Beyond Religion

October 10, 2011
In this concise book packed with ideas, His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Toward a True Kinship of Faiths) continues his case for a universal ethics rooted in compassion. He argues that religion with its diversity can never provide an ethics for everyone in today’s interconnected global society, and he then makes a strong statement for adopting a “secular ethics.” Identifying the primary societal problem as “giving too much attention to the external material aspects of life while neglecting moral ethics and inner values,” His Holiness locates the initial responsibility for change in the individual; the book’s second half includes practical approaches for “ethical mindfulness” based on Buddhist mind training, such as counteracting destructive emotions, cultivating positive virtues, and meditation. Continuing his longstanding interest in the empirical bases for Buddhist findings, the Dalai Lama supports some of his observations through science. The book’s impressive scope in a short span also includes discussions of human nature, interdependence, justice, forgiveness, philanthropy, and the challenges society faces today. This wise, humane book, an original work rather than a collection of talks, is an incisive statement of His Holiness’s thinking on ways to bring peace to a suffering world.

June 15, 2011

The author himself concedes it's odd for him to write a book about secular ethics. But as he says, "Of the world's six billion and more inhabitants, only a minority are what I would consider sincere religious practitioners." So, building on his Ethics for a New Millennium, he aims to spread teachings that instill respect for the human community without reference to God. I can't believe how many books this man writes; obviously, there's an audience.

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