Why Bother?

Have you ever wondered how you can make decisions every day that make for the most meaningful life for you? That was the main reason Lama Tsomo bothered with meditation in the first place. Indeed she and millions of others have found it to help in that very way, and much more. In this book, the first in the series Ancient Wisdom for Our Times: Tibetan Buddhist Practice, she shares a bit of her story and her teachers story, and a brief overview of the life of the Buddha. Previously published as part of the award-winning Why Is the Dalai Lama Always Smiling (2016), Lama Tsomo offers background so that you can understand some Tibetan Buddhist basics, essential context for the rest of the series. In future books she takes you on the journey of the real practices just as they were taught to her by her Tibetan teacher but presented Westerner to Westerner, in a witty and conversational style. This progression builds and deepens your understanding and your happiness. You could decide to meditate and just watch your breath every day, and not read this book and the series. But that would be like getting a cookbook and maybe even leafing through the pages but never making it into the kitchen, never learning how to make those recipes and nourish yourself. This book gives you the context, and the series gives you the understanding of how to use the practices so that you can gain the full benefit, as Buddhists say, for yourself and others.