Human potential is the same for all. Your feeling, "I am of no value," is wrong. Absolutely wrong. You are deceiving yourself. We all have the power of thought--so what are you lacking? If you have willpower, then you can do anything. It is usually said that you are your own master.
--The Dalai Lama, from The Path to Tranquility
The Path to Tranquility is a book of daily thoughts written by Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, and compiled and edited by Renuka Singh, a graduate of sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
The book has a paragraph or two (or three) for every day of the year (including leap day) of wisdom and inspiration. Here's what the inner book jacket reads:
The Dalai Lama, a living symbol of holiness and selfless triumph over tribulation, has shared his philosophy of peace with today's turbulent world. Yet rarely do we hear him speak with such directness as in this collection of quotations drawn from his own writings, teachings, and interviews. The Path to Tranquility, a fresh and accessible introduction to his inspirational wisdom, offers words of guidance, compassion, and peace that are as down to earth as they are rich in spirit. It covers almost every aspect of human life, secular and religious--happiness, intimacy, loneliness, suffering, anger, and everyday insecurities--with endearing informality, warmth, and practicality.
With a special foreword by His Holiness on the power of meditation and personal responsibility, The Path to Tranquility is a treasure to be returned to--again and again.
I really enjoyed reading through this book. Not only did it give me something to think about every day, but it helped me to actually remember what day it was every morning. I think that even the most enlightened will find something thought-provoking in at least one of the passages.
Price: U.S. $24.95 Canada $34.99
Published by Penguin Putnam Inc.
ISBN: 0-670-88759-5
To remain discouraged is not the way of a human being, we are not birds and animals, so it is not enough for us to simply lament and complain but we should use our intelligence and work hard.
--The Dalai Lama, from The Path to Tranquility