I listened to the audio tape rather than reading it, so maybe I missed something. I definitely admire the Dalai Lama and what he stands for, but what the book preaches is pretty logical for any normal human being and served more as a reminder rather than new insight. Compassion and happiness...easier said than done, at least in our society today. I wish he would've explained more how he came to what he is...why and how he doesn't crave what he doesn't have, or get angry when wrong has hit him. It seemed like he was basically preaching to the choir. Anyone who would read his book would hope to get more out of what he gave. What he said was logical and nothing I haven't heard before. The meditations were pretty cool, and I wish he wouldn't gotten more into them. It seemed a little repetetive, but it was a good reminder of how we should all be living our lives. Although I could go hang out with my parent's for a couple of hours for this reminder.