Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World
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In 1999 His Holiness The Dalai Lama published the bestselling Ancient Wisdom: Modern World, which addressed the question of ethics for the new millennium. A decade later, His Holiness enters the contemporary debate about religion vs atheism, and returns to the theme of ethics with a major new work: Beyond Religion: ethics for a whole world.
In this thought-provoking new book he argues that religion is not a necessity for pursuing a spiritual life. Rather, focusing on tolerance and understanding between religions, as well as tolerance and understanding between believers (of any faith) and non-believers is the way forward. The way to achieve such an approach, he proposes, is through a system of secular ethics grounded in a deep appreciation of our common humanity. Aimed particularly at the general reader, Beyond Religion: ethics for a whole world is a modern-day polemic which outlines those ethics he believes should be central to our lives.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Rider (3 Jan. 2013) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 208 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 9781846043109 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1846043109 |
| Dimensions | 12.6 x 1.3 x 19.8 cm |
by Charles Simmonds
Well written and insightful.Gives a great framework to work on yourself spiritually and to achieve inner peace and master ourselves better.
by Charles Simmonds
I give an unreserved five star rating to His Holiness’s book “Beyond Religion”. The theme is that we should be compassionate to other people and also in this way satisfy our inner selves. I am sure many people and humanity in general will benefit as more people read this book.
His approach uses excellent examples from His lifelong exposure to Budhist teaching. I had understood though that The Buddha started with the idea of developing inner peace and shutting out the turmoil from elsewhere in the world, however much Buddhists might lead us now in wanting to help humanity.
His Holiness writes that close to the heart of major religions has been the aim of promotion of kindness and compassion in people, which is good. Much of the Qur’an however is devoted to getting people who lived then to go and fight in Muhammad’s army, for the booty of goods and slaves and to kill people who had not yet converted to Islam. The Roman Catholic Church used torture to get confessions until the mid nineteenth century. The word “Inquisition” was not removed from the department until 1908. The Papal States retained the last Jewish ghetto.
In 1949 President Truman authorized development of the hydrogen bomb on the premise that a more devastating bomb than the Soviets would stop wars. In July 2015 people in the USA have been demonstrating against the removal of a state flag which celebrates their wish to own slaves. Israelis, the leaders of Judaism, have recently killed thousands of Palestinians, apparently so they can have more of their land.
In His ‘Afterword’ His Holiness mentions the need to educate children to be more responsible for the world. If we real want a more humane and compassionate world we seem to need much more than that. Also His Holiness does not mention two factors which have helped the spread of compassion. One is just the spread of more education. The other is more people being able to evolve self-esteem and personal satisfaction. People who are happy doing work they are suited for and think is good and worthwhile are less likely to spend time troubling others in the world
Charles Simmonds
by Amazon Customer
Great book.
Well written and offers some real insight into the humanity of man beyond and separate to religion. The Dalai Lama has a really considered and compassionate way of thinking. It would do us all good if we were to take on even a few of his thoughts and suggestions to implement into my our daily life’s.
by Billy
The optimism in this book for all of us humans was comforting and exciting. I would recommend it to anyone feeling pessimistic about our modern world and their place within it. I also believe that as it is not a religious based book that the ethics explained in it can be learned by all humans. An excellent read!
by Vayne77
I had the please of seeing the Dalai Lama once while boarding a plane and it stroke me how humble he is. I know that I will never achieve this level but that does not stop me of trying and working on it :-).
The opening and ending of the book are the best – the middle part seems to drift away a little from the message (hence four stars) but all in all it was a good reading and there are seem great lessons to be learned. I appreciate he also spends time on how to learn to meditate.
There are two key elements that are key in the book: “I am a man of religion but religion alone cannot answer all of our problems” and “within the scale of the life of the cosmos, a human life is no more than a tiny blip. Each one of us is a visitor to this planet, a guest, who only has a finite time to stay. What greater folly could there be than to spend this short time lonely, unhappy and in conflict with our fellow visitors”.
The Dalai Lama makes an appeal to our humanity – we are not that much different from each other and instead of being angry and doing horrible things to others because we think we’re different we need to achieve peaceful conflict resolution. We should not be distracted with all the material items the world offers but work together to improve our planet and ourselves as a species.
This may sound like a nice idea but actually he is also realistic what is achievable and that is what sets this book apart from others that just come up with some ideas but no real plans or methods to achieve it.
by S. Davies
As a proud “militant” Atheistic I realise my views often cause offence to others. As an attempt to find some middle ground with religious believers I decided to read this book. The Dalai Lama is clearly approaching this subject from his strong religious beliefs but successfully finds much we can all agree on.
Whilst I will continue to preach evangelically about atheism I shall hopefully be able to do so with a clearer understanding that, for the most part, we all seek the same things from life.
by C. Wright
Another great book by the great man. he has such grace and character its like meditating just reading his words! I am not religious but it is great to know that there are (few) important religious people with such open minds, fearless of science and the times, making faith straight forward – this is a great read for anyone regardless of religion or belief, an open mind is essential.
by Laura Sarmiento
In an increasingly material world, the Dalai Lama has again reminded us how we, as a people, can benefit from bringing things back to normal.
Simply written and easy to follow, it guides us back to a lifestyle where we consider everyone and the results of our actions.
Although formed from a Buddhist foundation, it is a mindset that applies equally to all faiths. If only it was as easy to put into practice!
An inspirational book that I would highly recommend.