How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving Relationships - Softcover

Continuing the literary work he began with The Art of Happiness, in this book, Tibet’s revered spiritual teacher the Dalai Lama discusses the importance of giving and receiving love as the quintessential step to achieving a life of true happiness and fulfillment. In his characteristic direct and simple-to-understand fashion, the Dalai Lama offers guidelines and illustrative examples from his own life that instruct readers on how to move away from self-centered egotistic concerns and habitual tendencies to rigidly judge and categorize others, in order to become more compassionate and accepting of everyone we encounter throughout the day. To assist this process, he also shares exercises and techniques that have been part of Tibetan Buddhist teachings for many centuries.

By committing ourselves to becoming more compassionate and nonjudgmental about others, the Dalai Lama maintains, we are primarily benefiting ourselves, for the end result is one of open-hearted relationships capable of transforming all aspects of our lives and leading us ever closer to a life guided by the principles of wisdom and unshakeable joy. As with all of his writings, How To Expand Love is written in a simple yet elegant style, while imparting profound and powerful teachings that, if committed to, can lead to a realization of our true state of oneness with all of life. This is a very valuable book for today’s fractious times. Larry Trivieri Jr.

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.

Jeffrey Hopkins, Ph.D., served for a decade as the interpreter for the Dalai Lama. A Buddhist scholar and the author of more than thirty-five books and translations, he is emeritus professor of Tibetan and Buddhist studies at the University of Virginia, where he founded the largest academic program of Tibetan Buddhist studies in the West.

Jeffrey Hopkins, Ph.D., served for a decade as the interpreter for the Dalai Lama. A Buddhist scholar and the author of more than thirty-five books and translations, he is emeritus professor of Tibetan and Buddhist studies at the University of Virginia, where he founded the largest academic program of Tibetan Buddhist studies in the West.