Approaching the Buddhist Path

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion

By: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Thubten Chodron

Narrated by: Peter Aronson

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The first volume in a multi-volume collection presenting the Dalai Lama’s comprehensive explanation of the Buddhist path.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been publicly teaching Buddhism for decades. This series collects his presentations of every step of the path to enlightenment, compiled and coauthored by one of his chief Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron.

The Buddha wanted his students to investigate, to see for themselves whether what he said was true. As a student of the Buddha, the Dalai Lama promotes the same spirit of investigation, and as the rich tradition of the Buddha makes its way into new lands and cultures, His Holiness has recognized that new approaches are needed to allow seekers in the West to experience the relevance of the liberating message in their own lives.

Such an approach cannot assume listeners are free from doubt and already have faith in Buddhism’s basic tenets. The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series, therefore, starts from the universal human wish for happiness and presents the dynamic nature of the mind. This first volume also provides a wealth of reflections on Buddhist history and fundamentals, contemporary issues, and the Dalai Lama’s own personal experiences. It stands alone as an introduction to Buddhism, but it also provides a foundation for the systematic illumination of the path in the volumes to come.

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion collects the Dalai Lama’s decades of presentations of every step of the path to enlightenment. It has been compiled and coauthored by one of his chief Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron.

©2017 Wisdom Publications (P)2018 Peter Aronson

thoughts

very helpful. both as filling in gaps I had as well well the last chapter with its general outlook.

Awesome read

Excellent overview 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 his holiness practices what he preaches and gives practical advice on Budha’s teachings 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Amazing

Comprehensive and easy to follow. Read it twice already and will read a few more times in this life. Looking into buying book 2 in this series right after this review.

so glad to have found this book

the reading was positive step and has furthered my journey. I am just learning the way so for my perspective it was only constructed. I just finished it and feel like starting it again.

A lovely experience

A wonderful introduction to the Buddhist path. I am grateful to have received it.

Excellent place to start

The narrative was great, content and plain language were on target. A bit technical at times, but as an engineer I’m used to that. Onward to book 2…

AMAZING SERIES!!!

I absolutely love this series. They provide a very thorough technical and practical introduction to the path of Tibetan Buddhism. In my opinion, they are not meant to be books that are read once and never to be picked up again. They are sources of life-long study and can be consulted for whatever matters a student may be practicing/contemplating at any given time. Buddhism has something for individuals of various temperaments so the level of detail that is deemed valuable for progression on the path is entirely dependent on the desires/needs of the student and how deep into the rabbit hole they want to go. Some individuals won't find the complexities very useful in a practical sense and that's okay, but for those that are extremely analytical and detail oriented, these books will be a gold mine. I just realized that the second book in this series became available as an audiobook today and purchased it immediately! I truly hope that Peter Aronson continues to produce the remainder of the series on Audible.

Superb Read for Serious Inquiry into Buddhism

This is a very-well written and engaging treatment of Buddhism. Its approach is adapted to the mindset and sensibilities of the western mind.

I applaud both of the authors for the outreach, which is incredibly thorough, but still clear to me (a non-buddhist reader)

I hope that the subsequent volumes are soon made available in audiobook format.

Loved it!

Narrator was good and easy to understand. There were some recording volume issues between sections but not too bad. Happy I purchased this book.

must read for all Buddhists

This is must read for all Buddhists and non- Buddhists no matter what religion they follow