How to Practice

The Way to a Meaningful Life

By: His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Narrated by: Jeffrey Hopkins PhD

Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, PhD

As human beings, we possess one common desire: the need for happiness and a meaningful life. According to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the ability to find true fulfillment lies within each of us. Now, the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet, Nobel Prize winner, and best selling author helps listeners begin the path to enlightenment in a very special audiobook - an easy-access reference for daily practice as well as a stunning new illumination of the timeless wisdom of His Holiness.

How to Practice will guide you toward nurturing compassion, refraining from doing harm, maintaining mental tranquility, and how to develop wisdom. Divided into a series of distinct steps that will lead spiritual seekers of all faiths toward enlightenment, this accessible audiobook is a constant and daily companion in the quest to practice morality, meditation, and wisdom. The Dalai Lama shows us how to overcome our everyday obstacles, from feelings of anger and mistrust to jealousy, insecurity, and counterproductive thinking. Imbued with His Holiness' vivacious spirit and sense of playfulness, How to Practice offers the Dalai Lama's own sage and practical insight into the human psyche and what binds us all together.

©2002 His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Jeffrey Hopkins, All Rights Reserved (P)2002 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The Dalai Lama offers elegant clarity about the paradoxes at the heart of Buddhism." (Publishers Weekly)
"As a primer on living the good life, few books compete with How to Practice." (Amazon.com)

About last review...

Well, what a surprise, a book on practicing by the Dalai Lama has a lot of Buddhism on it!! I don't want to offend anyone, but if the Pope writes a book on practicing, it would be based on his tradition, no? The message is, tolerance... one God, many Ways...

This is a great book!

I have been studying Tibetan Buddhism for about three years, and I find that the books written by the Dalai Lama are outstanding. This book is no exception. I have listened to it at least two times, and I intend to come back to it again in the future.

How to practice contains explanations of many important Tibetan Buddhist practices and beleifs. It also contains brief summaries and the end of each chapter to help reinforce what you learned and to give you a roadmap for your daily practice. Although my Buddhist practice is not very advanced, I beleive that this book will benefit beginners as well as advanced practitioners. The Dalai Lama's writing style is clear and easy to understand. He is generally serious but he is not above telling a joke or two. Overall, I found this book to be extremely enjoyable.

What a Blessing!

At first, I gave this title only 4 stars, but then I found myself listening to it everyday in the car. Suddenly, my life has changed,
my practice has risen several notches and my behaviour has been modified. What a Blessing in the truly Buddhist sense.

Wonderful Book

This book changed my life.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama can transcend the divides that exist between humans and show us our tue nature.
Much of our personal experience has taught us lessons; some that we would rather forget. But this book shows us how the difficult lessons in life can be brought together with the beautiful aspects we recognize but cannot internalize.
This book shows us how to develop compassion for ourselves and others so that we can overcome the internal struggles that often lead us to a cynical view of life.

The insights provided by a tibetan monk to a caucasian everyman are astonishingly valid and beneficial.

While much of buddhism is, on it's surface, difficult for westerners to access, this book provides an introduction to the major philosophical insights of buddhism in a manner which is easily understood by anyone.

If you are contemplative and desire to understand more about yourself and a world which seems cruel and confusing I urge you to get this book.

Thoughtful book

Would you consider the audio edition of How to Practice to be better than the print version?

I would probably prefer print. That way I can refer back to the book for reminders.

What other book might you compare How to Practice to and why?

An Open Heart. that is another by His Holiness - general in nature - pretty easy to understand

What does Jeffrey Hopkins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His accent made me think I was listening to the author

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, a visualization practice that is repeated several times throughout

Any additional comments?

I would have given this 5 stars overall but some the material was hard to grasp. The grounding and peaceful nature was a welcome addition to my day. I was sad the book had to end

enjoyed it very much

its always helpful to hear an enlightening perspective. I e listened to it more than once

Wonderful Book, Excellent Narrator

The timeless wisdom and gentle guidance of His Excellency the Dalai Lama are beautifully narrated in this Audible offering. Only a basic knowledge of Buddhism is needed to appreciate these wonderful teachings. A copy of the printed book would be helpful if the reader wishes to follow the practices. Highly recommended!

Incredible Listen

Great listen. His Holliness does a great job in presenting Buddhist methods of practice from the basics, to more advanced practioners.

A great beginning to a meaningful change.

This was the first of many Buddhist books by the Dalai Lama I have enjoyed. I believe the written translation is spectacular here but found listening to it to be rather difficult. Jeffrey Hopkins wrote this so well but is not an engaging narrator.
If you are looking for true change and peace in your life, this is a perfect first step but I recommend reading it yourself so you can go back over sections when you need to delve deeper into its contents. I was Christian for the first 50 years of my life and the past 5 have been my happiest.
This book started my quest and will always hold that special place when I think of how my life has improved so drastically in such a short time.

A good book for those

who are experienced on their journey. This book goes into great detail on how to practice being a buddhist. Its a little too thorough for those who are beginning their journey.