Rating: 
Summary: I wish that everyone could read and learn from this book
Review: For a long time I have felt that I was searching for the meaning of life. This book provides an answer which is on the one hand simple, yet on the other hand so complex that you will spend a lifetime questing toward it. There were no glib solutions to complex and painful events that we may experience as we go through life. Some words of wisdom are shared with us which may help us identify and appreciate life's highs and cope better with the lows.I really liked the way in which the author presented his material. It gave me a feel that I was there in the room with HH Dalai Lama. I could imagine his smiling face and feel the power and simplicity of his words. The author used a very open style of writing and real life situations were skillfully woven into the story. As for the critics - try it for yourself. I expect they're just not open to the book. I thought that the interplay between the author and HH Dalai Lama and the sometimes ineptitude of the author were part of what made the book more truthful and meaningful. I feel a happier person since reading this book even as I've been going through a painful bereavement. This is one of the most important books that I have ever read.
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Summary: practical, timely, adaptable to people from all backgrounds
Review: I chose to read this book because I have always been interested in psychology and spirituality. Also, I am always in the process of becoming happier and more fulfilled individual. This has proved to be quite a complexed task. This book is quite simple in concept, but quite difficult to apply. I would recommend this book to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Dr. Cutler Misses a Golden Opportunity
Review: The opportunity to study and present a comparison of western and Buddhist philosophies regarding psychological well-being is a heavy undertaking, and quite an honor when one is given the extensive access to the Dalai Lama that Dr. Cutler was given. Unfortunately, what we are presented with in this book is an oversimplified and often repetitive acount of one man's dicussions with His Holiness, peppered here and there with an occasional wonderful insight, only to continually slip back into blandness. The simplicity of the Dalai Lama's teachings is what gives them such elegance, and makes them more complex than they appear on the surface (like the richness of language Hemingway achieved through simplicity). However, Dr. Cutler appears to have been more hasty in his presentation of these ideas than the Dalai Lama was in developing them, leaving the reader hungry for a more thoroughly developed discussion of such a fascinating topic. Dr. Cutler's presentation would have been more effective as a several page magazine article than it is in full book length. What's more (and this may be a pet peeve), it appears that Dr. Cutler's editor was asleep at the wheel at times: If I had a nickel for every time the phrase "and so on" is used... well, you know.
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Summary: Wasn't what I expected at all
Review: This was the first by the Dalia Lama that I've ever bought, was an impulse buy. I was extremely disappointed to discover that it was written by Dr Cutler with excerpts from interviews and speeches made by Dalai Lama. :[ I agreed with several principles of the book, but overall I was left unhappy.
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Summary: A must read for "victims" of today's society.
Review: This book provides practical advise for a positive approach to life -- anyone who takes the principles to heart will find a portal to happiness. Surprised by some of the negative reviews -- especially the person who stated that true joy is only found through Jesus Christ. Clearly, this person didn't comprehend the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Dr. Cutler MINUS 5 STARS (Nice picture, says it all...)
Review: I wish there had been an easy way to separate the thougths of the Dalai Lama from the endless platitudes of Dr. Cutler. To think that people actually pay to get advice from Dr. Cutler seems absurd! This book is for the most part filler and inane anecdotes. The only times Dr. Cutler hits the mark is when he points out the stupidity and shamefulness of his own questions. I know 5 year olds with a better insight on life than him.
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Summary: Philosophically flawed
Review: Unfortunately, I find the first principles upon which the entire book is based to be fatally flawed. First of all, I have to disagree with the assumption that all people are essentially compassionate and gentle. A tour of the toy aisle in a Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve should reinforce the opposite, that people are inherently selfish and sinful! Next, how can imperfect people achieve perfection ("enlightenment") based upon their own imperfect efforts? A broken vessel cannot repair itself! While some of the points made in the book may be valid, I think the greatest evil in this world is not anger or hatred or intolerance, but rather a reckless disregard for the Truth. True joy is found in the person of Jesus Christ, not in a pop psychology self-help book.
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Summary: A refresher course in common sense.
Review: Good thing I don't rely on the rants of a few readers who gave this book a negative - (VanDusen from Pompano Beach might want to seriously consider an eye exam. It's Howard Cutler, not Harry). In spite of the mixed reviews, this book offers exactly what it says: Happiness is an art and one that needs constant practice. The Dali Lama makes clear that it is not so much an intellectual pursuit as it is the spiritual practice of compassion -- seeing ourselves in another. Dr. Cutler's conversational process allows us to connect more easily with a message that is universally important. Another way to more clearly understand the code of behavior the Dali Lama speaks of is to read "Ethics for the New Millennium" and a funny and inspiring ethics twist, "The Lone Ranger's Code of the West."
Rating:
Summary: A universal guide to living life and finding happiness
Review: Read this book regardless of your faith. This book is a fantastic insight into eastern vs. western philosophy on finding happiness in one's life. Howard Cutler does an excellent job focusing the conversation on universal happiness not necessarily buddhist happiness. The Dalai Lama speaks on patience, compassion, forgiveness and discovering happiness in its truest form. He looks at the world as one world not a buddhist world and his conversations illustrate the brilliance and complexity of his mind. Read and be happy!
Rating: 
Summary: Readers are wise to choose other books first.
Review: The problem I have with this book is that the co-author (Cutler, a psychiatrist from Phoenix) seems ill suited - he poses questions and it sounds like he is surprised by the answers he gets from the Dalai Lama (he is often "annoyed" at the answers and even argues at some points). It seems a bit like a blind person trying to interview a Claude Monet or a van Gogh. Cutler also feels the need to augment the Dalai Lama's positions with supportive "evidence" from modern Western psychological research - one feels Cutler is saying "see, OUR research proves he is right." Also, it can be tricky to see what quotes are from Cutler, and which are from the Dalai Lama. I'd strongly suggest reading Ethics For The New Millennium first - a much better book and I think, more true to the Dalai Lama's voice.
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