1 : Universal Compassion.

Media Photo

Belated Book Review:  Beyond Religion:  Ethics for A Whole World (2011, His Holiness The Dalai Lama:)  Written apparently mostly from his residence in India at Dharamsala, and supplanting but not superseding a previous book,  Ethics for The New Millennium (ca. 2004,) this classic and varietal Buddhist text examines ethics from the author’s perspective in the more and more rapidly changing world at this time, and change as perceived in an increased awareness not only from the author, but from his followers and others that things like preparation for change and its rewards take place over gradual and painstaking efforts and dedicated time spent not in containing everyone.  Without being doctrinaire and pedantic, this text that addresses the kind of humanistic cosmology that is characterized by Buddhism and its modern issues that address human rights, health, the environment, politics, the sciences, ethics and morality of course, and individual conduct in society among other things as the Dalai Lama fleshes out for us the ongoing debate between religious and secular influences in our modern times.

The author speaks of “attachment” in the text that concerns the kind of identification, psychological, religious, moral and political, etc., that people in the modern world must have in order to be fully engaged in their lives among others.  In short, the book makes the point the world is a denser place and there are other people in it besides just the first person singular for everyone:  The text outlines the problems with what are today inappropriate and aggressive, and over – aggressive self – assertion and self – importance as a way to overcome the everyday challenges, and even extraordinary challenges we sometimes face in our somewhat different, then again parallel, paths through life.  The change, but in integrating it into a peaceful, secular framework as presented in this writing.  The main theme of the text is compassion in its essence as accompanied and made of alleviating the suffering of others, and promoting the well – being of others.  The foundations of the spirit of universal compassion are thus the pursuit of a kind of collective or societal happiness and contentment of the family of civilizations in view of and derivative of efforts to lessen and properly address the attention of the world public on suffering in order to end the destructive forces that cause the negative effects of suffering in its various milieus.  The Dalai Lama speaks of karma under the circumstances as having a relation to causality with respect to the multi – faceted events affecting in various degrees the lives of writing emphasizes themes such as selfless individuation and altruism, service to others in the name of happiness and the pursuit of happiness, social justice, political freedoms, passive resistance to aggression and tyranny, selfless (again) righteousness, and more in a way that appeals to the majority of ideas about humanism, freedom, justice, and morality, etc., in the mindset of anyone who believes in self – autonomy and morality, be it from any of the main cultural centers we all know and read and see in the media every day.  The author as well tells the reader in a chapter on “Discernment” that the openness and dedication to success in one’s life and the lives of others in its effectiveness depends greatly on the sense of autonomy in everyone, perhaps even appealing to the idea that such a quality is innate and is then refined through life’s experiences without the real possibility of being taught from previous times.  

The outward compassion the Dalai Lama has in this text, a holy book for Buddhists, for his fellow colleagues, associates, the extended human family; and the awe, respect, and attachment not only to other people but to the environment and to nature is remarkable in this writing and shows the indomitable attitude of the Buddhist faith against destruction, negative influences in society and among the greater family of humans everywhere.  In its influence as a cosmology book, the text ranges in content and context, directly and indirectly from topics like interpersonal relations and psychology, learning and morality, the sciences including the author’s knowledge of the neurosciences, the social sciences including the more negative and utilitarian subject matter of economics, the development of and role of religion in modern life including the importance of genetics and human and biological possibilities and differentiation, languages and other arts, world and regional politics, the history of India, and other quite important topics of discussion by everyone.  Overall, the type of universal compassion talked about in this text might not be at home, for example, with those whose perspective dates no further back than the Middle Ages, but the text might prove extremely valuable, again not only for Buddhists and the followers of the Dalai Lama, but for anyone interested in the discussion of psychology, religion, and life sciences and their roles vis – a – vis each other and more in the modern era with its many influences and religions and secular mindsets alike.