WISDOMWISDOM
ISBN 0-86171-138-6 $15.95ISBN-13 978-0-8617-1138-3
Words of praise for The Good HeartThis is the record of an extraordinary and historic interfaith encounter.
To hear the Dalai Lama reflecting on the Gospels is exciting, refreshing, and illumining,reminding those of us who are Christians that this is a living Word.
Diana L. Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies, Harvard University
Sparkling wit and compassionate understanding mark these penetratinginsights of the Dalai Lama into spiritual foundations of two of the
worlds great religious traditions. Highly recommended.Library Journal
The Dalai Lama establishes himself as an authentic presence respectful ofChristian traditions. This is a fascinating book which deserves a great deal of
attention in these times of multicultural exchange.Publishers Weekly
A fine addition to the growing body of literatureon Christian-Buddhist discussion.Shambhala Sun
The Good Heart models the elements of a meaningfulinterfaith dialogue.Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
Arguably the best book on interreligious dialogue published to date.One does not say such things lightly, but in a very real sense this is a holy book.
Huston Smith, author of The Illustrated Worlds Religions
A stirring and revelatory commentary on the Gospels.Booklist
An illuminating handbook for the study of both religions.Utne Reader
A book of very profound wisdom and tenderness.Parabola
WISDOM PUBLICATIONS BOSTONWWW.WI SDOMPUBS .ORG
The
DA
LA
IL
AM
A
RELIGION / SPIRITUALITY TheG
OO
DH
EA
RT
The
GOODHEART
A BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE ONTHE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
HIS HOLINESS THE
DALAI LAMAProduced withEnvironmentalMindfulness
A Note from the Publisher
We hope you will enjoy this Wisdom book. For your conven-ience, this digital edition is delivered to you without digitalrights management (DRM). This makes it easier for you touse across a variety of digital platforms, as well as preserve inyour personal library for future device migration.
Our nonprofit mission is to develop and deliver to you the veryhighest quality books on Buddhism and mindful living. Wehope this book will be of benefit to you, and we sincerely appre-ciate your support of the author and Wisdom with your pur-chase. If youd like to consider additional support of ourmission, please visit our website at wisdompubs.org.
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
http://www.wisdompubs.orghttp://www.wisdompubs.orghttp://www.wisdompubs.org
The Good Heart
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
http://www.wisdompubs.org
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
http://www.wisdompubs.org
TheGOODHEART
A BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVEON THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA
Introduction and Christian Context byLaurence Freeman, OSB
Translated from the Tibetan and Annotated byGeshe Thupten Jinpa
Edited and with a Preface byRobert Kiely
Wisdom Publications Boston
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
http://www.wisdompubs.org
iv
Wisdom Publications199 Elm Street
Somerville, Massachusetts 02144USA
His Holiness the Dalai Lama 1996 World Community for Christian Meditation 1996
First Edition 1996Paperback Edition 1998
Published in association with Medio Media, London, England.Back cover photo of Father Laurence and His Holiness the Dalai Lama courtesy of Doreen Romandini.
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronicor mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, withoutpermission in writing from the publisher.
The Library of Congress cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataTenzin Gyatso, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935
The good heart : a Buddhist perspective on the teachings of Jesus / His Holinessthe Dalai Lama ; introduction and Christian annotations by Dom Laurence
Freeman ; translation from the Tibetan and Buddhist annotations by ThuptenJinpa ; edited and with a preface by Robert Kiely.
p. cm.ISBN 0-86171-114-9 (cloth)ISBN 0-86171-138-6 (paper)1. Jesus ChristBuddhist interpretations. 2. Jesus ChristTeachings.
3. Christianity and other religionsBuddhism. 4. BuddhismRelationsChristianity. I. Kiely, Robert. II. Title.
BT205.T45 1996232.9dc20 9624684
ISBN 0 86171 138 6
11 10 0913 12 11 10
Designed by: L.J.Sawlit. Set in AGaramond 11.5/13 pt.
Wisdom Publications books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines forpermanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for
Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
Printed in the United States of America.
This book was produced with environmental mindfulness. We have elected to print this titleon 50% PCW recycled paper. As a result, we have saved the following resources: 16 trees, 11
million BTUs of energy, 1,386 lbs. of greenhouse gases, 5,752 gallons of water, and 739 lbs. ofsolid waste. For more information, please visit our web site, www.wisdompubs.org. This paper isalso FSC certified. For more information, please visit www.fscus.org.
BN 86171eBook IS 978 0 952 5
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
http://www.wisdompubs.org
CONTENTS
A Note to the Reader.....viiPreface.....ix
INTRODUCTION.....1
1 A WISH FOR HARMONY.....35
2 LOVE YOUR ENEMY.....45Matthew 5:3848
3 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: THE BEATITUDES.....53Matthew 5:110
4 EQUANIMITY.....67Mark 3:3135
5 THE KINGDOM OF GOD.....71Mark 4:2634
6 THE TRANSFIGURATION.....89Luke 9:2836
7 THE MISSION.....95Luke 9:16
8 FAITH.....111John 12:4450
9 THE RESURRECTION.....117John 20:1018
The Christian Context of the Gospel Readings.....131Glossary of Christian Terms.....149
The Buddhist Context.....165Glossary of Buddhist Terms.....177
Notes.....193Tibet Since the Chinese Occupation in 1950.....201
Biographies.....202
v
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
http://www.wisdompubs.org
PUBLISHERS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the GereFoundation in helping to fund the production of this book. Formany years Richard Gere has supported His Holiness the Dalai Lamasefforts to end the suffering of the Tibetan people and regain their home-land from the Chinese. At the same time, Richard has been instrumentalin helping to spread His Holinesss message of universal responsibility,compassion, and peace through his public expressions, and by helpingWisdom Publications publish a series of important books by HisHoliness. We laud his efforts and appreciate his support.
A special thanks to Dom Laurence Freeman, OSB, and the WorldCommunity for Christian Meditation for entrusting the publication ofthis important work to Wisdom.
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
http://www.wisdompubs.org
A NOTE TO THE READER
This book explores the Gospels with the Dalai Lama and the partici-pants of the 1994 John Main Seminar. In addition to capturing theproceedings of the Seminar, this book has been augmented with addi-tional contextual material on the Christian and Buddhist traditions toenhance its use as a tool for future interreligious dialogues.
The main body of The Good Heart is organized around individualpassages from the Gospel upon which the Dalai Lama is commenting.Each chapter begins with His Holinesss reading of and comments on aparticular Gospel passage. The Gospel passages used in The Good Heartare based on the New English Bible (University of Oxford Press, 1970),which was John Mains preferred version.
Robert Kielys preface evokes the mood and atmosphere of theSeminar itself. Laurence Freemans introduction provides an overview ofinterreligious dialogue in general, and Christian-Buddhist dialogue inparticular.
Occasionally in the body of the text, a narrators voice brieflyappears to set the scene. This is Robert Kiely, highlighting some of theexperiences of the Seminar as they occurred. These narrative interludesare set apart in italic type in order to help the reader distinguish themfrom the actual dialogue. The end of some chapters include the Seminardiscussion periods, during which panelists shared insights and querieswith the Dalai Lama. In these sections, the speakers are identified.
In the back portion of The Good Heart, there is additional informa-tion to assist and broaden the understanding of the two spiritual tradi-tions. Father Laurence Freeman has written the section entitled TheChristian Context, in which he offers a Christian interpretation of theGospel passages commented upon by the Dalai Lama. He also provides aglossary of Christian terms mentioned in the dialogue.
Geshe Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lamas interpreter, has written the
vii
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
http://www.wisdompubs.org
viii
section entitled The Buddhist Context in order to provide a generalunderstanding of central Buddhist concepts to readers unfamiliar withBuddhism. Thupten Jinpa also compiled a glossary of Buddhist terms.
Throughout The Good Heart, but especially in the back section, bothTibetan and Sanskrit terms from Buddhism are used. For the most part,Sanskrit terms have been rendered in their appropriate scholarly form,with the exception of individuals names, which have been written withease of pronunciation in mind. Tibetan terms have been spelled in pho-netics also for ease of pronunciation. Appropriate scholarly spellings of
![The Pure Land of the Indestructible Buddha Incorporated ... A Tibetan Buddhist Perspective [1] Introduction](https://img.pdfslide.us/doc/110x75/5ec8ab8a4e877d6b0f4af6c4/the-pure-land-of-the-indestructible-buddha-incorporated-a-tibetan-buddhist-perspective.jpg?t=1656143878)
