Ethics for the New Millennium

Though self-consciously idealistic and at times maddeningly general, this book is profoundly insightful. What makes this palatable is that the Dalai Lama concedes his Buddhist biases, and then offers a framework for approaching to the worlds' problems (all of them!) that is independent of religion. Noting the danger of religion reinforcing self-centered notions, he references the common ground found in all religions, "overcoming suffering through the practice of ethical discipline and cultivation of love and compassion," and advocates that we learn to reconcile our faith (or atheism) with the multiplicity of other possible faiths.In the first of three sections, The Foundation of Ethics, he highlights some of the world's problems, and questions material wealth as a solution to happiness, noting that material things may in themselves cause anxiety, frustration, and discontent. Though the humor was completely unintentional, I laughed at his recounting of visiting the home of a wealthy family and noticing the stockpile of meds in a medicine cabinet that happened to be ajar.The second section, Ethics and the Individual, functions sort of as a self-help book, though it's pretty insightful in a ways that sound obvious only once you've thought of it in the context of a given problem. For example, he notes that most people assume "discipline" is something that you impose against your will, but points out that "ethical discipline is something that we adopt voluntarily on the basis of full recognition of its benefits." Later, he cites Shantideva and the central truism of Bodhisattva- basically, if you're confronting a problem that is solveable, then you must learn to immediately find the means to act on it; if the problem has no solution, then it's best not to worry about it.The final section, Ethics and Society, is by far the most ambitious, but also the most inspiring. The Dalai Lama notes that children in today's society are brought up to acquire knowledge, but not to learn compassion. The negative impact of this, he says, can be aggressive competitiveness toward peers, greed, and scorn for the less fortunate. Astutely, he attributes this to the historical separation of learning compassion outside of school in church- whereas today church has declined and schools haven't picked up the slack. Realistically, he suggests that schools address this gap by offering students substantial practice in ethical debate and non-violent conflict resolution. He suggests that "On seeing his parents wrangling, a child that had understood the value of dialogue would instinctively say, "Oh, no. That's not the way. You have to talk, to discuss things properly."The Dalai Lama's biggest challenge is that he places on each individual some level of accountability for the corrupt leadership we so often blame for our problems. "When people possess healthy values, and where they practice ethical discipline in their own lives out of concern for others, the public officials produced by that society will quite naturally respect those same values." The easiest criticism of the Dalai Lama (and my own, before reading this book), is that he is too idealistic. His answer, which unfortunately isn't that well backed up, is that ideals are "the engine of progress", that it is a mistake to always try to be realistic in politics as history is full of examples of positive changes driven by idealism.

This book is a great read!!! First, the language is very simple, it's endearing, and very easy to get into.The greatest part about the book is it isn't Buddhist-centric. Although the Dalai Lama is a the most prominent figure in Buddhism, the book isn't about Buddhism. The Dalai Lama extends his views on ethics and virtues to encompass everyone; Christian, Buddhists, Muslims, Atheists, ect. You do not have to be a practicing Buddhist to gain something from this book.The Dalai Lama believes that the stability of the entire world depends on good ethical conduct. He fears that with growing secularization of modern or industrial society, that people around the world are lacking in virtue. He realizes people are pulling away from religion, but hopes to find a way that good conduct, and ethical behavior that goes beyond religious authority,will be adopted by more people of the human race.One of the most interesting things I took away from the book was his view that people of modern society avoid suffering at all costs. Of course people want to pursue happiness, that's natural. But, he argues that for all the privledge and advancement of these societies, they still suffer, but in different ways. We as modern societies suffer more psychologically and emotionally than less developed societies. Although I am no expert on psychology, I can see this to be true. I know people with so many riches but suffer with anxiety and depression. We have to except that fact that we all suffer. That's what I love about Buddhism. Everyone suffers. Everyone hurts. Embrace this, and find ways to make your life more enriching. By doing good deeds, by developing positive and healthy human relationships (which the Dalai Lama believes modern societies struggle with), and attempt to foster a positive method of thinking. According to the Dalai Lama, this will not only benefit you and add to your happiness, but will in a small way benefit society over all. These are very simple, but can be very difficult. I liked having these ideas reiterated with the eloquence of the Dalai Lama. We all have a part to do.

I love reading health and well-being books and this book was in the condition they prescribed.Why pay for new books when you only read them once or twice when passing them on?

Good read

An excellent book. It gives us a lot of food for thought and offers solutions to many of the ethical problems we have to face in this new millennium. The main theme is the use of a universal responsibility to guide our action.

I find books by the Dalai Lama to be informative and calming. This book is more of the same , but goes into more depth on the subject of Ethics than some of the other books. The Dalai Lama may be the most sensible mind on the planet so it mightbe a good idea if everyone read at least one of his works. Many of his books are available through Amazon connectedbook dealers at very reasonable ( low ) prices so I would recommend that all should take advantage of whats availablefor you.

Quite happy with the book, other than it was more marked up inside (margin notes and underlining). I would have called it 'fair' condition and not necessarily 'good.' Really, no complaints.