How to See Yourself as You Really Are

By: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Jeffrey Hopkins PhD

Narrated by: Jeffrey Hopkins PhD

In How to See Yourself as You Really Are, the world's foremost Buddhist leader teaches listeners how to recognize and dispel misguided notions of self and embrace the world from a more realistic and loving perspective.

Step-by-step exercises help listeners shatter their false assumptions and ideas and see the world as it actually exists. His Holiness sets the stage for discovering the reality behind appearances. But getting past one's misconceptions is only a prelude to right action, and the final section describes how to harness the power of meditative concentration to the service of love, and vice versa, so that true altruistic enlightenment is attained.

Enlivened by personal anecdotes and intimate accounts of the Dalai Lama's own life experiences, How to See Yourself as You Really Are is an inspirational and empowering guide to achieving self-awareness that can be enjoyed by spiritual seekers of all faiths.

©2006 His Holiness the Dalai Lama. All rights reserved (P)2006 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

I liked the concepts!

I found this a very informative book. very thought provoking. I definitely recommend it for anyone wanting insight into impermanence.

Very deep

I went to a retreat based on this book, and we spent over an hour talking about just the first few sentences. There is so much in this book that you'll need to read/listen to it a few times to begin to grasp it as a whole. This book can change your life with a little time, meditation and mindfulness of what is being presented.

The Heart of the Matter

Meditation is the key to attaining insight and universal loving-kindness. In Buddhism, the practice of meditation is not for "destressing" or other superficial goals. It takes hard work akin to an intensive workout regime.

In How to See Yourself as You Really Are, H.H. the Dalai Lama outlines the worldview one gains from diligence in Insight meditation. Through meditation, one can understand and accept that our sense perceptions are fallible and that they operate entirely within the interface of consciousness, so that what one perceives is also what is generated "out of the box" by our brains as a way to navigate the world around us.

Immanuel Kant called this the Phenomenal world. It is not to say that nothing actually exists, but rather, by default, the behind-the-scenes conceptualization that is constantly streaming into consciousness is not as solid or concrete as one is wont to suppose. What objectively exists "out there" is unknowable. The phenomena generated and perceived through consciousness is of one's own creation. It is in this sense that everything one perceives is inseparable from oneself.

It is possible to continue to operate under the conventions discrete objects, ownership and the notion of selfhood without becoming entangled in the cyclical pattern of attachment and aversion. H.H. the Dalai Lama presents in this book the framework within Buddhism for achieving this clearly and without the usual metaphors that can come across as contradictory or esoteric.

Unfortunate Narrator

I was really interested in this book - and I think I may purchase it in print form instead. I listen to a lot of audio books and I have a very high tolerance for poor readers but this one was impossible for me to listen to. I struggled through half of it and had to move on to something else. Very disappointing!

Hard to follow for someone new to it.

I love to hear books from all cultures and religions but found this hard to follow. I am new to Buddhism so I am not surprised. let's chalk it up to being new to it all and continue to learn and live. I will listen to it again after I have listened to more on the subject.
thanks to all who helped with this and to the master for writing it.

In depth instruction for a beginner

detailed instructions for practice/meditation including pitfalls encountered along the way. I enjoyed the pensive paced narrator

Buy the Book

I'm having a terrible time getting through this. The narrator is just horrible. There is a lot of valuable information in there but I keep banging my head on the wall and turning it off. I'm going to buy the book and you should too.

One of my favorite books by H.H. Dalai Lama

Would you listen to How to See Yourself as You Really Are again? Why?

I have listened to this book several times because there is so much to learn and new insights are gained each time. It is the refresher I go to most often.

What about Jeffrey Hopkins’s performance did you like?

Jeffrey Hopkins is knowledgeable, so he knows how to place emphasis appropriately. His voice is a little bit monotone, but the content is fascinating so it doesn't bother me. If I need to listen carefully, I listen at regular speed. If I am listening again after a short interval, I listen at 1.5 X speed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but breaks for pondering the content are helpful. And I often rewind to make sure I've fully taken in a certain point.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book.

Great book with horrible narrator!

If you could sum up How to See Yourself as You Really Are in three words, what would they be?

Three words:
Fire this narrator!
Mr. Hopkins-perhaps You are good writer, but keep yourself behind the desk and DO NOT record ANY books. Your voice and style of narration are not made for public listening. YOU made this book boring to death and should apology to Dalai Lama.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Didn't get there yet. I have to get hardcopy to go through.

What didn’t you like about Jeffrey Hopkins’s performance?

EVERYTHING!

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

Teachings about compassion... Very mind changing.

Great Book

I have heard it said by s scholar that His Holiness the Dali Lama thinks that a Western audience would benefit most by understanding emptiness. This book indeed beautifully fulfills his belief.

There really is no technical discussion of the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, karma, rebirth, the Wheel of Samsara, the five aggregates, etc. which can be found it other of his work's. The achievement of this book is to explain a nuanced and technically full expose of emptiness in a brilliantly plain spoken manner.

I enjoyed Mr. Hopkins lively translation and the short chapters regarding a.that at times is torture to read and mind bending to understand. I also found his voice soothing and authorities.

A few extra treats is that the Dali Lama talks a bit about himself in a revealing way. There is no doubt that he wrote this book with in a passionate and truly heartfelt manner. I also found his meditation suggestions after each major topic to be rich and instructive.