The Four Noble Truths [Paperback]

The Dalai Lama (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 1998

The four noble truths are these: life involves suffering; desire is the source of our suffering; there is a way to put an end to our desire; the way out of desire is to live one's life according to eight basic principles.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of Tibet. He is the author of several books on Tibetan Buddhism.

From AudioFile

In the summer of 1996 the Dalai Lama gave four lectures on suffering and overcoming it, which he entitled "The Four Noble Truths." Each of these lessons begins with a short introduction by Dr. Robert Thurman of Columbia University. Although he speaks English well, the Dalai Lama speaks, for the most part, through an interpreter. The interpreter speaks English very well and is easy to understand. However, this type of presentation is inherently dry, and this recording isn't an exception. M.T.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: Thorsons (June 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0722535503
• ISBN-13: 978-0722535509
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 3.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in 1935 to a peasant family in northeastern Tibet and was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predecessor, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The world's foremost Buddhist leader, he travels extensively, speaking eloquently in favor of ecumenical understanding, kindness and compassion, respect for the environment, and, above all, world peace.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to buddhist thinking, December 30, 1999

By 

Dr. Ravi Gampala (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Four Noble Truths (Paperback)

Among all the books written by H.H The Dalai Lama, this book is the most concise and conveys the four noble truths in a simple and easy to follow manner. It is a very good introduction for any one who is in search of peace of mind.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best overview of Buddhist thought per page., July 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Four Noble Truths (Paperback)

The most concrete, coherent, and complete "overview" of Buddhist thought as it applies in contemporary life in both the Eastern and Western worldviews. The wonderfully warm personality of His Holiness radiates throughout.

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unforgettable few hours!, August 27, 2000

By 

J. Anderson (Monterey, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Four Noble Truths [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Besides offering a thorough exposition of Mahayana belief, and indeed practice, with an anything but common traversal of the Four Noble Truths by a master, in these four videos one is invited to spend a few intimate hours in the presence of the Dalai Lama, always an ennobling experience. The camera work in this film is especially fine, making of the camera one's own eyes, as it were, and lifting the hours even lighter than they already seem. With respect to another of the reviews on this page, I found the necessary translation from the stage handled superbly, and clearly with a great deal of thought and natural reverence. In Thubten Jimpa, the Dalai Lama employs a beautifully adept translator, an interpreter not only brilliantly attuned to the words and thoughts of the Dalai Lama, but one so obviously loved by him, and who responds with a special kind of faithfulness, that a marvelous duet is often played out, only enhancing thereby this great teacher's magisterial presentation. I would add that one feels as well the 'Englishness' of the audience, so eager to quietly offer their accepting energy, so ready to listen, far more so than might be a gathering of Americans usually so conscious of themselves in the moment. The humor that ripples often between the Dalai Lama and his listeners throughout the evening is so generous and unaffected, one is returned again and again to the meaning behind the words, the experience behind the event. This is a film of the highest achievment, fortunately within the reach of us all. An unforgettable few hours!