FROM HERE TO ENLIGHTENMENT

With a focus on practical Buddhism, this commentary goes to the heart of what it means to be a Buddhist. Tsong-kha-pa's classic treatise on the stages to enlightenment is one of the key texts of Buddhism and was finally translated into English in 2008. This book is a commentary on the text from the Dalai Lama himself, who took the treatise with him in his undercover flight from Tibet in 1959. Focusing on the interdependence of the whole of creation, he emphasizes that one of the ways in which Buddhism differs from other world religions is that Buddhists do not believe in a divine uncaused creator. A later section of the book explains how reality can never be objectively established. Existence arises from our interdependence, but at the same time we live in a moral universe where our choices have a karmic cause and effect. The first chapter, entitled "Deep Connections", focuses on inclusivity, describing the Dalai Lama's reaching out to Muslims, joining their Rajasthan pilgrimage, and incorporating a plea to Tibetans to create friendship groups with Han Chinese members of their communities. Enlightenment involves an understanding that "reality is neither Buddhist nor Christian". The originator of the treatise under discussion was the 11th century monk Atisha, and Tsong-kha-pa's development of his ideas foregrounds the importance of integrating different strands of belief and practice. Grasping at self-existence lies at the root of suffering, and the peace of nirvana involves recognising this and combating it through the four seals of the Dharma. 214pp, paperback.