As a spiritual teacher, the Dalai Lama is always learning. He has his own daily spiritual practices and continues to receive new teachings and techniques from other lamas and teachers. Rajiv Mehrotra, a personal student of His Holiness, is working on a biography of him. In the preface to this volume, he observes: "He combines rationality, humanism and religious tradition as the foundations for the moral responses to the great challenges of our century. He himself has sought to learn, and for Buddhism to learn, from the modern discoveries of science and through closer contact with other faith traditions of how, together, a deeper understanding of the ultimate nature of reality and ultimate truth (if there is one) might emerge. The universal goal is the cultivation of real enduring happiness for all living beings."
The Dalai Lama is the author of more than 50 books. This one serves as a sturdy introduction to his essential Buddhist teachings. It is divided into sections on the vision, Buddhist perspectives, practice, and a world in harmony.
In an essay on "Our Global Family," the Dalai Lama emphasizes what we all have in common with others:
"When I meet people in different parts of the world, I am always reminded that we are all basically alike: We are all human beings. Maybe we have different clothes, our skin is of a different color or we speak different languages. That is on the surface. But, basically, we are the same human beings. That is what binds us to each other. That is what makes it possible for us to understand each other and to develop friendship and closeness."
One thing people share is a yearning for happiness. Although the Dalai Lama has suffered the loss of his homeland and undergone great changes in his life, he still is a happy person; he is loving and compassionate and sees even his enemies as spiritual teachers. Others topics covered here include the basics of Buddhism, universal responsibility, generating the mind of enlightenment, science and spirituality, Buddhist perspectives on the teachings of Jesus, and the practice of calm abiding.
