The Middle Way: Faith Grounded in Reason [Hardcover]

Dalai Lama (Author), Geshe Thupten Jinpa (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0861715527 | ISBN-13: 978-0861715527

For nearly 2,000 years, Nagarjuna's teachings have occupied a central position in Mahayana Buddhism. An essential part of the study and practice in the great Indian Buddhist monastic universities, these teachings were later incorporated into the Tibetan monastic programs that modeled their curricula on their Indian predecessors. In The Middle Way, the Dalai Lama offers a brief, brilliant, and complete presentation of the ultimate view of reality in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism. The teachings are about the Buddhist view, yet the Dalai Lama presents them in a way that allows any interested reader to grasp this profound outlook on life. Like his many books on compassion, The Middle Way is vitally important and universally applicable. With its release, the Dalai Lama adds his wisdom teachings to the already established recognition of his incomparable compassion.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, was born in northeastern Tibet in 1935. He is widely recognized as both the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. In 1950, Tibet was invaded by China, leading to His Holinesss flight into India in 1959. Since then, His Holiness has resided in Dharamsala, India, the site of the Tibetan-government-in-exile. In recognition of his tireless work for the liberation of Tibet, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (May 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861715527
• ISBN-13: 978-0861715527
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,614 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.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Master of Buddhist Philosophy Explains Two, June 26, 2009

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Calvin Porter "Dharma bum" (Pleasant Hill, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Middle Way: Faith Grounded in Reason (Hardcover)

In "The Middle Way" His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama takes on the daunting task of explaining works by two of the greatest figures in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, NagarjunaThe Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika and Tsongkhapa. His explication of their ideas is both clear and concise. The evident good heart and humor in his voice comes through the written word, and will be familiar to anyone who has had the good fortune to attend any of his teachings. As usual, he begins with an overview of the basics of Buddhism, which helps to make the overall work more accessible to those without an extensive background in Buddhist philosophy or practice. None the less, this is probably not the best choice for an overall introduction to Buddhism. Thupten Jinpa, his long time translator, and a distinguished scholar in his own right, once again shows his facility for finding the right blend of technical accuracy and readability.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Good, March 1, 2010

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Reader "Reader" (Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Middle Way: Faith Grounded in Reason (Hardcover)

What I like about the Dalai Lama's books is that he goes far beyond treating the material as a philosophical object of interest. In the Dalai Lama's view, the teachings are tools for developing compassion, relieving suffering and attaining enlightenment. The Dalai Lama speaks of spiritual phenomena as matter of fact realities that are in the same continuum of knowledge and experience as the detailed logical analyses that are the subject of this book. There's a reason for reason, and that is to support spiritual development. The Dalai Lama's authority, credibility, personal conviction, and mastery of the material are always underspoken...he knows, and he describes what he knows with such caring that we should understand. I found Guy Newland's "Introduction to Emptiness" and Jay Garfield's translation of Nagarjuna's "Fundamental Stanzas of the Middle Way" to be excellent philosophical works, that gave me great insight into the philosphy of the Middle Way, and that were transformative to my thinking and perception. "Faith Grounded in Reason" gives me something much closer to the experience of what can be done with those insights and transformations.

13 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Faith Grounded in Reason, August 29, 2009

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Francis J. Gaude (Cameron Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Middle Way: Faith Grounded in Reason (Hardcover)

The Dalai Lama explores ideas of karma, reincarnation, and the like, along with the totality of Buddhist beliefs and practices. As you can imagine by the subtitle, the testing of beliefs through reason, our intellects, is most important, a most impressive work!

Buddhism is followed by many around the world, but it has been much like most religions: if born into a family we follow it as our parents have done. But on closer study we find our beliefs are not founded on reason, more on blind faith with little certainty. If we can bear it the Dalai Lama states in language that many can understand just what Reality is, how 'steam of consciousness' comes to be a continuum of conscious from 'nothing' to multiplicity, how the 'eternal' changes as the effects change. To read such requires us to understand what words mean.