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When the Chocolate Runs Out
This new wisdom book is stuffed with wit, wisdom, and energetic teachings from Lama Yeshe. Author of Introduction to Tantra and many other books, Yeshe has long endured as a figure of playful wisdom and heart-striking compassion. This beautiful little book captures the essence of the teachings of this clever master who played an integral role in introducing Tibetan Buddhism to the world. When the Chocolate Runs Out delights both readers who have known Lama Yeshe for decades and those who have never met this remarkable spiritual teacher.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published June 21, 2011
40 people are currently reading
309 people want to read
About the author
Thubten Yeshe
66 books94 followersLama Thubten Yeshe was a monastic teacher of Tibetan Buddhism most closely associated with the Gelug school of the Dalai Lamas. He established the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), and was succeeded in leadership of that organization by his heart-disciple Lama Thubten Zopa in 1984.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 29, 2021
Not really that much about chocolate, but in some sense absolutely spot on.
Craving - why do we? Will we ever get enough?
This easy to read, accessible message about Buddhist philosophy is packed full of goodness, providing a skilled and thorough introduction to a range of key Mahayana concepts. Not at all cultish nor austere. You can even keep eating chocolate if you want. In fact Lama Yeshe even discourages avoidance as a strategy for things that disturb you. So, eat that chocolate, but what are you really eating when you do so? Because the chocolate is empty from the chocolate's side. So is your pleasure in it. And even yourself. But only the sense that the chocolate and its pleasures will last. All is impermanent, and the end of the block of chocolate is closer than you think.
When we are eating chocolate, we are really learning to work with our own minds. We live in a phenomenal world, where chocolate does taste good. It is okay to eat it, but we need to be conscious of our desires and what they are doing to us.
Also some breathing exercises. For when you can't get chocolate.
Craving - why do we? Will we ever get enough?
This easy to read, accessible message about Buddhist philosophy is packed full of goodness, providing a skilled and thorough introduction to a range of key Mahayana concepts. Not at all cultish nor austere. You can even keep eating chocolate if you want. In fact Lama Yeshe even discourages avoidance as a strategy for things that disturb you. So, eat that chocolate, but what are you really eating when you do so? Because the chocolate is empty from the chocolate's side. So is your pleasure in it. And even yourself. But only the sense that the chocolate and its pleasures will last. All is impermanent, and the end of the block of chocolate is closer than you think.
When we are eating chocolate, we are really learning to work with our own minds. We live in a phenomenal world, where chocolate does taste good. It is okay to eat it, but we need to be conscious of our desires and what they are doing to us.
Also some breathing exercises. For when you can't get chocolate.
May 25, 2019
So much fun... You can tell Lama Yeshe didn't find spiritual practice tedious or boring and I find that inspiring in and of itself. Yes, as the first reviewer noted, it is a little scattered and weak on long philosophical analysis but sharp for all that.
October 24, 2018
Originally posted at ragdollreads.co.uk
Ragdoll Rating: 3.5/5 Buttons
Recommended For: People with a little Buddhist experience
About the Book…
When the Chocolate Runs Out is a million-mile-an-hour run through some of the fundamental concepts in Buddhism. In it, Lama Yeshe provides instruction on a wide variety of topics, from Karma, attachment and ego.
What I thought…
Up until the very end, my primary thought about this book was: “Thank god I already know about this!” Somewhere in this book, Lama Yeshe explains that the point of Buddhism and the dharma, isn’t to learn everything but to put things into practice and test ideas against your own experience. This philosophy is obvious throughout the book as Lama Yeshe provides a lot of “What to do?” and very little How or Why. As such, if you weren’t already familiar with some of the concepts, I can imagine this book could be quite frustrating at times, finding yourself unsure of how to do something or why it’s worth it in the first place. Of course the Why is because Lama Yeshe has found it helpful in his own experience, but that can be a difficult position to start from. It’s certainly one I struggle with.
That said, there was a lot of material covered and if you do already have some background knowledge of Buddhism’s workings, then it’s quite a good reminder and a fresh perspective on a number of fairly key concepts.
My favourite part about this book is actually at the end, where Lama Yeshe – very – briefly, runs the reader through a number of simple meditations. This section actually turned the whole book around for me, as the instructions were very clear and and offered additional guidance about our expectations. Good meditation instructions can be difficult to find, either being overly simplistic or complicated, but Lama Yeshe manages to find a good balance between the two that allows the concepts to be delivered and understood without taxing the mind one way or the other.
I think this is a book that perhaps would be best treated as a coffee-table read, the kind of book you dip in and out of frequently. The chapters are short and sweet, and the format throughout lends itself much better to frequent short bursts, compared to long period of reading (which is what I just did, and I finished it in just over an hour).
Final Thoughts…
Overall, my opinions on this book are a little all over the place. It is certainly something I would happily come back to, as I’m sure there is more wisdom contained within than I have taken in during this read-through.
___________________________________________
Please Note: I received a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions contained within are my own and have not been influenced by any external entity!
Ragdoll Rating: 3.5/5 Buttons
Recommended For: People with a little Buddhist experience
About the Book…
When the Chocolate Runs Out is a million-mile-an-hour run through some of the fundamental concepts in Buddhism. In it, Lama Yeshe provides instruction on a wide variety of topics, from Karma, attachment and ego.
What I thought…
Up until the very end, my primary thought about this book was: “Thank god I already know about this!” Somewhere in this book, Lama Yeshe explains that the point of Buddhism and the dharma, isn’t to learn everything but to put things into practice and test ideas against your own experience. This philosophy is obvious throughout the book as Lama Yeshe provides a lot of “What to do?” and very little How or Why. As such, if you weren’t already familiar with some of the concepts, I can imagine this book could be quite frustrating at times, finding yourself unsure of how to do something or why it’s worth it in the first place. Of course the Why is because Lama Yeshe has found it helpful in his own experience, but that can be a difficult position to start from. It’s certainly one I struggle with.
That said, there was a lot of material covered and if you do already have some background knowledge of Buddhism’s workings, then it’s quite a good reminder and a fresh perspective on a number of fairly key concepts.
My favourite part about this book is actually at the end, where Lama Yeshe – very – briefly, runs the reader through a number of simple meditations. This section actually turned the whole book around for me, as the instructions were very clear and and offered additional guidance about our expectations. Good meditation instructions can be difficult to find, either being overly simplistic or complicated, but Lama Yeshe manages to find a good balance between the two that allows the concepts to be delivered and understood without taxing the mind one way or the other.
I think this is a book that perhaps would be best treated as a coffee-table read, the kind of book you dip in and out of frequently. The chapters are short and sweet, and the format throughout lends itself much better to frequent short bursts, compared to long period of reading (which is what I just did, and I finished it in just over an hour).
Final Thoughts…
Overall, my opinions on this book are a little all over the place. It is certainly something I would happily come back to, as I’m sure there is more wisdom contained within than I have taken in during this read-through.
___________________________________________
Please Note: I received a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions contained within are my own and have not been influenced by any external entity!
March 6, 2012
Lama Yeshe brings Dharma to the West as no other has. Direct, real, fun, deep and personal.
Read
February 20, 2014I love this book! There are suggested meditations and practices that I'm surely going to try. Thanks Rosanne and Elisa for this wonderful book.
January 28, 2022
“To liberate yourself, you must know yourself”
This little book has the answers you seek.
We’re unhappy, not because there isn’t enough chocolate, but because we dream ourselves separate. Our ego, that artificial sense of self, is perpetually incomplete, always searching for happiness. It grasps at sense pleasures or esteem, forming attachments that ground our judgements of good or bad. When things are bad, we suffer. When things are good, we fear change. But “bad” things are common, and change is inevitable. Thus, our illusory ego leads us to misery.
We don’t have to be our own tormentors, however. We can free ourselves of attachment and find the true source of satisfaction. But first, we must pay close attention to our own minds. We must recognize attachments for what they are without following them, depriving them of their compulsive energy. Each problem becomes a new opportunity to gain wisdom. In this way, we transform our suffering into liberation. We dismantle the framework of duality, our understanding of reality explodes, and the resulting totality brings us limitless joy.
May we all choose transcendental wisdom as our ultimate goal, and may our hearts be full with the joy of perpetual discovery.
Lama Yeshe does an amazing job of summarizing Tibetan Buddhism into purely spiritual terms, largely avoiding the trappings of dogma, scripture, and tradition. The result is a tiny book we can all appreciate regardless of our religious beliefs, and it’s filled with wisdom we can all recognize.
I’m adding this to my list of books everyone should read.
“When your mind is narrow, small things agitate you very easily. Make your mind as vast, deep, and wide as an ocean.”
This little book has the answers you seek.
We’re unhappy, not because there isn’t enough chocolate, but because we dream ourselves separate. Our ego, that artificial sense of self, is perpetually incomplete, always searching for happiness. It grasps at sense pleasures or esteem, forming attachments that ground our judgements of good or bad. When things are bad, we suffer. When things are good, we fear change. But “bad” things are common, and change is inevitable. Thus, our illusory ego leads us to misery.
We don’t have to be our own tormentors, however. We can free ourselves of attachment and find the true source of satisfaction. But first, we must pay close attention to our own minds. We must recognize attachments for what they are without following them, depriving them of their compulsive energy. Each problem becomes a new opportunity to gain wisdom. In this way, we transform our suffering into liberation. We dismantle the framework of duality, our understanding of reality explodes, and the resulting totality brings us limitless joy.
May we all choose transcendental wisdom as our ultimate goal, and may our hearts be full with the joy of perpetual discovery.
Lama Yeshe does an amazing job of summarizing Tibetan Buddhism into purely spiritual terms, largely avoiding the trappings of dogma, scripture, and tradition. The result is a tiny book we can all appreciate regardless of our religious beliefs, and it’s filled with wisdom we can all recognize.
I’m adding this to my list of books everyone should read.
“When your mind is narrow, small things agitate you very easily. Make your mind as vast, deep, and wide as an ocean.”
July 1, 2018
This is a tiny book packed with wisdom. Lama Yeshe has a direct approach to transmitting his wisdom to us. I am not new to Buddhism but nonetheless a beginner. The book also offers simple meditations for a at home practice. There were so many passages that resonated with me in this book but here are some:
"All such transient pleasures are like this- and if your search for happiness causes you to grasp emotionally at the sense world- you will find so much suffering- because you have no control of the sense world, no control of impermanence"
"So many of our problems arise because we feel cut off from something we need. We do not feel whole and therefore turn expectantly toward other people for the qualities we imagine missing in ourselves"
"We learn from suffering, from problems by realising where it comes from and exactly what it is that makes us suffer. Thus, for those seekers investigating the nature of inner reality, problems actually help. Learning from problems give us more energy, greater wisdom and deeper realisations".
"Normally when we say "I love you" what we really mean is "I'm attached to you" . Ordinary love is narrow, close minded and fickle"
"No past misdeed is so great that we still can not do the work to find lasting peace in this life"
"All such transient pleasures are like this- and if your search for happiness causes you to grasp emotionally at the sense world- you will find so much suffering- because you have no control of the sense world, no control of impermanence"
"So many of our problems arise because we feel cut off from something we need. We do not feel whole and therefore turn expectantly toward other people for the qualities we imagine missing in ourselves"
"We learn from suffering, from problems by realising where it comes from and exactly what it is that makes us suffer. Thus, for those seekers investigating the nature of inner reality, problems actually help. Learning from problems give us more energy, greater wisdom and deeper realisations".
"Normally when we say "I love you" what we really mean is "I'm attached to you" . Ordinary love is narrow, close minded and fickle"
"No past misdeed is so great that we still can not do the work to find lasting peace in this life"
January 2, 2025
Quando o Chocolate Acaba é um livro introdutório perfeito para quem está começando a explorar os ensinamentos budistas. Ele aborda de forma clara e acessível temas fundamentais como satisfação, karma, mente, disciplina e meditação. É uma leitura ideal para quem deseja dar os primeiros passos no entendimento da sabedoria e das práticas budistas.
Se você já possui algum conhecimento sobre o budismo, pode achar o conteúdo um pouco redundante, pois muitas ideias apresentadas já serão familiares. No entanto, para iniciantes, é uma obra excelente, capaz de abrir portas para reflexões profundas e uma compreensão inicial dessa filosofia. Um verdadeiro convite para quem busca mais equilíbrio e clareza na vida.
Se você já possui algum conhecimento sobre o budismo, pode achar o conteúdo um pouco redundante, pois muitas ideias apresentadas já serão familiares. No entanto, para iniciantes, é uma obra excelente, capaz de abrir portas para reflexões profundas e uma compreensão inicial dessa filosofia. Um verdadeiro convite para quem busca mais equilíbrio e clareza na vida.
July 17, 2025
I definitely feel like I did not come into this book with the right mindset and need to pick it up again when I’m ready to sit with it and be slow and really internalize the message. Very in depth look at mindfulness, the human condition, worry, happiness and seeking enlightenment. After reading the Book of Joy, this felt like a good follow-up providing a deeper dive into Buddhist thought. There were many relatable examples and exercises for mindfulness, but because I was reading it more of a research mind than a practice mind I don’t think it reached me as much as it could. Will probably come back to it!
October 22, 2018
This one is difficult to review.
1) Most of the basic Buddhist teachings were covered in the book.
2) There was nothing great about the way these teachings were covered, no unique way of explaining things, no wise metaphors, nothing.
3) There was an excessive focus on meditation practice and nothing on other ways to practice.
Honestly, it wasn't a bad book. I was just expecting more from this one.
I got a free copy from Netgalley.
1) Most of the basic Buddhist teachings were covered in the book.
2) There was nothing great about the way these teachings were covered, no unique way of explaining things, no wise metaphors, nothing.
3) There was an excessive focus on meditation practice and nothing on other ways to practice.
Honestly, it wasn't a bad book. I was just expecting more from this one.
I got a free copy from Netgalley.
January 3, 2024
It's a brown book with a drawing of a chocolate bar. Of course I thought it was about chocolate. But turns out it was about Buddhist practices. About letting go of anger and longing and how to calm your mind. I had to be in a receptive mood to take it in but I felt calmer just reading sections once I embraced the philosophy.
August 25, 2022
Extremely easy to read, but chock full of wisdom. I think this will be a book I return to often to reread it and fully absorb. Highly recommend for those curious about meditation, mindfulness, or Buddhism.
February 19, 2025
A collection of snippets transcribed from various talks by a well-loved teacher with a somewhat nonconservative attitude. It's a good introduction or reminder to Buddhist concepts. A bit disorganized, but it's short and potent. I found it valuable to digest in small doses.
May 27, 2018
Another from Moms collection, pretty straight forward survey of Buddhism and meditative practice.
There was nothing bad about the book, but nothing new for me either, just whatever.
There was nothing bad about the book, but nothing new for me either, just whatever.
October 19, 2018
Simple, yet smart and useful!
May 12, 2019
The best spent money. Totally recommended!
February 16, 2021
It is a very simple but really nice book.
It made me laugh so many times.
Thank you.
It made me laugh so many times.
Thank you.
October 9, 2021
This book was a simple and excellent introduction to the Buddhist concepts of attachment, liberation, emptiness and some easy meditations. I enjoyed it a great deal.
January 1, 2023
Simple to read, and broken down into small lessons which anyone can apply to their lives...Highly recomend to anyone interested in Buddhist teachings.
June 14, 2024
A thought provoking read, full of little wisdoms.
October 20, 2018
Ragdoll Rating: 3.5/5 Buttons
Recommended For: People with a little Buddhist experience
About the Book…
When the Chocolate Runs Out is a million-mile-an-hour run through some of the fundamental concepts in Buddhism. In it, Lama Yeshe provides instruction on a wide variety of topics, from Karma, attachment and ego.
What I thought…
Up until the very end, my primary thought about this book was: “Thank god I already know about this!” Somewhere in this book, Lama Yeshe explains that the point of Buddhism and the dharma, isn’t to learn everything but to put things into practice and test ideas against your own experience. This philosophy is obvious throughout the book as Lama Yeshe provides a lot of “What to do?” and very little How or Why. As such, if you weren’t already familiar with some of the concepts, I can imagine this book could be quite frustrating at times, finding yourself unsure of how to do something or why it’s worth it in the first place. Of course the Why is because Lama Yeshe has found it helpful in his own experience, but that can be a difficult position to start from. It’s certainly one I struggle with.
That said, there was a lot of material covered and if you do already have some background knowledge of Buddhism’s workings, then it’s quite a good reminder and a fresh perspective on a number of fairly key concepts.
My favourite part about this book is actually at the end, where Lama Yeshe – very – briefly, runs the reader through a number of simple meditations. This section actually turned the whole book around for me, as the instructions were very clear and and offered additional guidance about our expectations. Good meditation instructions can be difficult to find, either being overly simplistic or complicated, but Lama Yeshe manages to find a good balance between the two that allows the concepts to be delivered and understood without taxing the mind one way or the other.
I think this is a book that perhaps would be best treated as a coffee-table read, the kind of book you dip in and out of frequently. The chapters are short and sweet, and the format throughout lends itself much better to frequent short bursts, compared to long period of reading (which is what I just did, and I finished it in just over an hour).
Final Thoughts…
Overall, my opinions on this book are a little all over the place. It is certainly something I would happily come back to, as I’m sure there is more wisdom contained within than I have taken in during this read-through.
Recommended For: People with a little Buddhist experience
About the Book…
When the Chocolate Runs Out is a million-mile-an-hour run through some of the fundamental concepts in Buddhism. In it, Lama Yeshe provides instruction on a wide variety of topics, from Karma, attachment and ego.
What I thought…
Up until the very end, my primary thought about this book was: “Thank god I already know about this!” Somewhere in this book, Lama Yeshe explains that the point of Buddhism and the dharma, isn’t to learn everything but to put things into practice and test ideas against your own experience. This philosophy is obvious throughout the book as Lama Yeshe provides a lot of “What to do?” and very little How or Why. As such, if you weren’t already familiar with some of the concepts, I can imagine this book could be quite frustrating at times, finding yourself unsure of how to do something or why it’s worth it in the first place. Of course the Why is because Lama Yeshe has found it helpful in his own experience, but that can be a difficult position to start from. It’s certainly one I struggle with.
That said, there was a lot of material covered and if you do already have some background knowledge of Buddhism’s workings, then it’s quite a good reminder and a fresh perspective on a number of fairly key concepts.
My favourite part about this book is actually at the end, where Lama Yeshe – very – briefly, runs the reader through a number of simple meditations. This section actually turned the whole book around for me, as the instructions were very clear and and offered additional guidance about our expectations. Good meditation instructions can be difficult to find, either being overly simplistic or complicated, but Lama Yeshe manages to find a good balance between the two that allows the concepts to be delivered and understood without taxing the mind one way or the other.
I think this is a book that perhaps would be best treated as a coffee-table read, the kind of book you dip in and out of frequently. The chapters are short and sweet, and the format throughout lends itself much better to frequent short bursts, compared to long period of reading (which is what I just did, and I finished it in just over an hour).
Final Thoughts…
Overall, my opinions on this book are a little all over the place. It is certainly something I would happily come back to, as I’m sure there is more wisdom contained within than I have taken in during this read-through.
May 22, 2015
This little book might look like fast reading at first glance, but in fact, every word is well chosen and every thought can be pondered before moving on to the next. I will reread it soon, there is more to digest than I can get in one reading. I like it a lot.
Read
January 10, 2016A simple explanation of Buddhist philosophy.
April 10, 2019
Cativante introdução ao Budismo que abrange diversas tradições, crenças e práticas baseadas nos ensinamentos do Dharma.
December 5, 2022
muy recomendable
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews