How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life

The Way to Practice, by the Dalai Lama (XIV), provides a fairly detailed discourse into various types of meditation, including the techniques behind them, the benefits to oneself and others, and the Buddhist reasoning/doctrines they are based on. Overall I did enjoy the book, although it does wax fairly philosophical and start using a vocabulary that is most likely not going to be very familiar to most readers, myself included.

I generally read books by prominent Buddhist leaders in an effort to learn more about Buddhism itself and how I can implement it in the modern, western world. Whenever I take the time to meditate, I feel calm and at peace. It becomes easier to focus on negative emotions and let them go naturally, rather than fighting an inner war of attrition within that I am trying to distract myself from all the time. In addition to lessons on meditation, I also like reading about the relentlessly positive attitude and outlook that so many Buddhist practitioners seem to share on the world; it is highly uplifting and gives hope for getting along with those of other beliefs and ideologies. The idea that changing oneself can have a rippling effect that benefits not only your own life, but that of everyone who comes into contact with you, is very alluring to me. The Way to Practice contains all of this and more.

Having recognized the scope of suffering, research its causes, or sources, and identify that the source of all suffering is ignorance of the true nature of persons and things, which results in lust, hatred, and so forth. Realize that suffering can be removed, it can be extinguished in to the sphere of reality. Reflect that this true cessation is attained through the practice of morality, concentrated meditation, and wisdom - the true paths.

As one takes time to be introspective into their own thoughts and feelings, as well as the root causes of suffering and other problems in the world, we can find ways to prevent ourselves from engaging in those practices. If you find yourself getting consistently stressed or worked up, take some time to sit down and let your feelings wash over you. Look deep within to the source of that suffering and discover the cause. It could be an over abundance of social media, causing you to feel inadequate or overwhelmed. Or perhaps it is an unhealthy relationship with another person, your work, or expectation you have set for yourself. Letting go of these and finding ways to replace them with love and acceptance is essential to living a good life. So much of what we worry about can be let go of - we don't need to carry the entirety of the past and future with us everywhere we go.

...for the sake of helping others, you should be fully prepared. What is that preparation? You have to remove all obstacles in your own mind to knowing everything that can be known. What compassionate practitioners [want is to] clear the way to omniscience so that they can gain access to other people's dispositions and discern which techniques will help them.

If you want to help others, you must first help yourself. As Jesus said, "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye." I often find that I have the solution for everyone else's problems, but that I can't take my own advice much of the time. Not out of a willing hypocrisy, but simply because I cannot remember to do so. But the Dalai Lama teaches the importance of learning what works in practice for one's self before seeking to do the same for others. Clearing the obstacles of our own minds and lives gives us a unique perspective that enables us to serve and love others more effectively, and brings us more joy from doing so. We can even make the desire to help others the focus of our self-improvement.

Towards the last third of the book, it goes into a fair amount of detail on the specific modes of meditations, and it lost me. It was not bad, it was just not quite was I was looking for. I am glad to own a book that contains this information should I ever wish to learn more, though. Overall, this contains great teachings about Buddhism and meditation, but I think that there are probably other works both on these topics and others by the Dalai Lama that might be a better option, especially if you haven't read anything of the sort before.