Plucked from a humble nomad family to become the leader of one of Tibet's oldest Buddhist lineages, the young Seventeenth Karmapa draws on timeless values to create an urgent ethic for today's global community.

We have always been, and will always be, interconnected--through family, community, and shared humanity. As our planet changes and our world grows smaller, it is vital we not only recognize our connections to one another and to the earth but also begin actively working together as interdependent individuals to create a truly global society.

The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is uniquely positioned to guide us in this process. Drawing on years of intensive Buddhist training and a passionate commitment to social issues, he teaches how we can move from a merely intellectual understanding to a fully lived experience of connection. By first seeing, then feeling, and finally living these connections, we can become more effective agents of social and ethical change.

The Karmapa shows us how gaining emotional awareness of our connectedness can fundamentally reshape the human race. He then guides us to action, showing step by step how we can change the way we use the earth's resources and can continue to better our society. In clear language, the Karmapa draws connections between such seemingly far-flung issues as consumer culture, loneliness, animal protection, and self-reliance. In the process, he helps us move beyond theory to practical and positive social and ethical change.

Interconnected: Embracing Life in Our Global Society, Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 264 pp, $17.95

His Holiness the Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is the head of a 900-year-old lineage and one of Buddhism's most important spiritual leaders. He is known for his commitment--grounded in rigorous Buddhist education--to advancing universal human values. He is the seventeenth incarnation in the Karmapa lineage, which dates back to the twelfth century.

CONTENTS: Interconnected: Embracing Life in Our Global Society
Editors' Introduction		1
SEEING THE CONNECTION
1.	Our Independent World	13
2.	True Connectivity	37
3.	Being an Interdependent Individual	59
4.	Equality and Diversity	77
FEELING THE CONNECTION
5.	From Empathy to Courageous Compassion	99
6.	Opening Heart and Mind	119
7.	Authentic Freedom	135
8.	Responsibility as Opportunity	147
LIVING THE CONNECTION
9.	Sharing Resources	165
10.	The Value of Community	185
11.	Lenses for Global Society	203
12.	Linking Aspirations	223
Dedication		241
Editors' Acknowledgments		243
About the Author		245