HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA : OPENING THE EYE OF NEW AWARENESS

Opening the Eye of New Awareness is a succinct, thorough overview of the doctrines of Buddhism as they have been practiced for a thousand years in Tibet. The Dalai Lama here discusses the need for religious practice and the importance of kindness and compassion. Originally written for Tibetan lay people, this was the Dalai Lama’s first book on Buddhist philosophy to appear in English, and Prof. Lopez’s new introduction places these teachings in their proper historical context. This is an invaluable handbook for both personal use and academic study of the Buddhist path.

“Written for both Tibetan and Western readers, Opening the Eye of New Awareness is the Dalai Lama’s first religious work. It is not an edited transcript of public lectures, but is His Holliness’ own summation of Buddhist doctrine and practice. Completed in 1963, just four years after his escape from Tibet and four years after completing his religious education, it is a work of consummate scholarship by a twenty-seven year-old geshe, wise beyond his years. Nowhere in his many subsequent works does one find a more clear and concise exposition of the essentials of Buddhist thought. Indeed, all of His Holiness’s many publications are in some sense commentaries on this first book.”—Donald S. Lopez Jr.

• Paperback
• 160 pages, 6.00 x 9.00 inches
• ISBN 9780861711550

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He frequently describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. Born in northeastern Tibet in 1935, he was as a toddler recognized as the incarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and brought to Tibet’s capital, Lhasa. In 1950, Mao Zedong’s Communist forces made their first incursions into eastern Tibet, shortly after which the young Dalai Lama assumed the political leadership of his country. He passed his scholastic examinations with honors at the Great Prayer Festival in Lhasa in 1959, the same year Chinese forces occupied the city, forcing His Holiness to escape to India. There he set up the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, working to secure the welfare of the more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles and prevent the destruction of Tibetan culture. In his capacity as a spiritual and political leader, he has traveled to more than sixty-two countries on six continents and met with presidents, popes, and leading scientists to foster dialogue and create a better world. In recognition of his tireless work for the nonviolent liberation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In 2012, he relinquished political authority in his exile government and turned it over to democratically elected representatives.
His Holiness frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of interreligious harmony, and securing the welfare of the Tibetan people, focusing on the survival of their identity, culture, and religion. As a superior scholar trained in the classical texts of the Nalanda tradition of Indian Buddhism, he is able to distill the central tenets of Buddhist philosophy in clear and inspiring language, his gift for pedagogy imbued with his infectious joy. Connecting scientists with Buddhist scholars, he helps unite contemplative and modern modes of investigation, bringing ancient tools and insights to bear on the acute problems facing the contemporary world. His efforts to foster dialogue among leaders of the world’s faiths envision a future where people of different beliefs can share the planet in harmony. Wisdom Publications is proud to be the premier publisher of the Dalai Lama’s more serious and in-depth works.

Photo of His Holiness provided by Olivier Adam.

Other books by His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
The Library of Wisdom and Compassion 10-Volume Set
The Perfection of Wisdom in First Bloom
Vajrayāna and the Culmination of the Path
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s Stages of the Path, Volume 2
Appearing and Empty
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 4
Realizing the Profound View
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 3
The Extraordinary Life of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama – Tibetan Edition
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s Stages of the Path, Volume 1
Searching for the Self
The Extraordinary Life of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Courageous Compassion
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 2
In Praise of Great Compassion
Mastering Meditation
Following in the Buddha’s Footsteps
The Essence of Tsongkhapa’s Teachings
The Compassionate Life
The Life of My Teacher
The Life of My Teacher (Paperback)
Ecology, Ethics, and Interdependence
Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature
The Foundation of Buddhist Practice
Buddhism
Approaching the Buddhist Path
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 1
Kalachakra Tantra
MindScience
The World of Tibetan Buddhism