Two great spiritual masters share their own hard-won wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity.
The occasion was a big birthday. And it inspired two close friends to get together in Dharamsala for a talk about something very important to them. The friends were His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The subject was joy. Both winners of the Nobel Prize, both great spiritual masters and moral leaders of our time, they are also known for being among the most infectiously happy people on the planet.
From the beginning the book was envisioned as a three-layer birthday cake: their own stories and teachings about joy, the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness, and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. Both the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu have been tested by great personal and national adversity, and here they share their personal stories of struggle and renewal. Now that they are both in their eighties, they especially want to spread the core message that to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others.
Most of all, during that landmark week in Dharamsala, they demonstrated by their own exuberance, compassion, and humor how joy can be transformed from a fleeting emotion into an enduring way of life.
Narration Credits:
Douglas Carlton Abrams, read by the author
Dalai Lama, read by Francois Chau
Desmond Tutu, read by Peter Francis James
WORDS TO LIVE BY I wish everyone in the world could read this book. Could not put it down from the moment I started reading. H.H. Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu are two of the finest living Beings on the planet. We are fortunate to have their encouraging and inspiring words on how to live in these challenging times. I sent copies of this book to friends and family and they will pay it forward. The best book that I read in 2016.
It May Change You Forever! A quick read that offers much good medicine for our troubled world. Both the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu have risen beyond their respective religions to reach out to all humans regardless of their location. A lot of inspiration here. Read it once or twice and chew on what they say. It could lighten your load, put a smile on your face, and maybe change your life.
Brilliant, delightful, and profoundly inspiring! The Book of Joy lives up to its title and goes much further. It highlights the many ways in which we can all bring greater joy, fulfillment and purpose into our lives, and illuminates the nature of the interconnected relationship between painful emotions and deep happiness. The book not only reaffirms this truth with great clarity, but through the magic of Abramsâ skillful facilitation shows the many ways in which these two great spiritual leaders, both of whom are also great teachers of peace…