Tenzin Gyatso, born Lhamo Dondrup in 1935, is the fourteenth Dalai Lama. Tibetans recognise him as their highest spiritual leader and an emanation of the bodhisattva of compassion. He was the leader of the Tibetan Government until 1959.

When the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959, to go into exile, he carried his own copy of The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Tsongkhapa, the fourteenth-century founder of one of the branches of Tibetan Buddhism.
When The Great Treatise was later published in English, the Dalai Lama travelled to the United States to give a unique series of lectures on Tsongkhapa’s treatise: it was the first time that the Dalai Lama had examined a single work in such detail for a Western audience. In the eyes of the Dalai Lama, this text encompasses the totality of the Buddhist Way.
The present book is the result of those lectures, and it is a perfect introduction to Buddhism for the layperson. It offers step-by-step explanations of the Buddhist worldview as well as practical instructions for the attainment of enlightenment. It reveals the Dalai Lama’s erudition, accessibility and skill as an orator. In a world that is in dire need of harmony, the wisdom of these ancient teachings and their relevance for the present time do not need to be demonstrated.

• A brilliant introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by its leader.