If you are inspired to take up his challenge, the Karmapa offers a path for participating in a global community that is based on compassion. In these chapters, he shares his vision for bringing social action into daily life, on a scale we can realistically manage through the choices we make every day - what to buy, what to eat, and how to relate honestly and bravely with our friends and family and coworkers. His fresh and encouraging perspective shows us that we have the strength to live with kindness in the midst of the many challenges we face as socially and environmentally conscious beings. Because he sees the world through the lens of the interdependence of all beings, he sees that humans can change social and environmental problems by changing their attitudes and actions. And so, he shows ways that we can change our world by changing ourselves - by examining our own habits of consumption and by being willing to look into how our food reaches our table and how the products we buy are made. In his chapter on gender, he points out that we don't have to label others according to social constructs. If his viewpoint seems optimistic, it is - and it's also demanding. The Karmapa calls on us to open our minds, and hearts, to the innumerable connections we share with others - in our families, communities, social systems, and on our planet. Thanks to the depth of his spiritual training, and the breadth of his curiosity about the world and his love for it, he presents a relevant framework for understanding what it means to be human now - and why it's imperative that we concern ourselves with the well-being of all others. He points to a world we can create through our own effort, using a resource we already have in abundance - the basic nobility of our human heart.
The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out; The 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje; Shambhala; Paperback; 208 pp, $16.95

The Karmapa is one of the highest-ranking lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, and is the leader of Tibetan Buddhism's oldest reincarnation lineage. The present incarnation, His Holiness Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is the seventeenth in this line. Since his escape from Chinese-occupied Tibet at the age of fourteen, the Karmapa has lived a short distance from his mentor, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in Dharamsala, in northern India. Over the course of three weeks, the Karmapa held a series of meetings at his residence with a group of American college students. The teachings he gave to them, and the conversations they shared during that month, form the basis of this book. In 2008, he made his historic first visit to America. The 17th Karmapa currently resides at Gyuto Tantric Monastery, near Dharamsala, India.

CONTENTS: The Heart Is Noble
	Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama	vii
	Editor's Preface	ix
	Editor's Introduction	xv
1.	Our Shared Ground	1
2.	A Meaningful Life: Anything Is Possible	4
	Living this Reality
	Relating to Reality
	All People Are Like Parents to Us
	Taking a Limitless View
	Three Kinds of Aims
	Cherishing Self and Others
	Meaningful Livelihood
	Where Real Worth Lies
3.	Healthy Relationships: Orienting Ourselves toward Others	18
	The Fabricated "I"
	The Hook of Attachment
	Love as a Practice
	Love that Lasts
	Being at Ease with Change
	When People Part Ways
	The Place of Projections
	Training in Patience
	Parting with Faults
4.	Gender Identities: It's All in the Mind	39
	Social Realities
	Balance Requires Both
	Evolving with the Times
	Women's Rights Are Human Rights
	The Particular Sufferings of Women
	Gender Ideals Hurt Men, Too
	The Biological Basis
	Harmful Images of the Body
	Find Your Value Within
	Dropping Unrealistic Expectations
5.	Consumerism and Greed: Contentment Is the Best Wealth	53
	We Can Be Agents of Change
	One Planet, Many Heroes
	Changing Course
	Human Gullibility and the Allure of Goods
	Making It Personal
	Buying as Connecting
	Money and Happiness
	Our Relationship to Things
	Time to be Happy
	The Greatest Wealth: Contentment
6.	Social Action: Caring for All	72
	Affection Is Not Optional
	Backward or Forward
	Caring for All
	Difference Without Division
	Valuing Diversity
	A Global Society
	Open Field for Action
7.	Environmental Protection: Cultivating New Feelings for the Earth	87
	The Stage That Sustains All
	Deep Ecology, Deep Respect
	Awakening the Feeling in Others
	True Fearlessness
	Misunderstandings about Compassion
	Transferring Care to Others
	Letting the Heart Lead
	Steps to Take
	Moving from Head to Heart
	Building the Bridge
	A Sustainable Relationship to the Planet
8.	Food Justice: Healing the Cycles of Hunger and Harm	105
	Easier to Change than to Stay the Same
	The Mirror of the Mind
	Where Hunger Comes From
	Rethinking Meat
	If You Are What You Eat...
	Freedom in Eating
	The Choice is Yours
	Intentional Eating
	Two Obstacles: Desire and Habit
	When Food Is Toxic
	A Practice for the Supermarket
	The Danger of the Easy Way Out
	The Greatness of Small Acts
9.	Conflict Resolution: Anger Is the Problem	125
	Conflicts Fueled by Anger
	Slowly Poisoning Ourselves
	Becoming Cause-Oriented
	Speaking to Those Who Don't Listen
	Letting Go of Righteousness
	Clinging to Problems
	Receiving Uninvited Advice
	Intervening in Other's Disputes
	Global Conflicts, Global Solutions
	Facing Any Challenge
	Starting With Ourselves
	Trust
10.	Spiritual Paths: Integrating Life and Spirituality	143
	Science and Religion
	Outer Knowledge, Inner Wisdom
	Authentic Discovery
	Spiritual Teacher as Friend
	The Place of Community
	Keep It Simple
	Go Ahead and Doubt
	Staying Mindful of Happiness
	Who Do You Want to Be?
	Breaking Down Barriers
	Embracing Diversity
11.	Sustainable Compassion: Grounding Ourselves in Courage and Joy	160
	Our Noble Heart of Compassion
	What "All Beings" Really Means
	Coloring Life with Compassion
	Caring for Others, Caring for Self
	Concern for Victims and Abusers Alike
	Distinguishing between Person and Emotion
	Enthusiasm for the Long Haul
12.	Living the Teachings	175
	Your Course through Life
	Anchoring in Wisdom
	Lightening the Heart
	Creating Hope Together
	For the Good of the World
	Editor's Acknowledgments	185
	A Biography of His Holiness the Karmapa	187
	Editors' and Translators' Biographies	191