Ethics For The New Millennium

Rating:
Summary: East meets West
Review: I have been reading a library copy, but now I must send it back: here's one of those rare cases where I want to buy the book rather than wait for my turn again. I have been a student of Western civilization from Homer through Freud, and I have been a student of Buddhism for over ten years. I found it quite interesting that the structure of this book shares a pattern with western philosophies in that it starts with the definitions and builds a framework from there. The Dalai Lama rather carefully defines happiness, religion, and spirituality, and shows us how each fits into a spirituality-based ethics. I have been eager to see how he continues to build the structure of this ethics. While he does say his wish is to separate this from Buddhism, what I have read so far is Buddhist philosophy through and through. There are analogies familiar to me even in my path of Zen in the US, such as mistaking a coiled snake for a rope, and concepts, such as "afflicted emotions", which are central to an understanding the Four Noble Truths. He takes a very complex Buddhist concept, dependent origination, and gives what may be the best teaching I have had. I think it is a massive undertaking, to formulate an ethics that can be independent from any particular religion, yet is based on spiritual tendencies. He strips away the ritual, dogma, myths, and he skillfully shows us where our spiritual impulses arise from. We all just wanna be happy. I am hoping to share this book with friends, as I am curious what sort of reaction a person would have who does not have a background in Buddhism. Much of his rationale makes sense to me because I have experienced it in a living practice, but would it be as acceptable to an atheist? I don't know.

Rating:
Summary: Deep Honesty
Review: Ethics for the New Millenium is an awesome book. Allow the Dalai Lama to show you a glimpse into both his own mind and Buddhist upbringing, but also into a holy interpretation of the world as we know it today.

Rating:
Summary: Deep simplicity and wisdom, only the Dalai Lama can give
Review: I listen to these tapes once a week and find something new and helpful in them each listening. He directly addresses the pitfalls of living in Western civilization and trying to be spiritual and compassionate. His approach, as always is direct and simplistic. There are enough lessons in this tape to keep you busy for another millenium!

Rating:
Summary: Essential reading for all on a spiritual quest.
Review: Looking back over the last 5,000 years, it appears to me that all religions have focused on the preservation of their own particular brand of cultural and social ethics under the name of religion and by and large have ignored the more important and universal spiritual ethics that underlie all religions. The same can be said of many New Age courses that have sprung up like mushrooms all over the globe, where the emphasis appears to be more on gaining power and getting what you want out of life as opposed to an inner spiritual evolvement. This has bothered me for some time. However, reading the Dalai Lama's "Ethics for the New Millenium" was like a breath of fresh air and a home coming where I can rest my own inner beliefs which up until now, I have not found an example of in any other author. We teach our children dogma, we teach them ritual, we teach them salvation in one form or another, but do we ever teach them simple spiritual ethics, for example, don't steal. I don't mean the obvious, as in stealing someone else's possessions, I mean theft on a more personal scale, as in stealing somebody's time, somebody's energy by either moaning and bringing them down with our own sorry tales or getting other people to do things for us when we are too lazy to do it for oursleves. Or, in the name of frienship, inviting a whole lot of people to a dinner party, not because they are truly our friends, but because we ourselves are bored or want to look popular. It is to these inner disciplines that the Dalai Lama looks and it is about time too. If more people adopted the principles he advocates in this book, there might just be a chance for peace, both in the microcosm of the family unit and in the macrocosm of the world at large. The void, the emptiness that many societies try to fill with a hamburger, might instead be filled with inner serenity and confidence as opposed to frutration and depression.

Rating:
Summary: My god and Your god are equal
Review: This book has plenty to offer in a material world. The most important is that people have to knock off the my god is better than your god nonsense. If you cant't fathom the edge of the universe it isn't likely you can fathom god. But read this book then read Tears of Blood / A Cry for Tibet by Mary Craig...Then Get your self on line with savetibet.org or call 1-888-tibet now and understand the entire struggle of this david against the most brutal goliath the world has ever known. The best part about the Dalai Lama as David is that he doesn't even use a sling shot only truth and honesty to win his battle.

Rating:
Summary: An uplifting book on ethics and values
Review: The Dalai Lama is an inspiration for westerners in search of meaning in their lives and a spiritual path. He discusses the issues with compassion and insight. For those wishing spiritual guidance and a practical means of attaining higher spirituality, I emphatically recommend all the books by the "realized" spiritual master Sri Chinmoy!

Rating:
Summary: A novel to help you through life
Review: While the Dalai Lama does not discuss anything I have not heard before, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writings reinforced what I have learned over the past 44 years. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: an ethereal beginning
Review: I now realize that H.H. the Dalai Lama possesses great insight into the ethereal realm. The chapter on reality reminds one of Hegel's PHENOMENOLOGY. Also, i'm glad that the book includes discussion about happiness. I could have skipped the ART OF HAPPINESS, which is poorly written by Cutler. ETHICS is intellectual and helps the reader understand the source of happiness.

Rating:
Summary: This is where to start today.
Review: This book is simply terrific. It is full of wisdom and common sense, representing what a most "extra-ordinary" Human Being has to say. I feel it is today's best example of a human exemplar there is. I encourage everyone to read it.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: We face many decisions in this century that others in past centuries have never had to face. This book and Donald V. Paone's "To Be or Not to Be: Reflections on Modern Bioethical Choices" help to give us a handle on many of these issues. If you liked this book, definitely get Paone's book too.