How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life
As a primer on living the good life, few books compete withHow to  Practice, another profound offering from the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader  His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Westerners may be confused by the book's title,  assuming that it focuses solely on Buddhist meditation and prayer techniques.  Though it does address meditation and prayer, at its core this is a book that  demonstrates how day-to-day living can be a spiritual practice. There are two  ways to create happiness:The first is external. By obtaining better  clothes, better shelter, and better friends we can find a certain measure of  happiness and satisfaction. The second is through mental development, which  yields inner happiness. However, these two approaches are not equally viable.  External happiness cannot last long without its counterpart.... However, if you  have peace of mind you can find happiness even under the most difficult  circumstances.As he has in previous books (An Open Heart,The Art of Happiness), the  Dalai Lama reminds us that developing peace of mind means paying attention to  our daily attitudes and choices as well as taking the time to meditate and be  prayerful. The six-part book covers Buddhist meditation techniques and  visualization exercises as well as daily thoughts and actions that foster  morality and wisdom.--Gail Hudson