Beginning with Buddha's life story, this compelling guide reveals how Buddha's
extraordinary wisdom is the method to achieve lasting happiness and freedom from life's problems. Meditation is explained clearly and simply as a tool for developing transformative qualities such as inner peace, love, and joy. The essential principles of Buddhism and the Buddhist way of life are accessible to beginners, and this clear presentation will also inspire those who have been practicing for years.
“Geshe Kelsang Gyatso illuminates the very heart of Buddhist thought and practice.” –Booklist
The essential principles of
Buddhism and the Buddhist way of life are accessible to beginners, and this clear
presentation will also inspire those who have been practicing for years.
ContentsPART ONE: Basic Buddhism
Who was Buddha?
Understanding the Mind
Past and Future Lives
What is Karma?
Our Precious Human Life
What is Meditation?
Death
The Buddhist Way of Life
PART TWO: The Path to Liberation
What is Liberation?
Developing Renunciation
The Three Higher Trainings
PART THREE: The Path to Enlightenment
Becoming a Bodhisattva
The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
Ultimate Truth
Enlightenment
Dedication
Appendix I—The Commitments of Going for Refuge
Appendix II—Liberating Prayer and Mahayana Sutra
of the Three Superior Heaps
Glossary
Index
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a fully accomplished meditation master and internationally renowned teacher of Buddhism who has pioneered the introduction of modern Buddhism into contemporary society. He is the author of 21 highly acclaimed books that perfectly transmit the ancient wisdom of Buddhism to our modern world. He has also founded over 1200 Kadampa Buddhist Centers and groups throughout the world.
In his teachings Geshe Kelsang emphasizes the impol“µ