How to Solve Our Human Problems: The Four Noble Truths by Kelsang Gyatso

How to Solve Our Human Problems: The Four Noble Truths Reviews

• 
  Jeremy Ray

  For those interested in (or already getting into) Kadampa Buddhism, I found this book to be full of great advice and interesting perspectives. Reading it feels like meditation itself, in a way. There's a lot of wisdom crammed into a small space here. Definitely worth it.
• 
  Jamie George-holland

  Although this books subtitle is the Four Noble Truths, the bulk of the book is dedicated to the topic of solving our anger with patience, and is thus invaluable in our world. It is actually a commentary to the Buddhist Master Shantideva's chapter on Patience in his masterpiece "Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life" and is probably the clearest English language commentary on this topic ever to be written.
• 
  Paulette Ponte

  Excellent, easy to read guidance to live a happy peaceful life, however, easy to read is one thing putting this information into practice seems extremely difficult. Like everything else, you just have to have faith and take it one day at a time.
• 
  Manuel Pulido Mendoza

  Really practical and useful. Buddhism really is a practical way of solving problems.
  The first part of the book is the explanation of The Four Noble Truths which are:
  
  "You should know sufferings.
  You should abandon origins.
  You should attain cessations.
  You should practise the path."
  
  The second part is based on the advantages of practising the patience, avoiding anger and accepting suffering.
  
  The appendix include a short explanation of the Mind's Buddhist conception and on meditation.
  Very helpful book to bring inner and outer peace.
  
  
  
• 
  Manna

  I have learned so much from reading this book. My problems with anger have dramatically decreased since this book has come into my life. I have found ways to calm my mind, and not allow the anger to envelope me and control me as it used to.
  
  THIS IS AN AWESOME BOOK for anyone who struggles in life, therefore, it would be perfect for anyone
• 
  Angelica

  I will prob. have to go back and re-read this book from time to time.
• 
  Kris

  Read it in conjunction with a dharma class two years ago. It still resonates with me.
• 
  Brenda Crawford

  Very inspiring book.
• 
  Jack Thomas

  This is truly a great book, that will help anyone deal with the everyday issues that come up to interfere with inner peace.
• 
  Bastian B

  An amazing book about using Buddhist Wisdom to handle anger and develop patience.
• 
  Chris Parsons

  4.5 - Best book on anger management I've come across.
• 
  Audrey

  Interesting book.
• 
  Brona's Books

  I've been attending mediation classes on and off since I was about 19. The idea of creating inner calm and peace by letting go suffering and anger has been a lifelong journey.
  Early on I was resistant to many of the Buddhists idea around suffering being all in the mind, but after years of listening and reading and mediating it makes more sense and is starting to feel like a natural, do-able process.
  I'm now at the point, where I only attend meditation classes on a top-up basis. When my mind feels chaotic and my own methods of calming those thoughts isn't working as effectively as it could, I return to class and the teachings of Buddha.
  
  Some of the books are better than others.
  Some are quite dull to be honest. The writing is plain and stodgy and they fail to capture or reveal the essence in a way that you can relate to.
  
  This book was not quite as grim as that, but it was close. Thankfully the classes I attend are run by people trained to discuss these ideas in a more relatable, modern way. They are simply there to share their understanding of the basic Buddhist tenets, then lead various meditation sessions that help us let go our suffering and find inner happiness.
  
  It's harder than it sounds.
  
  After 3 months of being ravaged by bushfires in NSW, with friends losing their homes, living with smoke and poor air quality and a truly frightening week when our home was in real danger, my mind was not feeling calm. I returned to classes to top-up and let go.
  
  It also made me finish this book finally.
  Reading this book on its own will not enlighten you or inspire you to try meditation. The teachings in this book are best discussed in classes. I suspect that most Buddhist books are best read in conjunction with meditation and yoga classes.
  
  
• 
  Denis Kotnik

  The concepts of Dharma are written very shallow and from religious point of view. I like the idea that suffering comes from desire and attachments, but the author cant go outside the 'religious world' explaining this. Alan Watts, for example, does not need religion in order to explain those concepts and he goes beyond that.
  
  For example, the author is writing about subjective experience of death and reincarnation: one person dies and living person next to it quickly finds a parrot (an animal) so the soul of the dead one reincarnates to the parrot. Then the living person tells to the parrot to fly to some place where he will find a recent dead body. The parrot then finds that body and the soul jumps from parrot to that body. And the body becomes living human being again. So we are literally (not metaphorically) talking about zombies.
  And one more example: the author states that he found a reincarnated soul of her (dead) mother.
  
  I don't understand or like those ideas. To much for me.
• 
  Shelby

  In reality, this is somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me.
  
  It definitely provided some insight into a Buddhist mindset, so in that way I got out of it what I was looking for. And it certainly has much practical advice that one can apply to cultivate patience and discourage anger in oneself, regardless of one’s spiritual beliefs in a short text.
  
  That said, I think I’d like it more if I were already Buddhist. I’m left wondering how strong the arguments would still be if you didn’t believe in karma or reincarnation, which the author takes as a given. And the writing, while clear, is a bit dull to follow.
  
  Overall, I’d recommend it to somebody who wants to know more about Buddhism (note: Geshe Kelsang Gyatso has a ton of other books for this purpose as well), but if you’re just interested in some practical life advice, maybe learn to meditate with The Mind Illuminated instead.
  
  P.S. If you do read it and don’t know much about Buddhism, I recommend starting with the appendices.
• 
  Anthony

  Also enjoyed this one a lot more then I thought I would. (that's usually how these things work out)
  
  The first 2/3rd of this book was full of constructive lessons about anger and patience that honestly will leave me thinking about it for a really long time.
  
  I'll spare this review my thoughts about Buddhism but as a stand alone on just learning how to be a good human being I'll recommend this to practically everyone and there's always something to learn from this.
  
  Really honestly changed the way I think. That's how you know it's a gone one.
• 
  Di

  This was a good book on how to refocus our mind when we tend to get lost in negative thought patterns. I did find that it could have done with detailing more some of the principles. It felt like it was scratching the surface at times but I'm even more eager now to read more on the subject. I'd say it's a good introductory book.
• 
  Sara (BookshelfSOS)

  There were some beautiful quotes and some very good ideas about how to reframe anger and inconvenience into opportunities to practice patience and acceptance. Some of the ideas presented relied too heavily on a belief in a literal reincarnation/afterlife for me to find them useful.
• 
  Hector Sanchez

  Imprescindible. Te cambia la vida.
• 
  Lisa

  
  Basically our human problems will be solved if everyone takes care of themselves. You can change the world by changing yourself. By controlling ones mind, it is possible to eliminate suffering by denying the power delusions have over us. Delusions are mind experiences that result in anger, sadness, or jealousy through our attachments. By exercising control over one's mind (through mediation), virtues become stronger and happiness becomes less fleeting.
  
  This is an easy to read book with relation to normal daily life that serves as a reference- included is a glossary of terms, index, and logical subdivision for easy reference. The author is a Tibetan Buddhist.
• 
  Randi Taylor-Habib

  Great book for breaking down high tech spiritual information into an easy reading format. Talks about the state of our planet as a reflection of inner health, and how to heal our anger problem and considering others, very sweet and trustworthy book.
• 
  Heather

  It is a great book to read if you want to live a life of peace. Helps you cope with life in a healthy way. We need to learn to detach from our feelings and look in from the outside then we can cope with our problems more constructively. Also learning patient acceptance is key.
• 
  Alison

  Excellent source to explain in Buddhist philosophy how to deal with difficult times. I participated in a class lead by a Buddhist teacher and that could also be why the book was so powerful for me. Great section on understanding anger.
• 
  Laura

  If you have anger issues, this is an excellent book to read.