Free Downloads The Open Road: The Global Journey Of The Fourteenth Dalai Lama
One of the most acclaimed and perceptive observers of globalism and Buddhism now gives us the first serious consideration—for Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike—of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s work and ideas as a politician, scientist, and philosopher.Pico Iyer has been engaged in conversation with the Dalai Lama (a friend of his father’s) for the last three decades—an ongoing exploration of his message and its effectiveness. Now, in this insightful, impassioned book, Iyer captures the paradoxes of the Dalai Lama’s position: though he has brought the ideas of Tibet to world attention, Tibet itself is being remade as a Chinese province; though he was born in one of the remotest, least developed places on earth, he has become a champion of globalism and technology. He is a religious leader who warns against being needlessly distracted by religion; a Tibetan head of state who suggests that exile from Tibet can be an opportunity; an incarnation of a Tibetan god who stresses his everyday humanity.Moving from Dharamsala, India—the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile—to Lhasa, Tibet, to venues in the West, where the Dalai Lama’s pragmatism, rigor, and scholarship are sometimes lost on an audience yearning for mystical visions, The Open Road illuminates the hidden life, the transforming ideas, and the daily challenges of a global icon.
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (March 25, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307267601
ISBN-13: 978-0307267603
Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #811,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #115 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Dalai Lama #947 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Tibetan #1708 in Books > History > Asia > China
In our media- and soundbite-driven age, every public figure runs the risk of becoming submerged in celebrity status and losing integrity. After all, as author Pico Iyer points out, we live in the Age of the Image (p. 41)--he could just have well said the "Age of Hype"--and media images, unlike the realities they pretend to represent, are one-dimensionally, simplistic. Know this is enough to make any reasonable person a bit suspicious of the buzz surrounding any celebrity, and this is especially true with religious celebrities. How genuinely spiritual can someone who's constantly in the public eye be?I admit that at times I've asked this about the 14th Dalai Lama. But reading Pico Iyer's intriguing and informative book has set my mind at ease. If Iyer's account is at all accurate (and it should be; Iyer, whose father was a friend of the Dalai Lama's, has known him for many years), the Dalai Lama is a man with such a constant commitment to reality (p. 49) that there's little danger of him buying into the superstar the media insists on giving him. In keeping with his Buddhist tradition, the Dalai Lama has spent a lifetime trying to puncture illusion, deception, interpretive filters, and ideological beliefs--including his own. The Buddha once insisted that he didn't teach "knowledge," because it's too easy for people of knowledge to get trapped inside their beliefs (p. 157). The Dalai Lama lives by these words.This immediately suggests a tension, which in fact is one of the central themes in Iyer's portrait of the public and personal life of the Dalai Lama. On the one hand, the Dalai Lama insists that the only truths there are must necessarily be universal, cross-cultural ones, and that putative truths which pertain only to specific cultures aren't truths at all (p. 15).
I heard an interview on NPR with Pico Iyer about this book. Iyer mentioned that the Dalai Lama was 72, which is my age as I write this. I was suddenly struck by the overwhelming thought that I had become this old with my spiritual values still unsettled.By all measures, Pico Iyer is your basic everyday genius, world traveler and visionary writer. He has written eight books plus hundreds of essays, columns, articles and book reviews for Time, New York Times, National Geographic, Harpers, The Financial Times and more. He also happens to have known the Dalai Lama for over thirty years. I had held Pico Iyer on my "authors-to-read" list for too long to miss this opportunity.Illustrated with many meetings and occasions over a period of decades, the author shows the enormous range of a seemingly simple man. The three sections of the book are titled: In Public, In Private, In Practice. Chapters are titled: The Conundrum, The Fairy Tale, The Icon, The Philosopher, The Mystery, The Monk, The Globalist, The Politician, The Future.The fourteenth Dalai Lama is "built like a middle linebacker" but is nonviolent. He is deeply religious--he rises at 3:30am and meditates and prays for four hours--but advises others to find their own way. "A religious teacher who is telling people not to get confused or distracted by religion." He is considered a living god but insists over and over that he is "just a man."He often says, "I don't know." At the end of a talk in Canada he says, "I will remain, to serve." He is famous for his laughter; he has a solid sense of humor but one suspects also he sees much silliness in the antics of those who ask him their profound questions or give him their worldly viewpoints.
The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (Vintage Departures) The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama: Foreword by His Holiness The Dalai Lama Insight from the Dalai Lama 2016 Day-to-Day Calendar The Dalai Lama 2016 Wall Calendar The Dalai Lama's Cat and the Power of Meow Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of The Dalai Lama A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World Living in "The Now" in Easy Steps: Understanding The Masters of Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle, Dalai Lama, Krishnamurti and more! (The Secret of Now Series) (Volume 1) Stop Negative Thinking in 7 Easy Steps: Understanding The Masters of Enlightenment: Eckhart Tolle, Dalai Lama, Krishnamurti and more! Why Is the Dalai Lama Always Smiling?: A Westerner's Introduction and Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Practice The Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama's Heart of Wisdom Teachings Business as an Instrument for Societal Change: In Conversation with the Dalai Lama Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health The Dalai Lama at MIT Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama and the King Demon: Tracking a Triple Murder Mystery Through the Mists of Time The Pocket Dalai Lama (Shambhala Pocket Classics) My Land and My People: The Original Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet The Mind's Own Physician: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama on the Healing Power of Meditation
