How to Practice : The Way to a Meaningful Life by Dalai Lama
If How to Practice was the first I’d learned about Buddhism, I wouldn’t be so interested in Buddhism. This is a mystical, clubby book. By mystical, I mean that it emphasizes karma and other other-worldly concepts more than day-to-day better living of a normal life. By clubby, I mean that it uses a lot of buzz words: Noble Truth and Buddha Body and I-don’t-know-what-all because I don’t care. Giving an idea a snazzy sounding name doesn’t make it more true or valuable and if all you tell me about the idea is its snazzy name, then you’ve told me nothing.
I’m sure the Dalai Lama is a swell guy who’s fully enlightened (whatever that means) but he can’t communicate worth a damn.