Great for beginners or anyoneJanuary 26, 2008 9 out of 10 found this review helpful
As a beginner in Buddhism, this was the first Buddhist book that I read. Before reading this, I had heard of many ways of Buddhist thought through small online writings, but His Holiness' 'How to See Yourself As You Really Are' truly helped me to gain a more meaningful understanding of impermanence, dependent arising, and compassion. I suggest anyone new to Buddhism and still confused read this book. Also, I'm currently reading His Holiness' 'The Way to Freedom' and I feel as if It's the perfect thing to read along with 'How to See Yourself As You Really Are'.
How to see yourself as your really areDecember 25, 2007 2 out of 20 found this review helpful
This book asks you to look at the world and yourself in a new way.
The path to enlightenmentApril 8, 2007 93 out of 98 found this review helpful
I believe the Dalai Lama is the closest thing we have to a Buddha on earth. His writing is full of grace and enlightenment. In this book he takes on the difficult task of explaining the true condition of a human being-impermanent conditional consciousness. This topic is very difficult to explain by putting it into words. The Dalai Lama does a great job and then follows up with many exercises. Here is how I would summarize this books teachings:
We are not our body, nor even our mind. if we were we could not say my mind or my body. Then what are we? We are "like" and illusion existing through our 5 aggregates, body, thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and consciousness. No "I" can be located. The closest we can come is understanding that we are consciousness observing the present moment, all else is thought and mental formation. Who we think we really are is just a mental formation we hold in our mind of our beliefs about ourselves our religion, height, weight, name, etc. Enlightenment is simply understanding this and the nature of reality. I hope I did some justice to this books topic, but I highly recommend reading this book to move farther down the road to enlightenment.
Detachment as a way to authenticityMarch 17, 2007 23 out of 29 found this review helpful
Emotions distort reality of self and others. Buddhism is a practice and a religion that offers a way out of illusion (Mara). The Dalai Lama brings forth his own wisdom as a world soul teacher immersed in Tibetan Buddhism. A wonderful guide on getting out of your own way.
Number One PickMarch 2, 2007 45 out of 47 found this review helpful
I have over 100 books on buddhism and meditation and if I had to pick my favorite this is it. To me it contains everything an aspiring buddha needs to know and practice.Especially good if you don't have access to a teacher or a spiritual center.
