Las ensenanzas contenidas en este libro son el resultado de las conversaciones mantenidas por dieciseis estudiantes universitarios norteamericanos que pasaron un mes con Su Santidad el Decimoseptimo Karmapa comentando con el los temas que les inquietaban. Estos textos pueden considerarse como una guia para un mejor uso de los recursos del planeta. El Karmapa nos describe en estas paginas que debemos ver el mundo como una comunidad global, en la cual todos estamos unidos, explicando como se pueden realizar sencillos cambios positivos utilizando los recursos que ya poseemos.

The Karmapa offers a path in a community that is based on compassion. He shares his vision for bringing social action into daily life, on a scale we can manage through the choices we make every day: what to buy, what to eat, and how to relate honestly with friends, family and coworkers. He shows that we can live with kindness in challenges we face as conscious beings.ctions 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 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: Changing the World from the Inside Out by the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje
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
Love Is Essential
Being at Ease with Change
When People Part Ways
The Place of Projections
Training in Patience
Parting with Faults
Forgiving Others
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