About The Book

"‘It is within our body itself … that we find the world and the origin of the world, and the end of the world, and, in a parallel fashion, the path that leads to nirvana’ – Sakyamuni Buddhism teaches us that no part of our everyday life can be seen in isolation. Politics, religion, environment or education – every aspect of our lives is interconnected through a web of interactions and connections stretching out to infinity. This is the uniqueness of the Buddhist attitude. In The Power of Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama discusses with writer Jean-Claude Carrière the great problems of our time. Through a dialogue that strives to remain constantly open and away from dogma, they cover topics such as democracy, fundamentalism, women’s and human rights, education, terrorism, violence and environment, among others. Despite the challenges of humanity, the Dalai Lama professes his faith in man, and his belief that the world is moving towards peace and unity."

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is famous for his skill in weaving together East and West, today and tomorrow, and offering an insight to an inner calm and clarity of mind that can become the fuel of our daily lives.

He has never before directly addressed Buddhism's response to humanity's challenges as he does in these dialogues with the famous film writer, Jean-Claude Carriere. Covering such topics as women's and human rights, democracy and fundamentalism, education and science, terrorism and violence, the population explosion and our environment, he cuts through to the essence of each with a practical spiritual intelligence that brings insight and guidance as we approach the twenty-first century.

About The Author

Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (born Lhamo Döndrub), the 14th Dalai Lama, is a practicing member of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism and is influential as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the world's most famous Buddhist monk, and the leader of the exiled Tibetan government in India.

Tenzin Gyatso was the fifth of sixteen children born to a farming family. He was proclaimed the tulku (an Enlightened lama who has consciously decided to take rebirth) of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of two.

On 17 November 1950, at the age of 15, he was enthroned as Tibet's ruler. Thus he became Tibet's most important political ruler just one month after the People's Republic of China's invasion of Tibet on 7 October 1950. In 1954, he went to Beijing to attempt peace talks with Mao Zedong and other leaders of the PRC. These talks ultimately failed.

After a failed uprising and the collapse of the Tibetan resistance movement in 1959, the Dalai Lama left for India, where he was active in establishing the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan Government in Exile) and in seeking to preserve Tibetan culture and education among the thousands of refugees who accompanied him.

Tenzin Gyatso is a charismatic figure and noted public speaker. This Dalai Lama is the first to travel to the West. There, he has helped to spread Buddhism and to promote the concepts of universal responsibility, secular ethics, and religious harmony.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, honorary Canadian citizenship in 2006, and the United States Congressional Gold Medal on 17 October 2007.