion call to all citizens of the world.

As Richard Gere writes in the foreword, “The healing has begun if we want it.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798890700438
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	02/17/2026
Edition description:	Special Edition
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	4.75(w) x 7.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and a beacon of inspiration for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. He has persistently reached out across religious and political lines and has engaged in dialogue with scientists in his mission to advance peace and understanding in the world. In doing so, he embodies his motto: “My religion is kindness.”

Richard Gere is an internationally renowned film actor, social activist, and philanthropist. Gere was the Co-Founder and Chairman of Tibet House and joined the Board of Directors of the International Campaign for Tibet to more effectively engage both national and international forums of influence. He founded the Gere Foundation in 1991. It is the mission of the Gere Foundation to alleviate suffering and advocate for the people of Tibet. As a small grant-giving organization, the Foundation supports groups which are dedicated to the cultural preservation of Tibet, to providing HIV/AIDS care, research, and treatment, and to those organizations addressing human rights violations throughout the world.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

When we rise in the morning and listen to the radio or read the newspaper, we are confronted with the same sad news: violence, crime, wars, and disasters. I cannot recall a single day without a report of something terrible happening somewhere. Even in these modern times it is clear that one’s precious life is not safe. No former generation has had to experience so much bad news as we face today; this constant awareness of fear and tension should make any sensitive and compassionate person question seriously the progress of our modern world.

It is ironic that the more serious problems emanate from the more industrially advanced societies. Science and technology have worked wonders in many fields, but the basic human problems remain. There is unprecedented literacy, yet this universal education does not seem to have fostered goodness, but only mental restlessness and discontent instead. There is no doubt about the increase in our material progress and technology, but somehow this is not sufficient as we have not yet succeeded in bringing about peace and happiness or in overcoming suffering.

We can only conclude that there must be something seriously wrong with our progress and development, and if we do not check it in time there could be disastrous consequences for the future of humanity. I am not at all against science and technology—they have contributed immensely to the overall experience of humankind: to our material comfort and well-being, and our greater understanding of the world we live in. But if we give too much emphasis to science and technology, we are in danger of losing touch with those aspects of human knowledge and understanding that inspire us toward honesty and altruism.

Science and technology, though capable of creating immeasurable material comfort, cannot replace the age-old spiritual and humanitarian values that have largely shaped world civilization, in all its national forms, as we know it today. No one can deny the unprecedented material benefit of science and technology, but our basic human problems remain; we are still faced with the same, if not more, suffering, fear, and tension. Thus, it is only logical to try to strike a balance between material developments on the one hand and the development of spiritual, human values on the other. In order to bring about this great adjustment, we need to revive our humanitarian values.

I am sure that many people share my concern about the present worldwide moral crisis and will join in my appeal to all humanitarians and religious practitioners who also share this concern to help make our societies more compassionate, just, and equitable. I do not speak as a Buddhist or even as a Tibetan. Nor do I speak as an expert on international politics (though I unavoidably comment on these matters). Rather, I speak simply as a human being, as an upholder of the humanitarian values that are the bedrock not only of Mahayana Buddhism but of all the great world religions. From this perspective I share with you my personal outlook:

1. Universal humanitarianism is essential to solve global problems.

2. Compassion is the pillar of world peace.

3. All world religions are already for world peace in this way, as are all humanitarians of whatever ideology.

4. Each individual has a universal responsibility to shape institutions to serve human needs.