An instant New York Times bestseller
Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question.
Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop
Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the
soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships--or, as
they would say, because of them--they are two of the most joyful people
on the planet.
In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama's home in
Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness's eightieth birthday and to
create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on
their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy
in the face of life's inevitable suffering?
They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared
their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and
punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss
and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with
joy.
This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing
and unprecendented week together, from the first embrace to the final
good-bye.
We get to listen as they explore the Nature of True Joy and confront
each of the Obstacles of Joy--from fear, stress, and anger to grief,
illness, and death. They then offer us the Eight Pillars of Joy, which
provide the foundation for lasting happiness. Throughout, they include
stories, wisdom, and science. Finally, they share their daily Joy
Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives.
The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers
himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the
reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of
which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and
of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives.
