Not for Happiness

DJK generally seems to know his Western audiences but this book contained some claims that made me raise my eyebrows.
The speaker though. Generally nice clear diction for non native English speakers like me, but what’s with the pronunciation of Buddhist terms and Tibetan names? Clearly he hasn’t done his homework?

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brilliant and inspiring

it's tremendously valuable for everyone who wants to practice the Longchen Nyingthig Preliminaries (Ngöndro). Go for it!

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Rubbish!

"Depression... is often triggered by bad habits that are the result of a lack of discipline, such as procrastinating... or longing to be lazy or hating routine. Were depressed people to apply a little discipline to their lives, I feel sure that a huge chunk of their depression would simply disappear... If you maintain the discipline of practicing it regularly, your mind... will be prevented from sinking into depression.".

This extract shows an alarming ignorance about depression, which is a response to trauma, not a" longing to be lazy". That quote in particular highlights a lack of compassion and a level of ignorance that has no place in any attempt to 'help' those with depression.

Of course self-discipline helps, as does a healthy diet, exercise, meditation and positive social contact. Yet often these things are (or seem to be) out of reach and various factors prevent those who are suffering with depression from easily accessing such modalities. That's the flippin problem! If it were as simple as deciding to pull your socks up and then just getting on with it, depression wouldn't be the monumental struggle that it is for some people.

This is the second book I've tried by this author and both of them have offered very little, except to reveal the dogma in Buddhism. Although dogma is present in all religions and Buddhism is no exception, Thich Nhat Hanh and Yongey Mungyur Rinpoche are much better at presenting Buddhist approaches to life's complexities, without the condescending arrogance.

You think that doing 100,000 prostrations dissolves your ego? Think again. In obsessing with the achievement of such aims, the ego is very much present and in control. Prostrations can be worthwhile, but they can equally constitute dogma. Beware idolatry of religious instructors and resist the urge to partake in sycophancy (which seems rife among the five star reviews). Especially toward those who claim to be more enlightened than they actually are. Far better are the offerings of Thich Nhat Hanh and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, who both present Buddhist approaches with more compassion and less condescending arrogance than this author does in his books. You're better off listening to the birds and the wind in the trees than to this book.

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