In this book on ethics the the Dalai Lama doesn’t take the religious stance of his Tibetan Buddhist beliefs, but instead develops an ethical stance built on the basic goodness and value he sees in all individuals worldwide. (For his books I've read, click on his name.)

If we accept the Dalai Lama’s worldview of basic goodness, then his ethics essentially come down to the “universal” Golden Rule. Although the Golden Rule has variations among the world’s various faith traditions, these variations are too slight to be significant, allowing it to be considered as truly “universal.” And many who declare themselves to be agnostics or atheists could also easily accept the ethics he expresses here and try to live by them. For those who have read other books by the Dalai Lama, very little in this book is original, but he writes very well and in a quite simple style. I recommend this book, but not as highly as “The Art of Happiness” (book 4).