<< Ancient Teachings in Modern Times by Venerable Lama Losang Samten.

Born in Tibet, Losang Samten lives in Philadelphia where he is spiritual director of a number of Buddhist centers. The former monk was a personal attendant to His Holiness the Dalai Lama ("lama" means "teacher of the dharma") and an advisor for (and actor in) Martin Scorsese's film Kundun.

To enable a fuller understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, Losang Samten has written "Ancient Teachings In Modern Times: Buddhism For The 21st Century" ($20 in paperback, self-published, available at losangsamten.com), edited by Lori Petruskevich.

In a conversational style that includes a number of anecdotes and reflections on his life (he is no stranger to suffering), the author explores karma, finding a guru (he is bothered by teachers who have succumbed to the lures of material possessions), meditation varieties (in Tibetan "samten" refers to "concentration meditation"), enlightenment, retreats and more.
Advertisement

The author notes that "in Buddhist teachings, there exist two different Truths: conventional truths and ultimate truths." The conventional truth is that the self exists, but the ultimate truth is that the self "does not exist independently; rather, it exists interdependently."

For the author, "the goal of spirituality is to overcome suffering, and suffering is caused by delusions, as a result of the three poisons (anger, attachment, and ignorance), with ignorance being at the root of all delusion and suffering. The delusions and imprints of delusions are like a debilitating disease, and the dharma is like a medicine or antidote. From the example of the garlic and the smell, it is clearly much more difficult to remove the smell of the garlic than to remove the garlic itself."

"It is my dream that everyone is kind to one another, showing deep respect and compassion for all humanity, all sentient beings, and Mother Earth."