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The Middle Way: Faith Grounded in Reason
The Dalai Lama lays out the Buddhist approach to matters of faith and devotion that is based on the highest spirit of critical inquiry.
The Dalai Lama opens The Middle Way with an elegant argument for the power of compassion in cultivating a happy life. From there, he connects core ideas of Buddhist philosophy to the truths of our shared condition. His Holiness delivers a sparklingly clear teaching on how the Buddhist ideas of emptiness and interdependency relate to personal experience and bring a deeper understanding of the world around us.
In down-to-earth style, this book sets forth a comprehensive explanation of the foundational teachings of the Mahayana tradition based on the works of two of Buddhism’s most revered figures. Using Nagarjuna’s Middle Way, the Dalai Lama explores Buddhist understandings of selflessness, dependent origination, and the causal processes that lock us in cycles of suffering. He grounds these heady philosophical discussions using Tsongkhapa’s Three Principal Aspects of the Path, presenting a brief explanation of how to put ethical discipline, wisdom, and compassion into practice.
Through these beautifully complementary teachings, His Holiness urges us to strive, “with an objective mind, endowed with a curious skepticism, to engage in careful analysis and seek the reasons behind our beliefs.”
The Dalai Lama opens The Middle Way with an elegant argument for the power of compassion in cultivating a happy life. From there, he connects core ideas of Buddhist philosophy to the truths of our shared condition. His Holiness delivers a sparklingly clear teaching on how the Buddhist ideas of emptiness and interdependency relate to personal experience and bring a deeper understanding of the world around us.
In down-to-earth style, this book sets forth a comprehensive explanation of the foundational teachings of the Mahayana tradition based on the works of two of Buddhism’s most revered figures. Using Nagarjuna’s Middle Way, the Dalai Lama explores Buddhist understandings of selflessness, dependent origination, and the causal processes that lock us in cycles of suffering. He grounds these heady philosophical discussions using Tsongkhapa’s Three Principal Aspects of the Path, presenting a brief explanation of how to put ethical discipline, wisdom, and compassion into practice.
Through these beautifully complementary teachings, His Holiness urges us to strive, “with an objective mind, endowed with a curious skepticism, to engage in careful analysis and seek the reasons behind our beliefs.”
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
57 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
About the author
Dalai Lama XIV
1,553 books6,194 followersJetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (born Lhamo Döndrub), the 14th Dalai Lama, is a practicing member of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism and is influential as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the world's most famous Buddhist monk, and the leader of the exiled Tibetan government in India.
Tenzin Gyatso was the fifth of sixteen children born to a farming family. He was proclaimed the tulku (an Enlightened lama who has consciously decided to take rebirth) of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of two.
On 17 November 1950, at the age of 15, he was enthroned as Tibet's ruler. Thus he became Tibet's most important political ruler just one month after the People's Republic of China's invasion of Tibet on 7 October 1950. In 1954, he went to Beijing to attempt peace talks with Mao Zedong and other leaders of the PRC. These talks ultimately failed.
After a failed uprising and the collapse of the Tibetan resistance movement in 1959, the Dalai Lama left for India, where he was active in establishing the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan Government in Exile) and in seeking to preserve Tibetan culture and education among the thousands of refugees who accompanied him.
Tenzin Gyatso is a charismatic figure and noted public speaker. This Dalai Lama is the first to travel to the West. There, he has helped to spread Buddhism and to promote the concepts of universal responsibility, secular ethics, and religious harmony.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, honorary Canadian citizenship in 2006, and the United States Congressional Gold Medal on 17 October 2007.
Tenzin Gyatso was the fifth of sixteen children born to a farming family. He was proclaimed the tulku (an Enlightened lama who has consciously decided to take rebirth) of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of two.
On 17 November 1950, at the age of 15, he was enthroned as Tibet's ruler. Thus he became Tibet's most important political ruler just one month after the People's Republic of China's invasion of Tibet on 7 October 1950. In 1954, he went to Beijing to attempt peace talks with Mao Zedong and other leaders of the PRC. These talks ultimately failed.
After a failed uprising and the collapse of the Tibetan resistance movement in 1959, the Dalai Lama left for India, where he was active in establishing the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan Government in Exile) and in seeking to preserve Tibetan culture and education among the thousands of refugees who accompanied him.
Tenzin Gyatso is a charismatic figure and noted public speaker. This Dalai Lama is the first to travel to the West. There, he has helped to spread Buddhism and to promote the concepts of universal responsibility, secular ethics, and religious harmony.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, honorary Canadian citizenship in 2006, and the United States Congressional Gold Medal on 17 October 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 15, 2016
I found this to be helpful in understanding the Dalai Lama's approach to Buddhist philosophy, but in many ways this is a less practical book than I had hoped. It is also full of the paradoxical philosophic statements so common in deeper Buddhist literature. I also found the focus on achieving Nirvana to be not very applicable to my own interests in Buddhist meditation and mindfulness, as I am not a Buddhist myself. Still, it was helpful in explaining some of the motivations inherent in Buddhist practice of the Dharma. It is fascinating how far back these teachings go.
December 27, 2017
What leads to a happier life?
Compassion. Ordinary love is biased and mixed with attachment.
p7 enlightenment for the purpose of benefiting others
8 Middle Way (Madhyamaka) position as falling into the extreme of nihilism, while [...] Mind Only position as falling into the extreme of absolutism.
41 principle of nature just means that the world exists in a particular way and not another way [such as a rock sinks, and milk floats]
43 gross level of impermanence--as when we die or when, say, something is burned or demolished.
45 two kinds of cause and effect--material and mental
45 motivations driving actions [volition]--that leaves imprints on our mind and becomes a cause for future experiences of happiness and suffering, pain and pleasure. Thus karma is part of the inner mental network of cause and effect.
46 direct realization of emptiness
62 emptiness within our direct experience
62 [Middle Way Buddhism, it takes a minimum of two lives to exhaust a single cycle ~ nirvana]
67 certain types of strong, powerful emotions--such as hatred and extreme attachment--create problems.
70 dependence on the physical and mental aggregates. Thus the existence of the individual is accepted only as a dependent entity and not as an independent, absolute reality.
86 For beginners he taught as if things existed just as they appear to the mind. Then he taught that all things are transient [...]. Finally, he taught that there is a discrepancy between the way things appear to us and the way they really are. The Buddha, says Nagarjuna, led trainees though these progressively more subtle levels of understanding.
96 Ignorance is a misknowing, an actively afflicted intelligence.
98 antidote to ignorance--the realization of emptiness
100 emptiness is something the true nature of which can only be experienced personally and for oneself. It cannot be fully conveyed to another person by means of language and concepts.
When we speak of emptiness, therefore, do not think of it as some kind of absolute entity that exists out there on its own. [...] It is understanding emptiness in this way that leads to the mistake of misunderstanding it as nothingness.
105 a gap between perceptions and reality [...] just because we can conjure up something with our mind, does not make it real.
115 Nagarjuna argues that if our understanding of the world is constructed in dependence on memories and expectations [...] self-existent world
115 four noble truths: suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path
121 extraordinary compassion, or the extraordinary altruistic resolve. [...] the aspiration to bring about others' welfare and the aspiration to seek buddhahood for this purpose.
121 freedom from cyclic existence
134 The real Dharma practice is performed with the mind. Virtuous practices of the mind--such as cultivating loving-kindness and compassion, reflecting upon the transient nature of life, or contemplating selflessness--cannot coexist with a nonvirtuous state of mind.
137 self-grasping [...] self-existence of the person [...] egoistic grasping
140 in the context of our own suffering, and how we apply the same analysis to the suffering of others in order to grasp the nature of their pain and develop the compassionate wish to free them of it. [...] These two factors--understanding the nature of suffering and feeling of closeness with other sentient beings--become the basis to develop a genuine desire to secure others' welfare.
141 [bodhichitta after buddhahood]
146 try to shape your thinking in beneficial ways before you begin your day
sound bites
curious skepticism
genuine understanding
distorted knowing
words
sutra - rule or aphorism in Sanskrit literature
tantra - mystical or ritual text
intuit - understand or work out by instinct
samsara - cyclic existence (where transcendence, of this, is nirvana)
3rd - cessation
Charvakas - materialists, many rejected the idea of rebirth
shravakas - disciples
bodhichitta - altruistic awakening mind
ponder
p38 reject philosophical tenets that conflict with reason >>Empiricist philosophy? ~ 'direct experience'
Compassion. Ordinary love is biased and mixed with attachment.
p7 enlightenment for the purpose of benefiting others
8 Middle Way (Madhyamaka) position as falling into the extreme of nihilism, while [...] Mind Only position as falling into the extreme of absolutism.
41 principle of nature just means that the world exists in a particular way and not another way [such as a rock sinks, and milk floats]
43 gross level of impermanence--as when we die or when, say, something is burned or demolished.
45 two kinds of cause and effect--material and mental
45 motivations driving actions [volition]--that leaves imprints on our mind and becomes a cause for future experiences of happiness and suffering, pain and pleasure. Thus karma is part of the inner mental network of cause and effect.
46 direct realization of emptiness
62 emptiness within our direct experience
62 [Middle Way Buddhism, it takes a minimum of two lives to exhaust a single cycle ~ nirvana]
67 certain types of strong, powerful emotions--such as hatred and extreme attachment--create problems.
70 dependence on the physical and mental aggregates. Thus the existence of the individual is accepted only as a dependent entity and not as an independent, absolute reality.
86 For beginners he taught as if things existed just as they appear to the mind. Then he taught that all things are transient [...]. Finally, he taught that there is a discrepancy between the way things appear to us and the way they really are. The Buddha, says Nagarjuna, led trainees though these progressively more subtle levels of understanding.
96 Ignorance is a misknowing, an actively afflicted intelligence.
98 antidote to ignorance--the realization of emptiness
100 emptiness is something the true nature of which can only be experienced personally and for oneself. It cannot be fully conveyed to another person by means of language and concepts.
When we speak of emptiness, therefore, do not think of it as some kind of absolute entity that exists out there on its own. [...] It is understanding emptiness in this way that leads to the mistake of misunderstanding it as nothingness.
105 a gap between perceptions and reality [...] just because we can conjure up something with our mind, does not make it real.
115 Nagarjuna argues that if our understanding of the world is constructed in dependence on memories and expectations [...] self-existent world
115 four noble truths: suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path
121 extraordinary compassion, or the extraordinary altruistic resolve. [...] the aspiration to bring about others' welfare and the aspiration to seek buddhahood for this purpose.
121 freedom from cyclic existence
134 The real Dharma practice is performed with the mind. Virtuous practices of the mind--such as cultivating loving-kindness and compassion, reflecting upon the transient nature of life, or contemplating selflessness--cannot coexist with a nonvirtuous state of mind.
137 self-grasping [...] self-existence of the person [...] egoistic grasping
140 in the context of our own suffering, and how we apply the same analysis to the suffering of others in order to grasp the nature of their pain and develop the compassionate wish to free them of it. [...] These two factors--understanding the nature of suffering and feeling of closeness with other sentient beings--become the basis to develop a genuine desire to secure others' welfare.
141 [bodhichitta after buddhahood]
146 try to shape your thinking in beneficial ways before you begin your day
sound bites
curious skepticism
genuine understanding
distorted knowing
words
sutra - rule or aphorism in Sanskrit literature
tantra - mystical or ritual text
intuit - understand or work out by instinct
samsara - cyclic existence (where transcendence, of this, is nirvana)
3rd - cessation
Charvakas - materialists, many rejected the idea of rebirth
shravakas - disciples
bodhichitta - altruistic awakening mind
ponder
p38 reject philosophical tenets that conflict with reason >>Empiricist philosophy? ~ 'direct experience'
May 22, 2015
I find it hard to rate this book as it was my first encounter with Buddhist philosophy. Ans as it turns out this is definitely not a book for beginners. Although it walks us through the basic concepts, it's aim is above all to offer Dalai Lama's interpretation of classical Buddhist texts. Quote by quote they are analysed and often translated to simpler, modern language.
November 16, 2021
"LA FE DEBE ESTAR BASADA EN EL RAZONAMIENTO, ES LO QUE SEPARA COGNICIÓN DE SEZGO"
Si entras buscando un libro sobre budismo, no es el indicado. Si entras buscando un libro sobre cómo entender la religión o la espiritualidad, entonces estas ante el libro adecuado.
Normalmente se piensa en la religión/espiritual como algo contrario a la razón o la lógica, casi como una historia inverosímil con elementos fantasiosos que nos brinda un consuelo muy cercano al fanatismo y la ignorancia. Bueno, este tipo de pensamiento contiene en sí mucha ignorancia del trasfondo sociológico y filosófico de lo que la religión/espiritual representa para el ser humano.
Precisamente este libro te invita a entender como el seguir un dogma debe estar basado en el razonamiento de sus preceptos básicos y en "poner a prueba" el cómo estos preceptos sirven para la vida diaria.
Si bien el libro tiene un corte budista, la idea general puede aplicarse a varias religiones o a la propia forma de ver la espiritual. Básico y sencillo de leer no deja atrás un tono "de sabio" que es disfrutable para los más interesados en el crecimiento filosófico.
Si entras buscando un libro sobre budismo, no es el indicado. Si entras buscando un libro sobre cómo entender la religión o la espiritualidad, entonces estas ante el libro adecuado.
Normalmente se piensa en la religión/espiritual como algo contrario a la razón o la lógica, casi como una historia inverosímil con elementos fantasiosos que nos brinda un consuelo muy cercano al fanatismo y la ignorancia. Bueno, este tipo de pensamiento contiene en sí mucha ignorancia del trasfondo sociológico y filosófico de lo que la religión/espiritual representa para el ser humano.
Precisamente este libro te invita a entender como el seguir un dogma debe estar basado en el razonamiento de sus preceptos básicos y en "poner a prueba" el cómo estos preceptos sirven para la vida diaria.
Si bien el libro tiene un corte budista, la idea general puede aplicarse a varias religiones o a la propia forma de ver la espiritual. Básico y sencillo de leer no deja atrás un tono "de sabio" que es disfrutable para los más interesados en el crecimiento filosófico.
October 25, 2020
This is an absolutely beautiful teaching. It combines the 26th, 18th and 24th chapters of Nagarjuna's 'Fundamental Stanzas on the Middle Way' (Mulamahdyamakakarika) with Je Tsongkhapas 'Three Principal Aspects of the Path' (Lam Tso Nam Sum).
This is not a beginner's book and with my over two decades of study (15 years of which are in the Lamrim) I did need to go through it carefully. If you are a beginner in Buddhism, this book would be like being thrown into the deep end of the pool, so do be careful.
If however you have grounding in the texts, then this teachings flows beautifully from the Four Noble Truths, to the 12 links of dependent origination to emptiness to how they can all be combined into a single path using the Lamrim.
I will be going through this again.
This is not a beginner's book and with my over two decades of study (15 years of which are in the Lamrim) I did need to go through it carefully. If you are a beginner in Buddhism, this book would be like being thrown into the deep end of the pool, so do be careful.
If however you have grounding in the texts, then this teachings flows beautifully from the Four Noble Truths, to the 12 links of dependent origination to emptiness to how they can all be combined into a single path using the Lamrim.
I will be going through this again.
April 17, 2021
As always the Dalai Lama gives us an excellent teaching. This presentation of the middle way (path) through the writings of the masters of the past is at the same time deep and comprehensible. A good way to discover indo-tibetan, buddhism.
October 27, 2018
Excellent dharma, of especial interest for those seeking clarity on the doctrines of emptiness and
no-self.
no-self.
January 28, 2020
Great work. Very well explained the philosophy of Nagarjuna, but probably for those who already have some knowledge of Indian Philosophy.
February 12, 2021
If you are to read this, you have to spend time to reflect and digest it. Its full of deep wisdom after practice, learning more into Buddhism. However, you can also have a glimse of Middle way.
May 13, 2022
Mais um livro de ensinamentos e filosofia budista.
August 28, 2013
The book is divided in two parts. The first part is a walkthrough of another book written by Nagarjuna. Also, some basic buddhist concepts are explained. This first part keeps getting increasingly harder to understand as you continue reading, thus requiring the reader to be extremely focused in the reading if you care to understand what the author is trying to say.
In the second part of the book, as the concepts are supposedly "well-explained" in the first part, the Dalai Lama just goes directly to the point talking about how to put those concepts into practice making the lecture easier to understand and way more interesting. It's a shame the second part is so small.
In conclusion, i think the book is not bad, but it only should be read by people with some previous knowledge of Buddhism, as the book only explains some concepts, and even the explanations are quite ambiguous too.
In the second part of the book, as the concepts are supposedly "well-explained" in the first part, the Dalai Lama just goes directly to the point talking about how to put those concepts into practice making the lecture easier to understand and way more interesting. It's a shame the second part is so small.
In conclusion, i think the book is not bad, but it only should be read by people with some previous knowledge of Buddhism, as the book only explains some concepts, and even the explanations are quite ambiguous too.
August 30, 2023
This book was highly esoteric at times. I would think to myself, "It's a good thing I took that 'Introduction to Buddhism' class in University".
Having said that, it was a good read. It made the topic at hand accessible without dumbing it down or oversimplifying.
Having said that, it was a good read. It made the topic at hand accessible without dumbing it down or oversimplifying.
Read
March 14, 2012Teachings given by the Dalai Lama in 2004. I was there but don't remember the depth of his analysis of Nagarjuna's views. I am glad to have this reference.
August 11, 2010
Excellent book and good preparation for upcoming Kalachakra initiation
February 9, 2015
very hard to get through, but very interesting, about the Buddhist teachings about emptiness
January 11, 2022
Uma procura por ser o próximo iluminado da atualidade, gostei da primeira parte, mas muito complexo. Mas Dalai Lama continuas a ser o meu guia espiritual da vida 💫
March 29, 2017
I'll be honest. This book is way above my knowledge of Buddhism. It did help introduce several concepts I knew little about other than they existed, and when I know more about the subject I will give this book another read. I am not Buddhist, but many aspects of the religion and lifestyle interest me. This book discusses several specific Buddhist concepts and ideas in an analytical and logical sense.
As always, The Dalai Lama writes with compassion and understanding, with a patience to teach, and with an intelligence unmatched on the subject.
As always, The Dalai Lama writes with compassion and understanding, with a patience to teach, and with an intelligence unmatched on the subject.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews