Customer Reviews

The Heart of Compassion: The Thirty-seven Verses on the Practice of a Bodhisattva

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"What would be the practical implications of caring more about others than about yourself?" This is the best opening to a review I have read. Excellent book to read and reread, good for beginners, straight from the heart, good for advanced practitioners, an antidote to our selfish lifestyles, and a great practice.

Seven Point Mind Training (lojong, tonglen) offers ways to do this . . . Pema Chodron's book "Start Where You Are" is excellent if this book insprires you to get a move on into practice!

A powerful book that simplifies the deeper complexities of Buddhist thought. While at times the suggestions (of the 37 verses) might seem impractical, they offer truth on a metaphorical level as well. This book will have you thinking long after you close it.

Good for begginers and seasoned paractioners of tibetan buddhism. Easy yet profound. It's a transcribing of a compassionate teaching of Dilgo Rinpoche about a condensation in 37 verses of Shantideva's The Way of the Bodhissattva.

- This is among the most endearing and useful books I can remember reading, and deserves its status as a modern classic in how to live a better life.
- The author states "[ the book's] essence is that whatever actions and whatever ... practice you do ... you should do them with the intention of benefiting the infinity of sentient beings. If your intentions are ... without any self-clinging, perfection will naturally arise." This book, like many TIbetan teachings, discusses "pith sayings," based on very brief (often cryptic) statements with further commentary by the author, which blends classical teaching and a modern outlook. Dilgo Khyentse teaches that a habitual and persistent attitude of well-wishing and compassion, combined with refining one's efforts at non-grasping and improved discernment, are the best methods for improving our own lives. The book outlines many methods for doing this, and he concretely discusses obstacles modern practitioners seem to have (for example, a solid identification with our culture or national origin, which we post-moderns take for granted, is likely to get us into more difficulty than we usually think).
-Dilgo Khyentse was the teacher for Matthieu Ricard, the prominent monk/scientist, and anyone who has taught Matthieu Ricard is worth your attention. FWIW I am a Theravadin Buddhist practitioner and disagree with Tibetan Buddhism in many important areas, but still think this book not only deserves a place on your "books to take to a desert island" list, it deserves uploading into the GPS system of one's heart and mind.