Becoming Enlightened
Written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Narrated by Jeffrey Hopkins
4/5
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About this audiobook
Complete with personal anecdotes and intimate accounts of the Dalai Lama’s experiences as a life-long student, meditator, political leader, Nobel Laureate, bestselling author, and revered international figure, Becoming Enlightened gives readers all the wisdom, support, guidance, and inspiration they need to become successful in their spiritual lives. This remarkable and empowering guide can be read and enjoyed by spiritual seekers of all faiths, as readers are captivated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s loving and direct teaching style.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He frequently describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. Born in northeastern Tibet in 1935, he was as a toddler recognized as the incarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and brought to Tibet's capital, Lhasa. In 1950, Mao Zedong's Communist forces made their first incursions into eastern Tibet, shortly after which the young Dalai Lama assumed the political leadership of his country. He passed his scholastic examinations with honors at the Great Prayer Festival in Lhasa in 1959, the same year Chinese forces occupied the city, forcing His Holiness to escape to India. There he set up the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, working to secure the welfare of the more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles and prevent the destruction of Tibetan culture. In his capacity as a spiritual and political leader, he has traveled to more than sixty-two countries on six continents and met with presidents, popes, and leading scientists to foster dialogue and create a better world. In recognition of his tireless work for the nonviolent liberation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In 2012, he relinquished political authority in his exile government and turned it over to democratically elected representatives. His Holiness frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of interreligious harmony, and securing the welfare of the Tibetan people, focusing on the survival of their identity, culture, and religion. As a superior scholar trained in the classical texts of the Nalanda tradition of Indian Buddhism, he is able to distill the central tenets of Buddhist philosophy in clear and inspiring language, his gift for pedagogy imbued with his infectious joy. Connecting scientists with Buddhist scholars, he helps unite contemplative and modern modes of investigation, bringing ancient tools and insights to bear on the acute problems facing the contemporary world. His efforts to foster dialogue among leaders of the world's faiths envision a future where people of different beliefs can share the planet in harmony. Wisdom Publications is proud to be the premier publisher of the Dalai Lama's more serious and in-depth works.
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Reviews for Becoming Enlightened
42 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was written lightly but still clinge to the nature of our beings. It is written in a way to be applicable on daily basis.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Made me wonder about reincarnation and not really feeling it. Made me excited.about codependent arising and the emptiness that is lack of inherent existence. Don't like the numbered lists of virtues and rules and thoughts as a way of organizing thought. I respect more the complex ideas and suggestions from the Dalai Lama.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Tibet is famous throughout the Buddhist world for introducing in layman’s terms, the practice of enlightenment. The Dalai Lama shows us in a comprehensive yet simplistic way, the practical methods of learning to cope with daily stress from the complexity of today’s society, and the benefits these practices can reap once the ancient art of enlightenment is achieved. In this short but concise book, he outlines practical ways to end our suffering through promoting kindness & tolerance, and by putting an end to the many actions that can cause our emotions to spin out of control. He displays candidly how we all get stuck by not taking time to use logic & reason, or to meditate when we become mired in the mud of our problems. Our behavior can often hurt our lives and those around us that we love when we don’t take proper time to evaluate situations that are escalating out of control, or when we become so caught up in our own traumas we forget other people in our lives.He teaches us to shift away from tunnel-visioning and narrow mindedness to a more ‘big picture’ awareness. He asks us to be more in-tuned to the heartache and suffering of others around us, to extend more kindness with a listening ear that will support our loved ones in times of need, versus allowing ourselves to focus on our own lives, egos, and personal gains or successes. The act of caring and sharing that will ensure a path to a more calmer life, is the pervasive theme here in this thought provoking book. The Dalai Lama approaches the reader with a step by step plan that introduces us to the basics of the Buddhist practice of enlightenment by discussing the topics of religion, death and dying, altruism, karma, acts of compassion, and of the ways we create our own suffering through repeated behavior that is not beneficial. Many chapters detail the Dalai Lama’s perceptive and personal views on how people today need to embrace & cherish other races, cultures, and religious diversity. Changing our behavior to show more respect & patience towards the unfamiliar, and welcoming unknown philosophies including other people’s attitudes on life, love & the pursuit of happiness, can guide us further towards becoming more insightful individuals. The reader will soon grasp the concept his holiness easily conveys and can soon appreciate the wisdom he offers us all. To not just live in the moment but to plan for the future, to be free of endless suffering and angst & to hone our senses regarding life and death and to the fact we are here on this earth a very short time, is a key factor in this wonderful book. He urges us to veer away from a materialistic world and to swerve instead on to a path of appreciating the small things this world has to offer by taking time to “smell the roses” while we are here, instead of speeding through life at top speed. Point by point, paragraph after paragraph, the Dalai Lama generously offers many easy to accomplish methods that can have us all practicing selflessness, appreciating our friends and family more by offering them our hearts and minds more often, and gives us his unending wisdom towards a better life of reduced suffering. We all need more inner peace, and a personal world of harmony and love. Reading Becoming Enlightened is a way to begin that journey.