How to Practice

The Way to a Meaningful Life

By: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Jeffrey Hopkins - translator Ph.D. Ph.D., Jeffrey Hopkins - editor Ph.D. Ph.D.

Narrated by: Jeffrey Hopkins Ph.D. Ph.D.

Find lasting happiness, inner peace, and enlightenment through the Dalai Lama’s timeless teachings on mindfulness, compassion, and the Buddhist path to wisdom.

As human beings, we all seek happiness and a sense of meaning in our lives. In How to Practice, His Holiness the Dalai Lama—spiritual leader of Tibet, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and internationally bestselling author—shows how true fulfillment begins within. Drawing from centuries of Buddhist wisdom, he offers a clear, step-by-step path to cultivating morality, meditation, and wisdom, the three essential elements of enlightenment.

Through practical teachings on compassion, mindfulness, and self-awareness, the Dalai Lama helps readers overcome daily obstacles such as anger, jealousy, and insecurity. With warmth, humor, and clarity, he reveals how to open your heart, live ethically, and achieve lasting mental tranquility. How to Practice is both a profound spiritual manual and a gentle companion for anyone seeking peace in a modern, distracted world.©2002 His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Jeffrey Hopkins, All Rights Reserved; (P)2002 Simon & Schuster, Inc.; SOUND IDEAS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

About last review...

Well, what a surprise, a book on practicing by the Dalai Lama has a lot of Buddhism on it!! I don't want to offend anyone, but if the Pope writes a book on practicing, it would be based on his tradition, no? The message is, tolerance... one God, many Ways...

Wonderful Book

This book changed my life.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama can transcend the divides that exist between humans and show us our tue nature.
Much of our personal experience has taught us lessons; some that we would rather forget. But this book shows us how the difficult lessons in life can be brought together with the beautiful aspects we recognize but cannot internalize.
This book shows us how to develop compassion for ourselves and others so that we can overcome the internal struggles that often lead us to a cynical view of life.

The insights provided by a tibetan monk to a caucasian everyman are astonishingly valid and beneficial.

While much of buddhism is, on it's surface, difficult for westerners to access, this book provides an introduction to the major philosophical insights of buddhism in a manner which is easily understood by anyone.

If you are contemplative and desire to understand more about yourself and a world which seems cruel and confusing I urge you to get this book.

Thoughtful book

Would you consider the audio edition of How to Practice to be better than the print version?

I would probably prefer print. That way I can refer back to the book for reminders.

What other book might you compare How to Practice to and why?

An Open Heart. that is another by His Holiness - general in nature - pretty easy to understand

What does Jeffrey Hopkins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His accent made me think I was listening to the author

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, a visualization practice that is repeated several times throughout

Any additional comments?

I would have given this 5 stars overall but some the material was hard to grasp. The grounding and peaceful nature was a welcome addition to my day. I was sad the book had to end

enjoyed it very much

its always helpful to hear an enlightening perspective. I e listened to it more than once

This is a great book!

I have been studying Tibetan Buddhism for about three years, and I find that the books written by the Dalai Lama are outstanding. This book is no exception. I have listened to it at least two times, and I intend to come back to it again in the future.

How to practice contains explanations of many important Tibetan Buddhist practices and beleifs. It also contains brief summaries and the end of each chapter to help reinforce what you learned and to give you a roadmap for your daily practice. Although my Buddhist practice is not very advanced, I beleive that this book will benefit beginners as well as advanced practitioners. The Dalai Lama's writing style is clear and easy to understand. He is generally serious but he is not above telling a joke or two. Overall, I found this book to be extremely enjoyable.