Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World

In his "fascinating approach to moral guidance in an age of technological globalization and multicultural societies,"(L.A. Times) the Dalai Lama, honored in 1989 with the Nobel Peace Prize, and spiritual light for followers of Tibetan Buddism, argues that humanity does not need religion to lead a happy and ethical life. Ten years ago, in his bestselling Ethics for a New Millennium, His Holiness the Dalai Lama first proposed an approach to ethics based on universal rather than religious principles. Now, in Beyond Religion, the Dalai Lama, at his most compassionate and outspoken, elaborates and deepens his vision for the nonreligious way. Transcending the mere "religion wars," he outlines a system of secular ethics that gives tolerant respect to religion -- those that ground ethics in a belief in God and an afterlife, and those that understand good actions as leading to better states of existence in future lives. And yet, with the highest level of spiritual and intellectual authority, the Dalai Lama makes a claim for what he calls "a third way." This book is a system of secular ethics that transcends religion.