Awakening Kindness: Finding Joy Through Compassion for Others

by Nawang Khechog, Dalai Lama (Foreword by)

Overview

In Nawang Khechog’s view, one of the wonders and marvels of being human is that we can choose to nurture and cultivate kindness, compassion, and love. These precious human values are the foundation of true happiness and are at the core of humanity’s possibility of peaceful coexistence with one another, with other species, and with our environment.

Based on his eleven years as a monk, studying Buddhist philosophy and meditation with the Dalai Lama, as well as his own highly regarded workshops, Awakening Kindness details the many ways we can enrich our lives by simply being kind to each other and ourselves. Nawang includes a range of simple meditations, mantras, and practices that are easy to incorporate into even the busiest modern life.

Filled with the philosophy of many cultures and religions, and touching on everything from human nature as it’s portrayed in film to scientific support of our limitless capacity for love, kindness, and compassion, Awakening Kindness takes the reader on a life-changing journey where we all can take part in creating a culture of kindness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781582702520
Publisher:	Atria Books/Beyond Words
Publication date:	12/07/2010
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	8.16(w) x 11.70(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Nawang Khechog was a monk for eleven years, including four years as a hermit meditator in the Himalayan foothills personally sponsored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; he has studied Buddhist philosophy and meditation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as many other Tibetan masters, and now fills a truly unique spot in Buddhist culture as a teacher, performer, practitioner, and Tibetan freedom fighter, as well as being a Grammy-nominated musician whose latest solo CD, Tibetan Meditation Music, hit number nine on the Billboard charts, he has sold several million of his CDs world-wide.

Having spent more than thirty years in India as a Tibetan refugee, Nawang now seeks strength and tranquility in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and continues his performances and sharing the value of universal kindness and compassion in workshops across the country.

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He frequently describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. Born in northeastern Tibet in 1935, he was as a toddler recognized as the incarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and brought to Tibet's capital, Lhasa. In 1950, Mao Zedong's Communist forces made their first incursions into eastern Tibet, shortly after which the young Dalai Lama assumed the political leadership of his country. He passed his scholastic examinations with honors at the Great Prayer Festival in Lhasa in 1959, the same year Chinese forces occupied the city, forcing His Holiness to escape to India. There he set up the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, working to secure the welfare of the more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles and prevent the destruction of Tibetan culture. In his capacity as a spiritual and political leader, he has traveled to more than sixty-two countries on six continents and met with presidents, popes, and leading scientists to foster dialogue and create a better world. In recognition of his tireless work for the nonviolent liberation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In 2012, he relinquished political authority in his exile government and turned it over to democratically elected representatives.

His Holiness frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of interreligious harmony, and securing the welfare of the Tibetan people, focusing on the survival of their identity, culture, and religion. As a superior scholar trained in the classical texts of the Nalanda tradition of Indian Buddhism, he is able to distill the central tenets of Buddhist philosophy in clear and inspiring language, his gift for pedagogy imbued with his infectious joy. Connecting scientists with Buddhist scholars, he helps unite contemplative and modern modes of investigation, bringing ancient tools and insights to bear on the acute problems facing the contemporary world. His efforts to foster dialogue among leaders of the world's faiths envision a future where people of different beliefs can share the planet in harmony. Wisdom Publications is proud to be the premier publisher of the Dalai Lama's more serious and in-depth works.

Table of Contents

Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama ix

PeaceJam x

1 From the Beginning: An Introduction 1

2 An Introduction to Awakening Kindness 27

3 Awakening Your Own Kindness 53

4 Awakening Kindness with Others 81

5 Kindness in Motion 103

6 Love, Kindness, and Compassion in the World 125

Epilogue 149

Acknowledgments 153

Appendix: Practical Meditation Tools 159

Glossary of Terms and Names 173

Tibetan Poems 181

Free Music Download 198

Editorial Reviews

"Nawang Khechog is a dedicated student ofthe Dalai Lama and I have worked with him several times through the PeaceJam program as he has shared his philosophy of kindness with the youth of the world. I hope and pray that this book will benefit many people by helping to inspire kindness and compassion in their hearts. We need more books like this today!”

—Archbishop Desmond Tutu

"Awakening Kindness is so very joyous and deeply spiritual—the written compassion infolds and holds you. Thank you, Nawang Khechog, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has polished the diamond that is your karma.”

—Betty Williams, 1979 Nobel Peace Laureate

“Nawang Khechog not only writes about awakening kindness; he has lived that awakening, humbly, thoroughly, and creatively. Given the tenor of our times, these teachings are extremely important.”

—Michael Bernard Beckwith, author of Spiritual Liberation

"Nawang is a shooting star...."

—Denver Post

“Nawang Khechog beautifully shares with us his understanding of wisdom, kindness, and compassion. Through experiences in his life, he shows us that how we cope with change is important and can help us reach our full potential as kind and compassionate human beings. Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of these values will benefit greatly from reading his work."

—Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate and Chair Nobel Women’s Initiative

“As a good friend of Nawang Khechog's for many years, I've seen him transform some enormous life challenges into a solid commitment to be of service to others. Under the guidance of some of Tibet's greatest teachers, his main practice, during his four years as a hermit meditator and thirty-something years as a practitioner, has been one of universal love, compassion, and Bodhicitta. I hope that his book, Awakening Kindness will inspire people to practice and cultivate these inner values, and achieve a lasting happiness for themselves.”

—Richard Gere, actor and activist

“Awakening Kindness is an inspiring and practical guide to nurture and nourish the expression of kindness and compassion in every day life. By presenting many simple exercises and documenting the powerful examples of many ordinary citizens and Nobel peace prize laureates, Nawang Khechog invites us to practice kindness. Anyone who picks up this book and is receptive to its message will immediately enjoy the many benefits of living in this simple and sacred way.”

—Richard J. Davidson, William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry,
Director for the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison

From the Publisher