In these lively exchanges the Dalai Lama exhibits clear and penetrating insight into issues that are most important to Western students. Some of the topics discussed are: psychology, Christianity, being a practicing Buddhist in the West, spiritual teachers, reincarnation, emptiness, tantra protector deities, liberation, meditation, compassion, disciplining others, the power of holy places, and retreats.

Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists, H.H. Dalai Lama, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 110 pages, $12.95

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in 1935 to a peasant family in northeastern Tibet and was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predecessor, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The world's foremost Buddhist leader, he travels extensively, speaking eloquently in favor of ecumenical understanding , kindness and compassion, respect for the environment, and above all, world peace.

Editor's Introduction

The First Discussion
Integration of Christianity and Buddhism; Buddhism
and the idea of a creator-god; what does inherent existence
mean; does Western physics contradict some Buddhist
teachings; space; elementary particles; imagination;
existence; images; general advice to practitioners.

The Second Discussion
Dealing with an unsympathetic environment; reconciling
emptiness with the fact that objects perform functions;
compassion and disciplining people who harm
others; vipasyana in sutra and tantra; when is ordination
appropriate; meditative stabilization; what religion shall
one practice - suitability of various religions.

The Third Discussion
Buddhism - its essence vs. its cultural form; the power
of holy places; the inner guru; the individuality of consciousness
remains at Buddhahood; nuclear disarmament
and world peace; wearing monks' robes in the West.

The Fourth Discussion
Does Buddha exist apart from our mind; analysis of merit
- motivation and object; cessation of concepts and
dualistic appearance; why consciousness is not the person;
a disciple's attitude toward the guru; efficacy of
tantric meditation techniques; relation to non-Buddhist
family and friends; flexibility in taking precepts; dharma
practice in society vs. retreat; the nature of consciousness.

The Fifth Discussion
Guru devotion; the three kinds of suffering; benefits of
ordination; emptiness in the schools of Tibetan Buddhism;
enhancing a vipasyana practice; investigation into
the nature of the mind; significance of the Kalacakra
initiation; types of protector deities; Westerners visiting
Tibet; karma and poverty; Native Americans compared
to Tibetans; Bodhgaya.