Gems of Wisdom from the Seventh Dalai Lama (Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy) [Paperback]

Glenn H. Mullin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999 | Series: Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy

The Seventh Dalai Lama (1708-1757) stands as one of the most beloved Buddhist masters in Tibet's long and illustrious history.

Editorial Reviews

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"Brimming over with ethical insights into various spiritual practices amazingly relevant to our contemporary situation." --Values and Visions Reviews

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"Every page is insightful and contains timeless wisdom."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Snow Lion Publications (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559391324
• ISBN-13: 978-1559391320
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,321,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all!! GEMS of WISDOM!!!, March 31, 2001

By 

Michael P. McGarry (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gems of Wisdom from the Seventh Dalai Lama (Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy) (Paperback)

This book is truly full of gems, each replete with Wisdom. This is a translation of a concise work by the 7th Dalai Lama (1708-1757). After a brief invocation, the work consists of 108 stanzas, each in the form of a metaphorical question (sometime quite colorful) and an answer. For example: "#28 What is the body odor/ easy to acquire by hard to lose?/ Habits picked up from people/ whose lives are far from spiritual ways." In this question and answer form, the 7th Dalai Lama covers all the basics of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Mullin's translation has one stanza on a page, followed by a thoughtful commentary, including explanation of the more obscure metaphors. The book can be read in a few ways. One can easily read through the 108 stanza in a single sitting, glancing down occasionally at the commentary to shed light on an arcane reference. On a first reading, that mode may be preferable to reading every word on every page, because it quickly gives a sense of the whole. Any single stanza, with or without accompanying commentary, makes an excellent inspirational reading before meditation or before retiring to sleep. Opening this book to a random page would be an excellent form of "dharma divination." Because of the brevity of the root text and the brilliance of Mullin's organization of the book as a whole, this is a book that can read in a variety of ways, over and over again. Mullin has done a truly spectacular job of making this timeless wisdom so readily accessible to the modern reader. Furthermore, Mullin's detailed introduction gives a brief but clear synopsis of the role of the first seven Dalai Lamas in Tibetan history. I cannot praise Mullin's work on this book highly enough. I would enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone at any stage of any spiritual path.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended to students of contemporary Bhuddism., February 3, 2000

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gems of Wisdom from the Seventh Dalai Lama (Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy) (Paperback)

Glenn H. Mullin's Gems Of Wisdom From The Seventh Dalai Lama uses simple language to consider the teachings of the Buddha and the process of individual transformation. The Dalai Lama's insights are gathered in chapters which not only interpret sayings, but provide examples of their settings.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Basic Moral Text, February 2, 2005

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Neal J. Pollock (VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gems of Wisdom from the Seventh Dalai Lama (Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy) (Paperback)

This is a very basic Buddhist book with a series of 4-line stanzas on moral principles by the 7th Dalai Lama with commentary, immediately following each stanza, by Glenn Mullin. These are preceded by a brief historical introduction which, interestingly, conflicts with Samten Karmay's historical information in "Secret Visions of the Fifth Dalai Lama." The 7th's poems are based on Atisha's Lojong (mind) training received from Dharmakirti in Indonesia. This is also the basis from much of Pema Chödrön's books and tapes. But these poems are moralistic in character (mostly proscriptive) whereas hers which are experiential and practical (mostly prescriptive). The stanzas here are in the form of questions and answers: (p. 85): "Who is the mule braying his inferiority to others? He who praises himself to others, saying, `I have this and that good quality.'" They are sometimes humorous and generally down-to-earth: (p. 88): "What is like a smelly fart that although invisible, is obvious? One's own faults that are precisely as obvious as the effort made to hide them."

Mr. Mullin provides considerable commentary which adds a great number of basic Buddhist & Vajrayana precepts, principles, etc. as good background, but not necessarily taking them literally: (p. 27) "metaphorically the 6 realms of the sensory world represent cyclic processes resulting from the 6 distorted mind-states..." He notes the 7th's link to the Kadampa school (p. 85), the practice of yelling praises and insults to yourself in a cave (presumably with an echo) on page 90, the Lojong perspective-(p. 137): "Ordinary people react to personal criticism by becoming defensive or even angry. In the Lojong tradition one always cultivates the opposite of the ordinary," and some interesting assertions such as-(p. 63): "The biggest obstacle to enlightenment in the kaliyuga is the temptation to follow the norms of society, for society is mostly on the wrong track." However, I think he overstates the case when he states that (p. 22) "The 7th Dalai Lama's little text focuses upon the meeting place of these 2 levels of reality-conventional & ultimate-and upon how the flows that manifest on the conventional level of reality can be directed so as to create outer an inner environments within which the ultimate level of reality is easily perceived."

Rather, the text seems more like a Jewish Musar (morals) text such as Luzzatto's "The Path of the Just" and is very, IMHO, basic. For instance, (p. 151): "What is the harm not to be inflicted upon others? The very harm one would not like to have inflicted upon oneself" is identical to Hillel's comment in the Talmud and very similar to Christianity's Golden Rule. In Buddhism, however, one of the abilities of a Buddha is to know what people need. Thus, it seems to me that Buddhism could rephrase this better as: do unto others only what they need done unto them. After all, what you want & what another wants/needs are not always the same. Still, with the commentary it could be a good starter book for someone interested in learning about Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism). For a more advanced student, and especially for a prospective practitioner, I'd recommend works by Pema Chödrön, Surya Das, or Chogyam Trungpa over this one. I think my lack of enthusiasm for this book is exacerbated by its not IMHO living up to its title. Nevertheless, it did have a quote or two for my collection. My favorite is: (p. 129): "A prerequisite of inner happiness is inner freedom. The attachment to objects, people and situations is the direct opposite of freedom."