Approaching the Buddhist Path

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Excerpted in the Wall Street Journal: “How to Be a Buddhist in Today’s World”

 

“An excellent and intellectually stimulating introduction to the Buddhist way of life.”—Publishers Weekly

 

“A distillation of all Buddhist wisdom, Approaching the Buddhist Path covers its history, philosophy, and meditation. Flowing in limpid language and powered by the dynamic reasoning of eminent Dharma authorities, it is suitable for all readers, beginner and advanced.”—Tulku Thondup, author of The Heart of Unconditional Love

 

“We are living in an era when religion and science appear to be at odds and neither relates deeply to philosophy, and when many people regard all three—religion, science, and philosophy—as having little bearing on their own personal lives or on real-world economic and political crises. In this series of volumes, beginning with Approaching the Buddhist Path, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with the capable assistance of Bhiksuni Thubten Chodron, illuminates a path of awakening that is deeply integrative and utterly relevant to all the challenges that face humanity in the twenty-first century. Presented here is an authentic path to freedom from suffering and its inner causes and to tapping into the full potential of consciousness—our own Buddha-nature. There can be no greater gift than this.”—B. Alan Wallace, president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies and author of The Attention Revolution

 

“It’s truly wonderful that His Holiness and Thubten Chodron are collaborating to produce this much-needed series of books on the Lam Rim designed for a modern audience. These books will be highly beneficial for teachers and students alike!”—Kathleen McDonald, author of How to Meditate

APPROACHING THE BUDDHIST PATH

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion, Vol. 1

Thubten Chodron His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Now in Paperback!

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been publicly teaching Buddhism for decades. The Library of Wisdom and Compassion collects his presentations of every step of the path to enlightenment, compiled and coauthored by one of his chief Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron.

The Buddha wanted his students to investigate, to see for themselves whether what he said were true. As a student of the Buddha, the Dalai Lama promotes the same spirit of investigation, and as the rich tradition of the Buddha makes its way into new lands and cultures, His Holiness has recognized that new approaches are needed to allow seekers in the West to experience the relevance of the liberating message in their own lives. Such an approach cannot assume listeners are free from doubt and already have faith in Buddhism’s basic tenets. The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series, therefore, starts from the universal human wish for happiness and presents the dynamic nature of the mind. This first volume also provides a wealth of reflections on Buddhist history and fundamentals, contemporary issues, and the Dalai Lama’s own personal experiences. It stands alone as an introduction to Buddhism, but it also provides a foundation for the systematic illumination of the path in the volumes to come.

Learn more about the Library of Wisdom and Compassion series.

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion collects the Dalai Lama’s decades of presentations of every step of the path to enlightenment. It has been compiled and coauthored by one of his chief Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron.

book information
  • Paperback
  • 336 pages, 6 x 9 inches
  • $21.95
  • ISBN 9781614296980
  • Hardcover
  • 336 pages, 6.00 x 9.25 inches
  • $29.95
  • ISBN 9781614294412
  • ebook
  • 336 pages
  • $17.99
  • ISBN 9781614294573
about the author
Approaching the Buddhist Path

Venerable Thubten Chodron is an author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the US. She graduated from UCLA, and did graduate work in education at USC. Ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977, she has studied extensively with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhap Serkong Rinpoche, and Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche.
Ven. Chodron teaches worldwide and is known for her practical (and humorous!) explanations of how to apply Buddhist teachings in daily life. She is also involved in prison outreach and interfaith dialogue. She has published many books on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and has co-authored a book with His Holiness the Dalai Lama—Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions. Visit thubtenchodron.org for a media library of her teachings, and sravasti.org to learn more about the Abbey.
Thubten Chodron featured in Tricycle: “Tibetan Buddhist Nun Blazes Trail for Others to Follow.”
See Thubten Chodron’s teaching schedule here.
ONLINE COURSE WITH VEN. THUBTEN CHODRON

Other books by Thubten Chodron:
Appearing and Empty
Realizing the Profound View
Searching for the Self
Courageous Compassion
In Praise of Great Compassion
Following in the Buddha’s Footsteps
Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature
The Foundation of Buddhist Practice
Buddhism
Insight into Emptiness
Practical Ethics and Profound Emptiness

Approaching the Buddhist Path

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.

Photo of His Holiness provided by Olivier Adam.

Other books by His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s Stages of the Path, Volume 2
Appearing and Empty
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 4
Realizing the Profound View
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 3
The Extraordinary Life of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama – Tibetan Edition
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s Stages of the Path, Volume 1
Searching for the Self
The Extraordinary Life of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Courageous Compassion
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 2
In Praise of Great Compassion
Mastering Meditation
Following in the Buddha’s Footsteps
The Essence of Tsongkhapa’s Teachings
The Compassionate Life
The Life of My Teacher
The Life of My Teacher (Paperback)
Ecology, Ethics, and Interdependence
Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature
The Foundation of Buddhist Practice
Buddhism
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 1
Kalachakra Tantra
MindScience
The World of Tibetan Buddhism
Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying
Practicing Wisdom
Meditation on the Nature of Mind
The Good Heart

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