Beyond Religion

Ethics for a Whole World

By: His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Narrated by: Martin Sheen

Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Emmy Award-winning actor Martin Sheen (The West Wing) lends his distinguished voice to this stirring call to move beyond religion for the guidance to improve human life on individual, community, and global levels, including a guided meditation practice for cultivating key human values.

Ten years ago, in his best-selling Ethics for a New Millennium, His Holiness the Dalai Lama first proposed an approach to ethics based on universal rather than religious principles. Now, in Beyond Religion, the Dalai Lama, at his most compassionate and outspoken, elaborates and deepens his vision for the nonreligious way.

Transcending the mere "religion wars", he outlines a system of secular ethics that gives tolerant respect to religion, but, with the highest level of spiritual and intellectual authority, makes a claim for what the Dalai Lama calls a third way. This is a universal code of ethics that transcends religion boundaries, that recognizes our common humanity and advocates for a global human community based on understanding and mutual respect.

Beyond Religion is an essential statement from the Dalai Lama, a blueprint for all those who yearn for a life fulfilled and a better world.

©2011 His Holiness the Dalai Lama (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"An impressive guide for teaching religious tolerance and respect to readers of all ages." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"This wise, humane book, an original work rather than a collection of talks, is an incisive statement of His Holiness’s thinking on ways to bring peace to a suffering world." ( Publishers Weekly)

An Easy and Informative Listen

This book was given to me as a gift, and I was at first reluctant to pick it up. Once I started digging in, however, I found it memorizing and captivating. The Dalai Lama starts with a basic vocabulary of ethics and morality that starts with our physical sensory input and goes to our enjoyment (or not) of the inputs. From these building blocks, he then goes into how one's moods, innate character, and emotions form our perceptions and projections of everything around us. He contends that in the course of the world, we are but mere blips in the timeline of humanity, so we must use the time well, recognizing that we're connected to everyone else, and learning to expand our compassion and generosity. Finally, the last part of the book walks thru some meditation techniques that allow the reader to build their connectedness and compassion. Recommended!

My First Audiobook

Excellent choice as a first listen. I've never read any of the Dalai Lama's books, but I'm a Martin Sheen fan, and religion/spirituality is one of my favorite topics.

While I'm still in the early stages of the book, I find Martin Sheen soothing and enthralling as narrator; a wonderful choice for this read.

The book,so far, is quite diverse on the aspects it covers; some more captivating than others.

While I was never really interested in audio books (I love my Kindle), I must say, this favorable experience is, so far, leaving me open to the possibility of future "audio reads", albeit on a narrow, extremely selective basis.

I'm extremely pleased that I was drawn to this book as my first audio read, though nowhere near finished.

The world needs this book.

His holiness the Dalai Lama gives life changing advice in this book. If most of humanity applied it to our lives it would assure world peace and prosperity. It is my hope we can do this.

Uncommon common sense

Great advice for all of us. No grand-standing, no preaching, I wish everyone would read this!

Martin Sheen's voice becomes the Dalai Lama!

I highly recommend this book. It is full of wisdom, anecdotes and teachings on how to exist peacefully in an imperfect world. Martin Sheen's voice somehow perfectly fits with the visual image of the Dalai Lama and gives his words both the weight and the wittiness this holy man is known for delivering. Understanding he is a leader who cannot return to his own home due to the Chinese occupation of Tibet gives his call for living with empathy for all, especially your enemies, a sense of spiritual truth. This is not heavy philosophy, but practical advice that can be immediately incorporated into everyday living.

Great book

Great book with practical advice on changing the cultural mindset to foster an ethical society based on compassion and lovingkindness. A must for anyone interested education or mental health.

The best book I ever read about ethics.

Would you consider the audio edition of Beyond Religion to be better than the print version?

It is a very good audio book, very professional job. But, it depends on what type of studying method a person like

What did you like best about this story?

The book shows scientific evidences that ethics are our biology as our own nature

Amazing

What made the experience of listening to Beyond Religion the most enjoyable?

Every Aspect of it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

this is non fiction

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

an amazing storytelling ability

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes repeatedly

Any additional comments?

Loved in every possible way

Great advice!

Thanks for this book! I am using lots of the advice in my daily life!

Fantastic for Visually Challenged Readers

Where does Beyond Religion rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Beyond Religion was my first audiobook experience.

What did you like best about this story?

The ease with being able to go back and revisit meditation instructions was a best feature of this book. I also enjoyed the historical perspective greatly.

Which character – as performed by Martin Sheen – was your favorite?

Sheen's voice gives the illusion of listening to the Dalai Lama directly.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book is highly enlightening. It makes you think about what is really important in life.

Any additional comments?

This is a must read for anyone who is seeking knowledge Beyond Religion. Some concepts may be challenging to embrace but will allow the reader to think outside the proverbial box. While it causes deep thinking, the conversation about spirituality is subtly energetic.