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.

In this landmark book of interfaith dialogue, the Dalai Lama provides an extraordinary Buddhist perspective on the teachings of Jesus, commenting on well-known passages from the four Christian Gospels including the Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the mustard seed, the Resurrection, and others. Drawing parallels between Jesus and the Buddha--and the rich traditions from which they hail--His Holiness delivers a profound affirmation of the sacred in all religions. Readers will be inspired by the Dalai Lama's discussion of the endless merits of each tradition and uplifted by the common humanity between them.

I felt that I gained some understanding of Buddhism seeing 5 readings from the Gospels being experienced by the Dalai Lama. Much of the book was basically a transcript of a seminar. I believe that actually being present at the seminar would have been much more enlightening. I think it is impossible to get the dynamic of spiritual connection that would have happened with these diverse people meditating together in silence and then listening deeply. Reading what was said was pretty much a let down for me. This is one of those things that I think you really had to be there to get it. ( )

An enlightening read. The Dalai Lama has a pretty good grasp of the spiritual lessons to be had from the Gospels, even though he is not a Christian and does not know a lot about Christianity. In spite of the large differences in theology between Buddhism and Christianity, some of the spiritual principles are extremely similar. In fact, certain spiritual principals dealing with things like compassion and love are universal, to some extent, and are prominent in the teachings of all the major religions. ( )

The premise for this book is fantastic! Talk His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, into speaking before a Christian audience in Middlesex University, London. Call it The Good Heart, emphasizing the humanitarian aspects of both Christianity and Buddhism. Give him eight passages of Gospel scripture to read in preparation for the seminar, and hear what he has to say.

The eight chosen passages are:

Matthew 5:38-48, Love Your Enemy
Matthew 5:1-10, The Beatitudes
Mark 3:31-35, Equanimity
Mark 4:36-24, The Kingdom of God
Luke 9:28-36, The Transfiguration
Like 9:1-6, The Mission
John 12:44-50, Faith
John 20:10-18, The Resurrection

From the outset, The Dalai Lama assured his listeners that he had no intention of sowing seeds of doubt, and instead encouraged listeners to "experience the value of one's own religious tradition." He taught that the authentication of all religion is the realization of a good heart. He acknowledged similarities between Christianity and Buddhism, especially in regards to compassion, brotherhood and forgiveness, and strongly encouraged meetings between people from different religious traditions (not scholars but "genuine practitioners" interested in “sharing insights”). Yet he feels it does a disservice to both religions not to acknowledge their uniqueness. The Dalai Lama would rather we remain Christian than try to "put a yak's head on a sheep's body" and call ourselves Buddhist-Christians.

He spoke, as always, with insight and humility, and his take on Christian scriptures was wonderfully fresh and simple. My respect for the Dalai Lama increased even more. Yet I was a little disappointed; invariably, the discussion of Christian scriptures steered into comparisons with Buddhism—to be expected, I'm sure—but Buddhist thought is so ingrained in the Dalai Lama that much of the discussion felt foreign to me. Not that I couldn't follow his thinking, and not that I don't appreciate the similarities between Christianity and Buddhism and their common goal of compassion, but Eastern thinking is just ... well ... different. ( )