Compassion - sympathy for the suffering of others and the desire to free them from it - is wrested with in all spiritual traditions. Yet how does one actually become a compassionate person? What are the mechanisms by which a selfish heart is transformed into a generous heart?

When his Holiness the Dalai Lama came to New York City in 1999, he spoke simply and powerfully on the everyday Buddhist practice of com- passion, and showed that the pathway to compassion is a series of med- itations. An Open Heart lays out this course of meditations, from the simplest to the most challenging, describing the mental training techniques that will enable anyone of any faith to change their minds and open their hearts. In this book the path begins with simple and clear ruminations on the advantages of virtuous life and moves on to practices that can temper destructive and impulsive emotions. Such practices can be undertaken at odd moments of the day, at once transforming the aimless or anxious mind into a disciplined and open mind. Gradually, the book introduces the more challenging and sustained meditation practices. In these meditations the deepest and most profound insights of Buddhist practice become part of one's way of knowing and experiencing the world.
An Open Heart is a clear and simple introduction to the Buddhist path of enlightenment, by its greatest teacher, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Recognised at the age of two as the reincarnation of the thirteenth Dalai Lama, TENZIN GYATSO was brought to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and enthroned two years later as the fourteenth Dalai Lama. In 1959, following the Chinese suppression of the Tibetan national uprising, he was forced to seek asylum in India. As Tibet's leader-in-exile, he worked tirelessly not only on behalf of the Tibetan people but as a voice for human rights worldwide. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, His Holiness is today universally acknowledged as one of the world's pre-eminent spiritual leaders.