Wisdom Energy: Basic Buddhist Teachings [Paperback]

Lama Yeshe (Author), Lama Zopa Rinpoche (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

Wisdom Energy is a simple and compelling introduction to Buddhism by two Tibetan lamas renowned for their insight and skill in teaching Westerners. Containing an entire meditation course, it goes to the heart of basic Buddhist practice and discusses the meaning and purpose of meditation, the causes of dissatisfaction and unhappiness, and the methods for subduing them and gaining control over our minds and lives. This special 25th Anniversary Edition of Wisdom Energy preserves the power, humor, and directness of the lamas's first teaching tour of North America, giving the reader the feeling of an intimate audience with two highly respected teachers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...immensely practical advice and suggestions." -- The Middle Way

"This is a superb book....presents basic Buddhist teachings with great lucidity and clarity." -- Resource

About the Author

Lama Yeshe was born in Tibet in 1935, attended Sera Monastic University in Lhasa for nearly 20 years, and followed His Holiness the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959. He taught Westerners from 1965 until his passing in 1984. He is the author of Introduction to Tantra and The Bliss of Inner Fire . Lama Zopa Rinpoche was a student of Lama Yeshe. Together founded the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a worldwide network of Buddhist centers, monasteries, and affiliated activities, which Lama Zopa now leads as Spiritual Director. He is the author of Transforming Problems into Happiness. He lives in Aptos, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications; 25th anniversary edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 086171170X
• ISBN-13: 978-0861711703
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No-nonsense Insights into the Human Condition, March 31, 2001

By 

Michael P. McGarry (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wisdom Energy: Basic Buddhist Teachings (Paperback)

This is a deeply refreshing book about elementary Buddhist ideas. The authors, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, present the material in a clear logical way that immediately rings true. They are empirical and scientific in their approach, even comparing Buddhist inquiry about the nature of self to a scientific investigation. Their refrain throughout the books is "check it out" --- verify for yourself, in your own practice, that their observations are true. They are not preaching dogma: quite to the contrary, they are proposing "testable hypotheses" of inner life, and they suggest inner "experiments" for the reader to carry out. The analyses are precise, and yet the precision is conveyed without jargon. This book is profoundly accessible to the modern Western reader, particularly to someone who has a background in science. Because of the cogency of the arguments, I would recommend this book not only to students of Buddhism and comparative religion, but also to students of philosophy, psychology, anthropology --- anyone who uses rational and scientific investigation to explore human nature in an attempt to ameliorate human problems.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly insightful, January 3, 2004

By 

D. Golden (Savannah, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wisdom Energy: Basic Buddhist Teachings (Paperback)

I'm going to make this short and sweet. ANYTHING authored by Lama Yeshe is worth reading. In the course of a relatively short life span, he managed to inspire and inform many thousands of people. Wisdom Publications has printed several wonderful titles by Lama Yeshe, and they are all gems. If you are interested in pursuing the Dharma through Tibetan eyes, or even if you just wish to garner some insight into this ancient tradition, you must become familiar with the works produced by this highly revered monk.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, trasformative book, February 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wisdom Energy: Basic Buddhist Teachings (Paperback)

This book is just wonderful. It provides such a clear, down-to-earth presentation of Buddhist meditation and practice. Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche took the essence of all the Wisdom of the Buddha and put it into a format that is so incredibly accessible to Westerners and is so perfect for putting into practice to transform one's relationships and one's own mind! Incredible!