Written for both Tibetan and Western readers, OPENING THE EYE OF NEW AWARENESS is the Dalai Lama's first religious work. It is not an edited transcript of public lectures, but is His Holliness' own summation of Buddhist doctrine and practice. Completed in 1963, just four years after his escape from Tibet and four years after completing his religious education, it is a work of consummate scholarship by a 27 year-old geshe, wise beyond his years. Nowhere in his many subsequent works does one find a more clear and concise exposition of the essentials of Buddhist thought. Indeed, all of His Holiness' many publications are in some sense commentaries on this first book.

Praise & Reviews "...an excellent and original synopsis of Gelukpa doctrine for serious students of Tibetan Buddhism."—Middle Way "...a remarkable work, providing a compendium of Buddhist doctrine and practice that is both dense and rich, serving both as a summation of knowledge and as an invitation to further study. Nowhere in his many subsequent works does one find a more clear and concise exposition of the essentials of Buddhist thought." "All of His Holiness' many publications are in some sense commentaries on this first book."—Donald S. Lopez, Jr., from his Introduction "It must be noted that this is not, as in the case of many works attributed to the Dalai Lama, merely an edited transcript of a public lecture, but a complete, singularly authored work introducing the Buddhist doctrines that have been practiced for thousands of years in Tibet... this new translation revitalizes the original teaching while more fully placing it in an historical perspective. A remarkable work worthy of a new look."—NAPRA ReVIEW "A very highly recommended work of Buddhist scholarship, wisdom, and compassion."—REVIEWER'S BOOKWATCH

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, was born in northeastern Tibet in 1935. He is widely recognized as both the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. In 1950, Tibet was invaded by China, leading to His Holiness’s flight into India in 1959. Since then, His Holiness has resided in Dharamsala, India, the site of the Tibetan-government-in-exile. In recognition of his tireless work for the liberation of Tibet, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Translator Donald S. Lopez, Jr., has authored and edited numerous books, including Prisoners of Shangr-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. He chairs the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he lives.