The Meaning of Life - Softcover

The Dalai Lama never shies away from the big questions. The Meaning of Life is a collection of lectures given in London in 1984 on the Buddhist worldview, before he had won the Nobel Peace Prize or become a bestselling author in English. Still, his message is essentially the same: practice nonviolence, cultivate altruism, and transform consciousness. In these lectures, the Dalai Lama begins with a painting of the wheel of cyclic existence, depicting the levels of karmic existence and symbols of the 12 links of dependent-arising. In other words, this painting, presented in seven color plates, is a visual summation of the basic tenets of Buddhism. The Dalai Lama draws on the painting to explain the 12 links of dependent-arising and then the path that leads to liberation from them. A nuts and bolts book, readers will enjoy it for its detail and for the broad range of questions elicited in listeners. --Brian Bruya

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Born in northeastern Tibet in 1935, he was as a toddler recognized as the incarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and brought to Tibet's capital, Lhasa. In 1950, Mao Zedong's Communist forces made their first incursions into eastern Tibet, shortly after which the young Dalai Lama assumed the political leadership of his country. In 1959, Chinese forces occupied the city, forcing His Holiness to escape to India. There he set up the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, working to secure the welfare of the more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles and prevent the destruction of Tibetan culture. In his capacity as a spiritual and political leader, he has traveled to more than sixty-two countries on six continents and met with presidents, popes, and leading scientists to foster dialogue and create a better world. In recognition of his tireless work for the nonviolent liberation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In 2012, he relinquished political authority in his exile government and turned it over to democratically elected representatives. He is the author of numerous books, including The Good Heart, The Meaning of Life, The World of Tibetan Buddhism, and The Compassionate Life.