Dimensions
148 x 220 x 25mm
When Victor Chan first met the Dalai Lama in 1972, it was through a quirk of fate (karma?). Chan had been kidnapped in Afghanistan, and his fellow victim was a western Buddhist, on her way to a meeting with the Tibetan political and spiritual leader. After they escaped their captors, she invited Chan to accompany her. Chan worried that the Dalai Lama would receive him warily because of Chan's Chinese heritage, but in fact, His Holiness giggled uncontrollably at the sight of his long black Moroccan cape, ponytail, and scraggly beard. The encounter blossomed into a warm and enduring friendship.
Over the next three decades, Chan would travel the globe with the Tibetan leader. From private meditation sessions to meetings with Archbishop Desmond Tutu or Oprah, Chan was granted unprecedented access. Chan's observations take the shape of a remarkable, no-holds-barred look at the Dalai Lama as we have never seen him before.
The book is a heart to heart conversation between the Tibetan spiritual leader and his dear friend. It allows us to discover what profound meditative insight and suffering (including a serious illness) feel like to an enlightened being; what he does to further develop himself spiritually; how he feels about violence, and figures such as George Bush, Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein; how he has learned to love his enemies; and why it is that the heart of this holy man in his late sixties, according to his doctors, resembles that of a twenty-year old.
Many have heard the public voice of His Holiness, and now we are invited to listen in on his personal explorations, to accompany him on his own journey toward wisdom, and to take instruction on the Tibetan art of living happily in even the direst of circumstances.
“Now, if we really analyze our feelings, one thing becomes clear. If we think only of ourselves, forget about other people, and then our minds occupy very small area. Inside that small area, even tiny problem appears very big. But the moment you develop a sense of concern for others, you realize that, just like us, they also want happiness; they also want satisfaction. When you have this sense of concern, your mind automatically widens. At this point, your own problems, even big problems, will not be so significant. The result? Big increase in peace of mind. So, if you think only of yourself, only your own happiness, the result is actually less happiness. You get more anxiety, more fear.” – The Dalai Lama
