An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life [Paperback]

The Dalai Lama (Author), Nicholas Vreeland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2002

Compassion-sympathy for the suffering of others and the desire to free them from it-is wrestled with in all spiritual traditions. Yet how does one actually become a compassionate person? What are the mechanisms by which a selfish heart is transformed into a generous heart? In this acclaimed bestseller, His Holiness the Dalai Lama writes simply and powerfully about the everyday Buddhist practice of compassion, offering a clear, practical, inspiring introduction to the Buddhist path to enlightenment.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the summer of 1999, the Dalai Lama addressed an audience of over 40,000 in Central Park on how to live a better life. Open Heart is derived from this and other popular lectures given in New York. Here, the Dalai Lama progresses beyond his bestsellers The Art of Happiness and Ethics for the New Millennium by introducing specific practices that can engender happiness. Spiritual practice, according to the Dalai Lama, is a matter of taming unwanted emotions, which means becoming aware of how the mind works. Through the methods of analytical and settled meditation, the Dalai Lama shows how we can cultivate helpful states of mind and eliminate harmful states, leading us to develop compassion for others and happiness for ourselves. But there is no preaching of a single, right method. This revered but humble monk merely invites the reader to understand the causes of one's suffering and consider how best to alleviate it. Open Heart should draw crowds to the bookstores and lead us all to more satisfactory living. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

A paperback reissue of last year's hardcover makes His Holiness the Dalai Lama's wisdom a bit less expensive: "Just as musicians train their hands, athletes their reflexes and techniques, linguists their ears, scholars their perceptions, so we direct our minds and hearts." And so with his characteristic deftness, here he builds bridges from the realities of everyday life to sublimely spiritual pursuits. This compilation, based on teachings delivered by His Holiness in New York in 1999, is founded upon a weaving of two ancient Buddhist texts. These are made accessible here in part by Vreeland's skillful editing and in part by the unflagging style of the Dalai Lama, who continues to spread his message of loving compassion beyond the borders of Buddhism. Readers who savored his The Art of Happiness and Ethics for the New Millennium will likely be ready to take these next steps into practical approaches for everyday living that are supremely grounded in Buddhist philosophy, but extend an open heart to all types of believers and nonbelievers as well. While not a manual in the traditional Western sense of highly sequenced steps, this book is a treasury of teachings that point clearly to a better way to live. Exquisite, perfectly matched photographs round out such chapters as "The Desire for Happiness," "Karma," "Compassion," "Calm Abiding" and "Wisdom." Many books today receive the Dalai Lama's blessing, but this one issues a special invitation to receive ancient wisdom through the mind and heart of a modern spiritual master.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (September 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316930938
• ISBN-13: 978-0316930932
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,555 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

149 of 155 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Teachings of the Dalai Lama, November 16, 2001

By 

Renee Owens (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life (Hardcover)

This latest book by the Dalai Lama is a compilation of speeches he gave in NYC in the past. It lists the main traits one should practice to fulfill a healthy lifestyle: compassion, empathy, wisdom, and so on. If you have already read 'Ethics For The New Millenium' or 'The Art of Happiness' you will find that this book repeats much of the material in those books. The main difference I see in this edition is that some basic meditation techniques are covered. Overall, it is a book that reminds us of the most important qualities one should practice to create a centered life. I also recommend "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Little Book of Eastern Wisdom" by Taro Gold which is filled with hundreds of thought-provoking and inspirational quotations.

63 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Message for East and West, October 9, 2001

By 

Oliver Hill (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life (Hardcover)

An Open Heart is an interesting book and informative book. The Dalai Lama has a strong message for both Eastern and Western Civilizations. For the West he says, I think that anger and hatred actually cause more harm to us than to the person responsible for the problem. He tells us, in essence, to give being victims to our anger and hate. This message is also being presented more and more frequently by American authors who have been trained in western psychology but have modified their training to incorporate more advanced spiritual concepts  See An Encounter With a Prophet by C. A. Lewis and There is a Spiritual Solution to every problem by Wayne W. Dyer.

The Dalai Lama also has a strong message for the East. He provides a new interpretation of The Third Nobel Truth of Buddhism - Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases. In the past this Truth, also contained in modified form within the Hindu religion, has caused many sincere followers of both religions to content themselves with poverty. He tells his Buddhist followers living in poverty, You yourselves must make effort; you must take initiative, with self-confidence, to bring about change.

An Open Hear is definitely a worthwhile read.

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dalai Lama in New York City, November 29, 2001

By 

Robin Friedman (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life (Hardcover)

In 1999, the Dalai Lama gave two teachings in New York City. The Dalai Lama gave the first teaching (which constitutes the Introduction to this book) in Central Park on August 15, 1999 to a gathering of 200,000 people. He gave the second teaching as a series of lectures to an audience of 3,000 people in Manhattan's Beacon Theater.

The individual lecture and the series of lectures each capture something essential about the Dalai Lama's teaching and his manner of presenting it. The Central Park lecture appears designed for a large, lay audience of diverse backgrounds and religious interests. It presupposes no particular knowledge of or interest in Buddhism. In the lecture, the Dalai Lama speaks simply and eloquently about the desire of all people to secure happiness. He talks about how this goal can be achieved, with time and effort, by understanding and curbing our desires for material things, by recognizing the essential equality of human nature and human drives everywhere, and by generating compassion. There is topical material included in this lecture on matters such as protecting the environment, the noise and bustle of New York City, and the sometimes drastic consequences of fanaticism and nationalism.

The series of lectures, in contrast to the Central Park lecture, is specifically Buddhist in character. The Dalai Lama tells us that the lectures are based in large part on two Buddhist tests: the "Middle-Length States of Meditation", by an eight-century Indian writer, Kamalashila, and "The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas" by a fourteenth century Tibetan, Togmay Sangpo.

In very short succinct chapters, the Dalai Lama's lectures explain the heart of Buddhist practice for a Western audience. They discuss the origin of suffering and unhappiness in our emotions, desires, and angers which color in turn the ways we perceive the world and make us unhappy. The Dalai Lama presents and discusses meditation and reflection as making a beginning toward breaking out of the unhappy character of impulsive, emotion-driven existence. By learning about ourselves, by trying to understand the "emptiness" of reality, and by generating compassion for others, we achieve equanamity and happiness for ourselves.

It is the mark of the Dalai Lama's wisdom that he is able to explain deep and difficult teachings in a lucid, inspiring manner. The teachings themselves are difficult to grasp and difficult to implement. The Dalai Lama emphasizes that it will do little good simply to read a book and then forget about it. The teachings need to be thought about and put into practice. Each person must work from where he or she is and strive to make progress.

Thus this book consists of a single lecture for those who may have little exposure to or interest in the Dalai Lama's teachings and a more detailed treatment for those with further background and interest. Either way, the book may light a spark in the receptive reader's heart.