Compassion in Emptiness

Compassion in Emptiness is comprised of a series of talks given by the Dalai Lama at Radio City Music Hall in New York City over four days in May 2010, an event made possible in part by Richard Gere's foundation. Here, the actor serves as host, introducing his guest before taking a seat in the audience to participate in the opening prayers and listen attentively. In this release, the order is somewhat altered: the first disc features the most general presentation, a public talk delivered May 23 in which the Dalai Lama speaks to the issue of how a person can achieve secular happiness—without recourse to religion—by cultivating a spirit of respect for others and a sense of compassion (the speech is followed by a Q&A). The remaining three discs present the morning and afternoon sessions of May 20–22 (each approximately two hours long), in which the Dalai Lama employs specific classic texts—Nagarjuna's A Commentary on Bodhicitta and Shantideva's Bodhisattva's Way of Life—as a springboard to discourse on the principles of Buddhist practice as a means of achieving inner peace (i.e., the emptiness of self that brings enlightenment). While this set will especially appeal to those who have already embraced Buddhism, it should also have wider appeal, since the Dalai Lama is such a powerful and personally endearing presence whose message is universally applicable. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)