Amazon.com
The mind is central to all human experience. Whether one is in harmony with the world or not depends upon one's relative emotional and spiritual health. For this reason, the core teachings of Buddhism have always emphasized various forms of mind training. In
Transforming the Mind, based on an edited series of his lectures, the Dalai Lama provides a succinct overview of the basic techniques of spiritual development in Tibetan Buddhism. He introduces several aspects of mind training, combining the insights of traditional scholarship with his personal warmth and humanity.
The book begins with a lucid account of the basic teachings of Buddhism--the nature of the human predicament and how it can be overcome. Then two key aspects of mind training involving the development of altruism and insight are described. This is essential, since Buddhism teaches that true mental transformation requires a sense of responsibility for others, together with the attainment of insight into the dynamic working of the human psyche and the world. Included in the book is the short traditional text on mental transformation, which the Dalai Lama used to structure his illuminating presentation of Buddhist practice. As an added bonus, the book concludes with a message for the millennium, giving the Dalai Lama's views on the role of Buddhist-inspired ethics in this newly dawning era.
Though not aimed at complete beginners, this book will appeal to readers who are seriously committed to bringing about change in the world through developing their own spiritual capabilities, whether they are Buddhists or not. --Stephen Hodge, Amazon.co.uk
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
From Publishers Weekly
Based on a seminar the Dalai Lama gave in London in 1999, this slender volume offers His Holiness's reflections on The Eight Verses of Transforming the Mind, a short work by Langri Thangpa, an 11th-century Tibetan teacher. The book is distractingly disjointedALangri Thangpa's original words are hidden away in an index, and each chapter concludes with a Q&A in which the Dalai Lama offers comments that are not obviously connected to the preceding chapter. Furthermore, the reader who bears with the careless organization may be disappointed by the book's content. Many of the Dalai Lama's ruminations are familiar from his other recent bestsellers. For example, he suggests that in the new millennium, we need to work toward interfaith understanding by participating in interfaith dialogues and meetings and visiting sites that are sacred to practitioners of other religious traditions. When he turns his attention to meditation, His Holiness seems less inspired than usual: meditation is valuable, but he admits that it can be tough. Meditators tend to get distracted, drowsy, lax, and agitated. We need to take both physical and mental responses into account when trying to deal with these obstaclesAif we struggle with drowsiness, we must make sure we are getting enough sleep, and we should focus on "ideas which have a naturally sobering effect" if we are agitated. These teachings may be transformativeAbut they add little to the many teachings by the Dalai Lama already available in book form. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
