My Spiritual Autobiography

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Mon autobiographie spirituelle (My Spiritual Autobiography) is a book published in 2009, compiled by Sofia Stril-Rever [fr] from speeches and interviews of the 14th Dalai Lama.[1]

Description[edit]

The book is a compilation of unpublished texts of the Dalai Lama, which is accompanied by comments from the translator and collaborator of the Dalai Lama, Sofia Stril-Rever. Initially, the book was published in French, and in 2010 it became available translated and published in English and Russian.[2] As of 2024, it has been translated into some twenty languages.[3]

The title "My spiritual autobiography" may be a little misleading, for in some ways the book does not resemble an autobiography.[4] The book identifies three characteristics – his compassionate motivation, lack of self-importance and flexibility of mind – while showing the internal coherence of the Dalai Lama's views in their temporal development, and the continuity of these points of view.[4]

The book is composed of three parts.[2] The first considers universal questions; in the second, the Dalai Lama - as a Buddhist monk - expressed his hopes for the spiritual transformation of the world through the transformation of each person's mind, and the third provides a history of the Dalai Lama, spiritual master of the Tibetan people, and 14th Dalai Lama's life in exile.

The book ends with a poem, 'Never Give Up', written by the American writer Ron Whitehead in 1994, inspired by the Dalai Lama.[2][5]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 14th Dalai Lama (2012). Stril-Rever, Sofia (ed.). My spiritual autobiography. London: Rider. ISBN 978-1-84604-242-3.
  2. ^ a b c Mooney, J. (9 December 2010). AARP The Magazine (ed.). "The Dalai Lama's Spiritual Journey". Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Stril-Rever, S. - Tsadra Commons". commons.tsadra.org. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b Paine, J. (23 January 2011). The Washington Post (ed.). "The forging of a holy man". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  5. ^ "The Story Behind the Ron Whitehead poem "Never Give Up"". insomniacathon.org. 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2018.