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  • Published: 19 April 2012
  • ISBN: 9781448146352
  • Imprint: Ebury Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 5 hr 21 min
  • Narrator: Thandie Newton

Beyond Religion

Ethics for a Whole World




The Dalai Lama enters the debate on religion vs atheism

In 1999 His Holiness The Dalai Lama published the bestselling Ancient Wisdom: Modern World, which addressed the question of ethics for the new millennium. A decade later, His Holiness enters the contemporary debate about religion vs atheism, and returns to the theme of ethics with a major new work: Beyond Religion: ethics for a whole world.

In this thought-provoking new book he argues that religion is not a necessity for pursuing a spiritual life. Rather, focusing on tolerance and understanding between religions, as well as tolerance and understanding between believers (of any faith) and non-believers is the way forward. The way to achieve such an approach, he proposes, is through a system of secular ethics grounded in a deep appreciation of our common humanity. Aimed particularly at the general reader, Beyond Religion: ethics for a whole world is a modern-day polemic which outlines those ethics he believes should be central to our lives.


Thandie Newton has starred in Hollywood blockbusters such as Mission: Impossible II opposite Tom Cruise, The Pursuit of Happyness opposite Will Smith, and in Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla. She won critical acclaim for her role in Crash, for which she won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and she has also had a regular role in the television series ER.

  • Published: 19 April 2012
  • ISBN: 9781448146352
  • Imprint: Ebury Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 5 hr 21 min
  • Narrator: Thandie Newton

About the author

Dalai Lama

Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. His tireless efforts on behalf of human rights and world peace have brought him international recognition. He is the recipient of the Raoul Wallenberg Congressional Human Rights Award, the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Nobel Peace Prize. 

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Praise for Beyond Religion

The most influential person in the world

Time magazine

He draws crowds that no other spiritual leader or politican could hope to match...he seems to look at life in a different way to everyone else

The Times

A man of great intelligence and charm...(the Dalai Lama) has become the lynch pin of hope for a great many people.

Professor Robert Thurman, author of Infinite Life