The Dalai Lama is an important Buddhist monk of the Gelug school of Buddhism whose views of religion are shaped largely by Eastern thought, especially Mahayana Buddhism, which focuses on the removal of desire and aversion in the soul.
By bringing this worldview to the large question of ethics, the Dalai Lama splits the difference between religious devotion and the universalism of his own faith. He argues past religious dogma by going behind religious belief to explain how humans each form religious beliefs as a catalogue of knowledge that seems sacred to us because we hope it will bring us happiness. The Dalai Lama then explains that no matter what religion one claims to believe, all of us are able to attain peace and happiness through empathy for others and through a life of sacrifice and open-mindedness.
These teachings are properly Buddhist in their interpretation of human suffering. Buddhism argues that suffering in the human soul is the product of desire or aversion, and that true happiness is only available after one learns to overcome their desires. This would lead to a pensive, openminded perspective that would seek peace and understanding above all dogmas of any political system or religion.
This book is controversial because of the religious beliefs of conservative practitioners of religion who view universalism as a strike against the exclusivity of their faith tradition.
