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Rating: 
Summary: The Wisdom of Forgiveness
Review: I have recently read your book entitled "The Wisdom of Forgiveness". I want to say that I enjoyed it very much. I have long had great admiration for His Holiness and this book is very enlightening because of the author's special association with him and his style of writing. I particularly like the way in which he uses his very words, such that one almost sounds like him if you read the text out loud. The style is also very relaxed yet accurate and so easy to read that I was finished before I could believe it (or wanted to be).
Rating: 
Summary: a bit too light
Review: As a huge Dalai Lama fan, I eagerly awaited this book. I had read a few pieces by Chan and was impressed by his writing. Perhaps my expectations were too high. This book does get you closer to HHDL's daily schedule, but it reads more like an expanded article than and in-depth book. It's very short with a larger than normal font and sometimes two blank pages and a title page between the chapters. There are 30 TOTALLY blank pages and 19 pages with only a title on them-49 essentially blank pages within a 266 page book? That's totally unacceptable.
A large percentage of the book describes Chan's experiences with the HHDL's various assistants and while this is somewhat illuminating, for a book this light I felt a bit shortchanged. Worse, for me at least, was the abbreviated feel of the many conversations he has with HHDL. He often mentions his pages of questions, but only writes about a few of them. A few times though, he does hit a bullseye, like when HHDL explains what a specific moment of enlightenment physically felt like. But other times Chan spends pages explaining his difficulty in understanding emptiness, which is often explained concisely in HHDL's other books.
Overall, it's an interesting book, but the emphasize on "intimate conversations and journeys" is a bit misleading and the length of the book is a letdown.
Rating: 
Summary: Huh?
Review: Buy the book! The fake "Dalai Lama" accent in this audio book really detracts from the story, for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring Role Model
Review: I too am a loving fan of the Dalai Lama and have read 3 other books. I was particularly interested in reading this book as I ended a loveless friendship after 27 years and wanted to quelch the flames of resentment. The book is well written and a wonderful look at the wise heart of the Dalai Lama. I loved reading it! That said, this is not a self-help book. It reviews compassion as the path to forgiveness, but it doesn't tell you how -- that's up to the reader to find out through their own journey. It is an inspiring book and a heart-warming read.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, clear, compelling
Review: It is a very fine piece of insight into an exceptional human being and his beliefs as he embodies them. I am deeply grateful to Victor for the time and care that he has taken in presenting this portrait of the Dalai Lama and working so fastidiously to illuminate the teachings through his thorough and painstaking questioning and observations.
The teachings about emptiness finally began to make sense, as did the expansion of the concept of interconnectedness, which to me, while I have embraced it conceptually for many years, has dropped to a much deeper level, as I considered it from the point of view of disappearing boundaries and a physical sense of connectedness. It had never occured to me to go beyond the conceptual, and I am certain that this will have a profound effect on my life and practice. I have done a lot of study on forgiveness, myself, but learned more - the wise/selfish idea, put into words a concept I have been teaching.
Thanks for a great read and valuable insight.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling read
Review: Now and then I pick up a Self help or How-to book that promises to be useful for my life. Most of them end up on the shelf, bookmarked about halfway through. The Wisdom of Forgiveness is different. It is a compelling read, packed with stories and anecdotes. It pulls you in. That's what I was looking for: a book that is full of insights, a book that is useful and at the same time readable and entertaining. A book that presents us with wisdom without being preachy and condescending.
It helps that Victor Chan doesn't take himself too seriously. He admits to struggle with some of the more difficult Buddhist concepts. He confesses to being in agony while sitting cross-legged. He doesn't don a suit or a robe (only a Moroccan cape); he doesn't tell us how to live our lives. Instead he gives us an example. He shows us a truly wise person not only through his words, but also in his actions.
Through Chan's eyes, we see the Dalai Lama as a guy who likes to pull people's beards, who likes to giggle and eat cookies when he's not supposed to. At the same time, there are significant insights I can take away from this book. I learned that a wider perspective helps me cope with my own problems. That forgiveness and compassion may well be beneficial for my health. And that I can be selfish, as long as I am wisely so. The Wisdom of Forgiveness is a book I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A delightful read about the Dalai Lama
Review: There are, I am aware, a number of books written with and about the Dalai Lama, a figure revered around the world for his humble and gentle life and works. He is known to us as a non-confrontational man leading his people-in-exile. He is a politician in a difficult situation because of the Chinese takeover of Tibet. He is a greatly respected Buddhist teacher. Buddhism is a philosophy that does not exclude participation in other religions, but also a faith of its own found satisfying by many, one that encourages a simple approach to life. Perhaps this is why the Dalai Lama was very warmly welcomed by large audiences wherever he visited throughout his recent visit to Canada: his infectious humour and simplicity of being appealing to many of us. Victor Chan's book written with the Dalai Lama was written based on many years of experience and presents to us conversations between two friends, yet also between a master and the respectful disciple and observer. Chan has been our eyes and ears in a family and a society that most of us will never visit and has had discussions with his friend that he brings to us in this book in a comfortable flow. Not only does he report to us these discussions, but also describes with clarity the circumstances in which the Dalai Lama lives. This is a book that can be read over a few days - it is not dry, not preachy, and I had difficulty setting it aside. Chan's opinions do not cloud the lens of his writing, but bring a warmth to his subject. After watching some of the movies and TV documentaries that have documented the flight of the Dalai Lama, I was delighted to find in these pages a sense of the Dalai Lama as he is today, an honest and unpretentious human being, a serious yet humble teacher, and a very likeable man. A good read, strongly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The Concept of Emptiness
Review: Victor Chan does an invaluable service to mankind by giving us an up and personal look at His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The blend of the author's experiences with the teachings of The Dalai Lama are so briliantly interwoven to make this a simple and yet intriguing read. The concept of 'Emptiness" is explained with much clarity, given the complexity of this concept.
Victor Chan gives us Tibet, Buddhist Teachings and The Dalai Lama, all in a must read for anyone with interests in either or all three topics. Congratulations and Tashi Delek ( Tibetan for "May all Good Things Come To You")!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible journeys with the Dalai Lama
Review: Victor Chan first met the Dalai Lama and became friends with him in 1972 while Chan was a young traveler in Asia. To research this book, Chan journeyed with the Dalai Lama off and on for several years, spent time with him at home and conducted numerous interviews. Listeners learn about the personality and inner beliefs of the Dalai Lama, who admits to the fact that he had a temper as a young man and how he eventually developed a forgiving attitude towards the Chinese, who invaded his country. The Wisdom of Forgiveness includes stories and anecdotes, such as the Dalai Lama's travels in war-torn Belfast, where he spoke about forgiveness to the families of victims of terrorist attacks.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful
Review: Victor Chan's collaboration with the Dalai Lama suceeds on two levels.
It is a guide for what the Dalai Lama's message to the world is. It also is an intimate look at what it takes to be His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and who that individual is.
Lucky Victor Chan to spend such large amounts of time with such a gentle and peaceful soul.
The Dalai Lama's message is simple; perhaps not always easy to follow, but it is
something that any person can aspire to, not just "The Ocean of Wisdom".
To be the Dalai Lama is the observations this book suceeds in revealing. It shows a
quite human, enlightened, learned and exceptionally open minded man.
The Dalai Lama's existence in our world is a blessing in itself and Victor Chan demonstrates such with his anecdotes and insights.
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