HOW TO BE HAPPY - LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE

RATING - B

A collection of short pieces of wisdom arranged in topical order. A generally easy to read book, giving a break after the serious study style books I have been reading recently. That is not to say that there is nothing to learn within these snippets of wisdom, merely that it is not a serious practice to focus upon as much as advice, ideas, and a few meditations to balance and progress one's practice.

I would recommend this book to those wanting to find clues as to how to improve their state of life and living, those seeking understanding, and those wanting to take small steps towards big goals.

Incidentally, had I ever managed to get up to Sydney to attend the Vajrayana Institute, I might have encountered the author who teaches there regularly - but all three attempts to attend prior to my leaving Australia failed.

DAKINI'S WARM BREATH – JUDITH SIMMER-BROWN

RATING: B

With a dry start, this book became increasingly interesting as it progressed. There is a lot of information about dakinis contained within the book, covering every aspect thinkable from the 'what' to 'who' to 'how' to 'when' and 'where'. If you have never heard of a dakini, or are not exactly sure what they are/might be, this book covers everything you need to know to fix your knowledge gap. Specifically of interest to me were the latter chapters, dealing with human dakinis and encounters with dakinis.

Thorough research is evident from the multiple references, making it a trustable source of information. Now, why don't they have a book like this for EVERY Buddhist oddity, from devas and deities to hungry ghosts, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas....

WIDENING THE CIRCLE OF LOVE - DALAI LAMA

RATING: B

I have read multiple books written by HHDL, some of which have been extremely helpful to my progression and understanding of Buddhism, whilst others explain teachings and facts in a different way and so concrete what is a bit mushy.

This book reads either as a course of practice to follow or as a collection of helpful ideas. Having read the book on loan from the lbirary, I am using it for the latter - if I ever got myself a copy, I would use it as an actual study course to practice from.

Some of the information in the book was helpful to me at this precise time, as it gave me ideas of ways to approach problems that are arising for my father - but I have yet to encourage him to read the book himself, or to let me read some of it to him - which I know would benefit him in his current concerns. I have just taken some ideas and explained them in the same way as HHDL. I hope to reread this book sometime in the futurte, when I have more time, and practice in full - raher than in pieces, as I currently seem to be started on several of the steps rather than fully competent at any.