An Open Heart

An introduction to the core of Buddhism by its greatest teacher, in this successor to the bestselling The Art of Happiness, the Dalai Lama's clear and simple guide to finding compassion and happiness.

The Dalai Lama shares some of his key teachings on the practice of compassion, presenting a collection of meditations designed to help listeners open their hearts when dealing with others, and introduces the fundamental philosophy of Buddhism and its core concepts.

"Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, presents a clear and simple guide to finding compassion and happiness in these often troubling and challenging times. The writings in this book are drawn from his enthusiastically received visit to America in 1999 and form a good introduction to the spiritual traditions of Buddhism." —Nicholas Sinisi, Barnes&Noble.com Religion Editor

I love this book.

I listen to or read this book every year, in order to reground myself.

I purchased _An Open Heart_,

_Live in a Better Way_, _The Art of Happiness_, and _How to Practice_. And of the four, _Live in a Better Way_ and this one are my favourites.

This is book is a little deeper than _The Art of Happiness_ (which struck me as a little superficial) and goes into more detail and into the particularities of the Buddhist meaning of suffering, dharma, and the purposes of meditation, among other things. I am not a Buddhist (am in fact very new to it), but I find these books very soothing to listen to. This also gives some background on the Dalai Lama's history and experience at the beginning.

Some of this book is more explanation and analysis. Unlike _Live in a Better Way_, which focuses on compassion and the way we think about our experience and those we deal with, it gets a little esoteric, and I found myself wanting to read more about the philosophy and wanting more explanation of it.

hard to concentrate

Unlike other books writen by its Hollynes or inspired on His writings, I found this one to be hard to concentrate.
It is also very short ...

Compassionate but Dry

AN OPEN HEART is based on the Dalai Lama's 1999 US lectures and is accessible and grounded. The Dalai Lama looks at how to live ethically and with compassion in an often chaotic and negative world. The Dalai Lama's insight, wisdom, and guidelines for 'centered' living and meditation make this interesting, especially as I am not a Buddhist myself. It's perfect for bedside listening as it tends to be a bit dry and the narration is rather monotone as well. However, it makes a nice way to drift off to sleep.

Fantastic

I loved this book so much. I didn’t want it to end. Thank you to his Holiness for writing this.