Philosophy

The Dalai Lama Talks Secular Ethics in Beyond Religion (EXCERPT)

Editor's note: The following is excerpted from "Beyond Religion" by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. I am an old man now. I was born in 1935 in a small village in northeastern Tibet. For reasons beyond my control, I have lived most of my adult life as a stateless refugee in India, which has been my second home for over 50 years. I often joke that I am India’s longest-staying guest. In common with other people of my age, … [Read more...]

The Difference Between Beliefs and Knowings

Emerson reminded us, "The ancestor to every action is a thought." Every night when you go off to sleep, you enter into what we call the dream state, also known as the dream consciousness. When you enter into dream consciousness, you leave behind this physical world and all of its limitations, and you enter into this world of pure consciousness, and you enter with no doubt. And as you enter into this world without any doubt, you open up a whole world of possibilities. Now … [Read more...]

Moral Community, Faith, and Belief

The notion of a moral community resolves many paradoxes of human behavior. How is it, after all, that a Nazi guard could return each day from his labors at the crematoria and then be a loving father to his children? The answer is surprisingly straightforward: The Jews he spent the day torturing and killing were not objects of his moral concern. Not only were they outside his moral community; they were antithetical to it. His belief about Jews inured him to the natural human sympathies … [Read more...]

My Dog Is More Zen Than You

Meet my dog, Kong, he's over there to the right. We go for walks everyday in the woods behind my house, it's our quiet time, a walking meditation of sorts. If you ever pay attention to dogs (well, maybe not all dogs), you'll notice they are quite naturally zen creatures. Take the zen Buddhist principle of non-attachment for instance. Just about every day I take a tennis ball to throw for him. I throw it in the wood line so he can sniff it out, it's his favorite thing to do. He'll find it … [Read more...]

Speaking the Lost Language of God

People have used this nondenominational, nonreligious mode of prayer to melt away a tumor in two minutes and 40 seconds without drugs or surgery, end a three-year drought in a day, and avert a war that appeared to be inevitable. Just think of what you could accomplish if you knew the precise language the ancients used to improve their lives. Imagine what it would be like if you could heal your body or play an active role in contributing to the peace of the world. In this letter, you will … [Read more...]