To me, religion and belief have been a journey of decades, talking with a number of scholars throughout my ponderings.

To put it bluntly, I have come to believe that organised religion is the antithesis of freedom of religion; as they tell you what to believe and how to believe it. If you refuse, then you're ostracised from the club. I didn't find much freedom in them.

Combine that with Darwin whose work was a discovery of what was already there; documenting how the world actually works. He didn't dictate what he found... the world was already working that way all along. Trying to discredit Darwin's work is trying to ignore the realities of nature itself.

Many high achievers in the world of science are religious people; which all leads me to conclude that if you believe in a god and want to read the word of god, then you don't read scriptures written by the hand of man... you study the word of nature that is written all around us. If anything was written with gods authoritative hand... it's the very world we're standing in.

Further to support this is the fact that over the years, scripture has had to be re-interpreted to match the truths of nature that science has discovered. This is happening more in our modern age than ever before.

That's what I'm finding in the Dalai Lama's words so far. He isn't preaching a belief, but an observation of science; of using the tools available to understand the world as it actually is. I'm finding comfort in the Dalai Lama's encouragement of connecting with nature and using science as the tool to achieve this goal.

Some of what was written in early scripture is understandable as an explanation of what was initially discovered, in a world where our modern scientific equipment didn't exist. He isn't preaching to me, but encouraging me to open my mind and look around.

The Dalai Lama speaks about the Four Noble Truths, maximizing your inner strength, dealing with anger and death, the power of compassion, the challenges facing humanity today (including globalization, warfare, environmental protection, overpopulation), and the great world religions' core tenets (as oppposed to their elements that primarily responded to the needs of the historic societies in which they emerged).  As we're about to begin another new year, a perfect reminder of what matters (or should matter) to us -- and what doesn't -- and simple small things that each of us can implement in our own lives every day ... and short of His Holiness himself (who didn't originally set down these texts in English), there couldn't be any better person to read his words than Sir Derek Jacobi.

Book themes for World Peace Day: Read a book by or about a Nobel Peace Prize winner, or about a protagonist (fictional or nonfictional) who has a reputation as a peacemaker.

This is a re-read. It is one of those books that I like to dig out every now and then to re-visit and ponder over. The fact that it qualifies for one of the book tasks is an additional bonus.

From the Foreword:

The Book of Wisdom is an extract from the earlier publication of Power of Compassion – teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama given in May 1993 in London.

It is hoped that this extract – The Book of Wisdom – will bring His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message about the importance of love, compassion and forgiveness to a wider audience.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. In 1989 His Holiness the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet. Since 1959 His Holiness has been living in exile in India. Tibet continues to be occupied by Communist China.

The Office of Tibet, London

September 1999

Although I speak from my own experience, I feel that no one has the right to impose his or her beliefs on another person. I will not propose to you that my way is best. The decision is up to you. If you find some point which may be suitable for you, then you can carry out experiments for yourself. If you find that it is of no use, then you can discard it.

- His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama

 

I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to finish this novel. I had intended to savor this novel, to read it slowly and reflect upon different sections as I read it but no, I couldn’t stop myself. Once I started reading, I was immersed into this wonderful reunion in which these two powerful individuals talked openly about humanity, they shared of themselves and the world around them.

The reunion was held in the home of Dalai Lama and during their visit they also celebrated his 80th birthday. These two highly influential men have met a handful of times before and they were meeting for five days to discuss what true joy was, how to achieve it and what the Eight Pillars of Joy were. I enjoyed this novel tremendously, I enjoyed the humor and the tenderness that they shared between them. The way they joked with one another, the patting of each other after a humorous chuckle, the holding of each other’s hands and just waiting for the other person to speak, spoke volumes for the love and respect that they had for one another. It is a treasured friendship, one that is picked up immediately upon seeing one another and it brought smiles and laughs from the individuals that they were around including myself as I read. What I read intrigued me and enlightened me and I know that I will have to reread this novel to fully appreciate it.

The reason this novel is so important now is that the world is hurting, in every part of the globe there are individuals who are struggling and need to find joy. There is no need for sorrow, they both agree on this. They both agree that individuals need each other to find joy and the concept behind joy. These great leaders go into great details, humorous at times, about these concepts and it was interesting, their ideas and the stories that they share, both personal and about others. Douglas probes them deeper into their thoughts about humanity exploring issues such as sadness, acceptance, gratitude, compassion and humility. There were lots of different subjects, stories and these leaders shared their views openly and I appreciated Douglas’ effort and the heartfelt responses that he received in return.

My eyes started to cloud over, the tears streaming down my cheeks as the Archbishop gets ready to depart for the airport. Their time together is over for now. The jokes, the hand holding and the way that they smiled at one another is coming to an end. They are both fighting for peace, they are both getting up there in years, one is battling an illness, and one is restricted in where he can travel, who knows if they will ever see each other in-person again and they know this. This is a novel that should be read, one that should be reflected upon for there are many inspirations and views inside.

Not so much fly-on-the-wall as cat-on-the-sill, this is the warmhearted tale of a small kitten rescued from the slums of New Delhi who finds herself in a beautiful sanctuary with sweeping views of the snow-capped Himalayas. In her exotic new home, the Dalai Lama’s cat encounters Hollywood stars, Buddhist masters, Ivy-league professors, famous philanthropists, and a host of other people who come visiting His Holiness. Each encounter offers a fresh insight into finding happiness and meaning in the midst of a life of busy-ness and challenge. Drawing us into her world with her adorable but all-too-flawed personality, the Dalai Lama’s cat discovers how instead of trying to change the world, changing the way we experience the world is the key to true contentment.