The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Pico Iyer
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Book Summary Author: Pico Iyer Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published) Published: 2008-03-25 ISBN: 0307267601 Number of pages: 288 Publisher: Knopf |
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Book Reviews of the The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Customer Review: Ceaseless striving providing hope
Summary: 5 Stars
I heard an interview on NPR with Pico Iyer about this book. Iyer mentioned that the Dalai Lama was 72, which is my age as I write this. I was suddenly struck by the overwhelming thought that I had become this old with my spiritual values still unsettled.
By all measures, Pico Iyer is your basic everyday genius, world traveler and visionary writer. He has written eight books plus hundreds of essays, columns, articles and book reviews for Time, New York Times, National Geographic, Harpers, The Financial Times and more. He also happens to have known the Dalai Lama for over thirty years. I had held Pico Iyer on my "authors-to-read" list for too long to miss this opportunity.
Illustrated with many meetings and occasions over a period of decades, the author shows the enormous range of a seemingly simple man. The three sections of the book are titled: In Public, In Private, In Practice. Chapters are titled: The Conundrum, The Fairy Tale, The Icon, The Philosopher, The Mystery, The Monk, The Globalist, The Politician, The Future.
The fourteenth Dalai Lama is "built like a middle linebacker" but is nonviolent. He is deeply religious--he rises at 3:30am and meditates and prays for four hours--but advises others to find their own way. "A religious teacher who is telling people not to get confused or distracted by religion." He is considered a living god but insists over and over that he is "just a man."
He often says, "I don't know." At the end of a talk in Canada he says, "I will remain, to serve." He is famous for his laughter; he has a solid sense of humor but one suspects also he sees much silliness in the antics of those who ask him their profound questions or give him their worldly viewpoints.
The author succeeds in illuminating "one of the most visible figures on the planet," a man of wide talents and considerations, whose people revere him and hope to learn through his actions. Young Tibetans are impatient with his policies but are dumbstruck in his presence. He is a doctor of metaphysics but appears childlike to many. A living contradiction of superlatives.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book.