A Profound Mind: Cultivating Wisdom in Everyday Life
“The teachings of the Buddha are of vast benefit to us. Like effective medicine, they address our own personal issues in a specific way. And of course they share striking resonances with teachers and teachings of other spiritual paths. Love, compassion, charity, honesty, kindness, generosity, altruism, joy, and forgiveness are qualities most if not all beings recognize and admire. Buddhism puts great emphasis on developing these wonderful qualities to their fullest…. None of this is easy. It all takes effort. The Buddha himself almost died with the effort. But the rewards are great. Beyond measure. I find it incredibly moving that these great beings like His Holiness the Dalai Lama still do the heavy lifting, still do the hard work on themselves every day, all day. Even with the vast wisdom and compassion His Holiness has generated over countless lifetimes, still he arises from sleep each day at 3:30 a.m. to set his altruistic motivation and begin his hours of practices before engaging in another full day of being of benefit to others. What an inspiration!” —From the Afterword by Richard Gere