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A nice collection of five original 8" x 10" photo portraits and stills of Richard Gere at the beginning of his career. They include two stills of him bare chested from "Bloodbrothers", close-up portrait of him wearing sunglasses from "American Gigolo", full length seated portrait of him in hay stack from "Days Of Heaven" & close-up portrait of him from "Yanks". All are fine and are being sold as a collection only. ... Read more

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BONUS FEATURE: Conversation with actor Richard Gere

Gallileo, Copernicus, Newton, Niels Bohr, Einstein. Their insights shook our perception of who we are and where we stand in the world and in their wake have left an uneasy co-existence: science vs. religion, faith vs. empirical enquiry. Which is the keeper of truth? Which is the true path to understanding reality?

After forty years of study with some of the greatest scientific minds as well as a lifetime of meditative, spiritual and philosophical study, the Dalai Lama presents a brilliant analysis of why both disciplines must be pursued in order to arrive at a complete picture of the truth. Science shows us ways of interpreting the physical world, while spirituality helps us cope with reality. But the extreme of either is impoverishing. The belief that all is reducible to matter and energy leaves out a huge range of human experience: emotions, yearnings, compassion, culture. At the same time, holding unexamined spiritual beliefs–beliefs that are contradicted by evidence, logic, and experience–can lock us into fundamentalist cages.

Through an examination of Darwinism and karma, quantum mechanics and philosophical insight into the nature of reality, neurobiology and the study of consciousness, the Dalai Lama draws significant parallels between contemplative and scientific examination of reality. "I believe that spirituality and science are complementary but different investigative approaches with the same goal of seeking the truth," His Holiness writes. "In this, there is much each may learn from the other, and together they may contribute to expanding the horizon of human knowledge and wisdom."

This breathtakingly personal examination is a tribute to the Dalai Lama’s teachers–both of science and spirituality. The legacy of this book is a vision of the world in which our different approaches to understanding ourselves, our universe and one another can be brought together in the service of humanity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (60)

A wide point of view
It is not a scientific book but a book that speaks of science through the eyes and experience of His Holiness. It is interesting though not revealing. It does arise the morality issues regarding the new frontier of genetics but then there are not magic answers. Hoping that the scientific world has a morality compass to guide, or better yet, to constrain the reach of possibilities to the ones that are only beneficial to a wide range of population, or the ones that has no long term negative consequences are in fact the wishes of all of us.Intersting to read? Yes. Scientific? No.

Thought Provoking
When I'm looking for a new book to read, I always
read the Amazon reviews.Even the not-so-great reviews
for this book were well thought out and balanced.I
had to take a look.I may not agree with everything
in the book, but I found it be thought provoking and
well worth my time.Whenever we, as human beings,
attempt to bring together science and spirituality, it
is, in my humble opinion, a step foward in the evolution
of our species. Sherri Cortland,ND; [...]

I love this book
The Dalai Lama shares his knowledge and opinions in a way I just wasn't expecting.Not only is he a world spiritual leader, he also has an enormous level of knowledge in the way of science, technology, and medicine.In this book, he challenges the scriptural basis of religion while still conveying his faith in his way of life.He is extremely open-minded when it comes to scientific discovery and he is also critical of the scientific community's complete rejection of first-person observation.Excellent points in this book, I've read it three times now.

Well written, well intentioned - poorly argued
Though so well-written and polished that it's impossible these are the words of H.H. himself, I have no reason to suspect the spirit and intention behind the words isn't truly his own. This is a great read, and I think that the Dalai Lama had only the best of intentions in producing this work.

It starts out very endearingly, relating his early life and introduction to science through Heinrich Harrer and eventually many eminent scientists, after he fled Tibet in 1959. These encounters are presented in a very charming and humorous way and the Dalai Lama's humility shines as he makes every effort to take his background in Buddhist philosophy and somehow use it to grasp genetics, cosmology, quantum physics, neuroscience and more. If only every non-scientist took such an active interest!

The problem though, for me, is that this lack of real scientific training becomes evident as the Dalai Lama begins to present his own arguments. There are frequent calls for rational inquiry, comparison of disparate claims mediated by valid evidence, etc., but when it comes down to it he seems incapable of following these principles. As an example, the thorny issue of human cloning comes up, and H.H. mentions his own profound disgust when first becoming aware of the implications - and then goes on to recommend our 'innate sense of disgust' as valid criteria for deciding what's right and wrong, as these extremely complex issues begin to pile up around us. This might even be a good criteria in this particular situation - but then, there are a lot of people who think they feel an 'innate disgust' at Islam, or Christianity, and that doesn't prove it's 'wrong.' Possibly the most irritating for me was when he went on to claim that if we use genetic engineering to enhance people (which will undoubtedly be a costly process, at least at first), then we risk turning an 'inequality of circumstance (relative wealth) into an inequality of nature' (relatively superior genomes). Definitely a legitimate concern - but has it not occurred to him that the system of reincarnate lamas (tulkus) in Tibet is probably the closest extant example of exactly such a system? That he himself has lived 95% of his life in egregious wealth and privilege (relative to the average Tibetan, anyway) precisely because most Tibetans believe that he (and other 'tulkus' - there are hundreds, if not thousands of reincarnate lama lineages) somehow has an inherently superior nature or karmic conditions (what could be considered the Tibetan Buddhist version of genetics). A lot of the other arguments, regarding karma, reincarnation, etc., basically hover around the idea, 'Science hasn't proved them wrong yet, so we're going to continue believing them.' His 'support' for reincarnation comes in the form of relying on the testimony of a 4-year-old girl in India who claims to remember her past lives. "Such phenomena cannot be easily ignored" he says - and yet the Tibetan Buddhists 'easily ignore' the many other facets of Indian religion that don't accord with their views - things like the supremacy of Shiva (not Buddha!), or Vishnu incarnating in the world, and so on. In another book (Consciousness at the Crossroads), an open-minded neuroscientist actually suggests a very simple experiment that could prove or disprove reincarnation - "Let's see how much science/neuroscience the 15th Dalai Lama can remember from this life, where you've been exposed to so much scientific training!" No one seems eager to take him up on any experiment so clear and reasonable.

None of this is to say H.H. is a bad guy - actually I think he is making an incredible contribution to the world. That doesn't change the fact that when he argues here against science or presents his views on issues such as genetic engineering, he rarely avoids hypocrisy or ostrichism.

The major exception to this is the research he has greatly helped to facilitate in beginning the scientific study of meditation and long-term meditators - this is the one area of Buddhism I know of that is being vindicated by true empirical/rational inquiry (as he recommends), and this contribution alone is very meaningful.

Recommended, but don't expect science to 'converge' with Tibetan Buddhism and support the reincarnation of high lamas any time soon.

Great wisdom from a great man!
I had originally found this book at the library, I had a lot of extra time a few years back and decided to go on a reading quest, anyone ever do that?I only had one book that I read and read it religiously for ten years, The Archaic Revive by Terence McKenna.
I decided to check out the bibliography for this book.I was interested in what books had inspired him and then what books inspired them and so on, I wanted to get to the source of it all, and to make a long story short, eventually I came to Aristotle, Socrates, Buddhist wisdom, shamanism, and quantum mechanics.
In my opinion The Dalai Lama is one of the last great thinkers left, and in this book he goes on his own quest of sorts to study technology and science and goes into great detail about how this can benefit spirituality, I learned a great deal from his wisdom and so will you, it's a must read! ... Read more

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2007 Richard Gere Poster (12 inch x 16 inch approx) size spiral bound wall calendar. Imported from Europe. Loads of great Richard pics. A must for any fan. ... Read more

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12 x 16 wall calendar ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

For Richard Gere fans
I bought this calendar as a gift for a friend who is a huge Richard Gere fan.She was delighted with it.The photos range from Gere as a very young actor to present.The pages are large and there are bonus stickers of Gere on the back. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Fem, published by Difusion Cultural Feminista, A.C. on June 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1457 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: La infidelidad ... ¿privilegio? ¿derecho? masculino.(TT: Infidelity... privilege? right? masculine.)(Reseña)
Author: Josefina Hernández Téllez
Publication: Fem (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2002
Publisher: Difusion Cultural Feminista, A.C.
Volume: 25Issue: 231Page: 41(2)

Article Type: Reseña

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This digital document is an article from El Ritmo de la Noche, published by Editorial Sur, Inc. on December 1, 1999. The length of the article is 965 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: A Ritmo de Cine.(TT: News from the film industry.)
Author: Alfredo De Armas
Publication: El Ritmo de la Noche (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 1999
Publisher: Editorial Sur, Inc.
Page: 30

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This digital document is an article from Semana, published by Spanish Publications, Inc. on August 11, 2000. The length of the article is 574 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Dos estrellas y un amor.(TT: Two stars and one love.)(Reseña)
Author: Gustavo Lafarge
Publication: Semana (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 11, 2000
Publisher: Spanish Publications, Inc.
Volume: 6Issue: 389Page: 20

Article Type: Reseña

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This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on March 31, 2007. The length of the article is 915 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Liar, liar.(Movies - Articles)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
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This digital document is an article from National Catholic Reporter, published by Thomson Gale on May 11, 2007. The length of the article is 1119 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Eccentric Americans: 'Year of the Dog' is a whimsical look at animal activism; 'The Hoax' recounts an outlandish literary stunt.(MOVIES)(Movie review)
Author: Joseph Cunneen
Publication: National Catholic Reporter (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 11, 2007
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Volume: 43Issue: 27Page: 16(1)

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This digital document is an article from Semana, published by Thomson Gale on June 18, 2006. The length of the article is 952 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Papasotes de la farándula: en el cine y la televisión son los héroes que salvan al mundo; miles los aclaman, pero en la intimidad, cada uno es el rey de su propio hogar, con su reina y pequeños príncipes y princesas. La luz de su vida.(padres famosos)
Author: Sindy M. Funk
Publication: Semana (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 18, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 12Issue: 694Page: 19(2)

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This digital document is an article from Semana, published by Spanish Publications, Inc. on February 1, 2002. The length of the article is 954 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Juego de poder.(TT: Power play.)(Reseña)
Publication: Semana (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2002
Publisher: Spanish Publications, Inc.
Volume: 8Issue: 466Page: 38

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In this issue: Oprah talks to the Dalai Lama! Also, Queen Rania of Jordan, Dr. Phil, Suze Orman, fashion, beauty, and much more! ... Read more