It is the Season of Christmas cheer and soon it will be 2010.
This year round instead of making the annual resolutions, I found myself reading “How To Practise” by His Holiness The Dalai Lama.
I have had this book around for quite some time and only got round to reading it. I suppose in many ways, it beats making New Year resolutions. The Dalai Lama is indeed on eof the great personage of this lifetime and his experience and wisdom is as they say as vast as the ocean. He is as Jeffrey Hopkins says in the foreword amazing.
His Holiness opens his book with this:
“I travel to many places around the world, and whenever I speak to people, I do so with the feeling that I am a member of their own family. Although we may be meeting for the first time, I accept everyone as a friend. In truth, we already know one another, profoundly, as human beings who share the same basic goals: We all seek happiness and do not want suffering.”
The teachings are brief in most aspects but nonetheless is a great guide and reminder of the need to practice and to never underestimate our own potential as human beings to find happiness.
He includes and assimilates all the different religions. For example on page 12, he stresses that the encompassing compassion is common in all religions irrespective of whether we are Hindus, Muslims or Christians.
Death and more accurately understanding of the death process as well as the intermediate state after death is delved into. More importantly is instruction of familiarizing and practicing to help us eventually handle the dying process. He speaks with knowledge and in his very humble ways points out the correct way to practice. I find this part very simple and encourages me to develop this aspect in my daily life.
He stresses that he speaks as a humble monk but from hints dropped of his regular practice routine and expressions of confidence that his practice can bear fruit makes this a book that has one place – beside one’s bedside – to be continually referred to.
He talks about the special method of extending help and exchanging oneself with others on page 85 going on to bodhisattva practices on page 107.
For those who wish to know something about tantric practices, The Dalai Lama discusses tantric meditation in the later parts of the book. I find the structure of the book leads me on gently through and believe it is useful for both seasoned practitioners and new ones alike.
Take it as an introduction to Buddhism or simply as a guide to living a good life, this book I recommend. I believe this book is easily availabIe in your local book store and I have linked this book to Amazon. You can visit amazon.com or to go there straight, click this link: How to Practise: The Way to a Meaningful Life
Or you can click on the image of the book at the top.
