An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life

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 ýTruthý, 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, ýYou yourselves must make effort; you must take initiative, with self-confidence, to bring about change.

An Open Hear is definitely a worthwhile read.


The Dalai Lama in New York City   November 29, 2001
Robin Friedman (Washington, D.C. United States)
44 out of 46 found this review helpful

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.


Insightful!   March 24, 2006
Sleepless in LA (Los Angeles, CA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

This is an easy to read book with tons of insight into a better mindset. You should read the book slowly -- take time to reflect on each idea, such as compassion. Keep the topics of the book in mind throughout your day, whether you're a mom at home, a student at school, or working in your cubicle. It will be the first step into inner peace and practicing compassion in every day life.


Accessible Wisdom! ....in a compact format   October 15, 2004
Stacey Smith (Neenah, WI USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I found this book to be very true to its title. It short and sweetly explains how to open your heart to more compassion in your everyday life. Accessible wisdom for people of many religious backgrounds. I do not think that it can (for most people) stand alone as a textbook on compassion, but as an avid reader of Buddhist/Taoist/Hindu/Christian texts I feel that it has helped me to focus my thoughts on compassion in a very real way. I would recommend it to ANYONE seeking to open their heart to others, but I would also recommend that you not stop with this one text.
So far, I have enjoyed all books that I've read by His Holiness The Dalai Lama and I think "How to Practice" would make a good companion(it is also short and sweet, however it does center around Buddhism).


Pathway to a Better Life and a Better World   July 18, 2004
D. Buxman (Pueblo, CO United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I'm not a Buddhist scholar, nor am I a Christian theologian. This book puts forth a tremendously powerful approach to dealing with interpersonal, as well as international, problems. The Buddhist teachings on compassion are numerous and complex. However, this book provides a clear discussion of the benefits of compassion and the use of specific meditation techniques to foster it. It seems that these teachings integrate well with Christian, Islamic and other religious frameworks. If more religious fundamentalists took these teachings to heart, terrorism would wither and die of neglect.