Summary

The second day of the dialogues and the second section of this book are dedicated to the obstacles to joy. This first chapter briefly introduces the reader to the concept of discovering “joy in the face of suffering” (83), which the conversation will delve into over the next two days. The Dalai Lama suggests that developing a mental immunity similar to the construct of a physical immune system is the way to alleviate suffering and other obstacles to joy. He defines mental immunity as “learning to avoid the destructive emotions and to develop the positive ones” (83).

The conversation turns next to Archbishop Tutu, who agrees with the Dalai Lama, but adds his own thoughts to the argument. He argues that emotions, including negative ones, are “natural and unavoidable” (85), and thus there is no usefulness in feeling shame or guilt...