Tiny Buddha, Big Wisdom: Asking Life’s Deep Questions

I’m not a huge fan of vague, flowery, New Age jargon, so I’ve gone to great effort to keep this book practical and rooted in reality.
~ Tiny Buddha

I absolutely loved and heartily recommend that you too devour Lori Deschene’s Tiny Buddha. I loved it precisely because Lori means what she says above. The New Age jargon is just that; it may feel good to read but the impact is far from deep or lasting.

Not so the case for Tiny Buddha.

Maybe it’s all in her writing, in the brilliant way in which she expresses thoughts in words. Maybe it’s the specific choice of words and the particular way she weaves in her own story, interspersed with the stories of others and punctuated with her meaningful questions. Maybe it’s in the unique way she nudges you to really think about those questions. Maybe it’s all in her pure wisdom, despite her sincere modesty. And maybe it is the fusion of it all that makes it such a delicious and moving experience to read.

The questions are what unite us. It’s up to me, and it’s up to you, to identify and use the answers that empower each of us as individuals.
~ Tiny Buddha

Tiny Buddha transformed me in the 2-day span of time when I read this digital “page-turner” – even though Lori kindly sent me a print copy that had been sitting on my desk at home because I had no room to bring it along in my suitcase so the digital version came to the South Pacific where I read her brilliant work. Captivating and mesmerizing, her use of the English language is stunning. It reads like music and it flows like a perfect river through a gorge.

The beautiful writing aside, Lori’s book was powerful to receive. I used to think happiness evolved around making it big in the corporate world, and in my mind, it always came with fancy positions like vice president and CEO. Then one day I woke up and realized that was a shadow of the wrong dream. My heart lay elsewhere.

The truth, as messy as it sounds, is that the only way out is through. And the only way to let go is to truly believe in the possibility of a different way of being–to know in our head and in our heart that we can live a life that doesn’t revolve around having been hurt or fearing future pain.
~ Tiny Buddha

For well over two years now, the personal development world has been a large part of my life, both in practice and in consuming information and learning better ways of living. Still, I had not read anything that so clearly addressed the intangible topics of pain, suffering, love, compassion, meaning, change, fate, and the all-encompassing word of all, happiness.

I believe Lori’s own skepticism of these general notions fired up her curiosity to the point of writing this book. She has researched every topic, she has experimented with the theories and the ideas and she has lived through her own darkness and found a way to light that is so pure, so real, and so revolutionary even in its simplicity. She is a gifted writer that helps you tap into your own ideals and beliefs, enabling you – if you are willing – to open them for a brief introspection, if not a full-on analysis.

Being disliked and misunderstood by some is worth the freedom of knowing you are loved and supported by many.
~ Tiny Buddha

She persuades you to take on the smaller steps toward healing and finding your path, because the giant ones may or may not come about and that matters little in the end. All that matters is that you believe in yourself and you take small steps toward healing your suffering, and in the process, perhaps if you are very open, you may even believe in a great world where good things happen frequently and good people fill the spaces around us every day.

Here are the top 10 reasons why I love Tiny Buddha, the book:

1. Fantastic writing.
2. Brilliant prose.
3. A collaborative work of many others.
4. Practical “work sheet” at the end of every chapter.
5. The beautiful stories.
6. The author’s own amazing stories.
7. Unforgettable quotations.
8. Believing that you are not alone in your doubts or suffering.
9. Believing that you can heal from the suffering.
10. A short, yet unforgettably powerful read.

Pain is not a sign of weakness, but bearing it alone is a choice to grow weak. It’s only in finding the courage to admit our pain that we
can lean on each other.
~ Tiny Buddha

If I were to name one single reason for endorsing this book, something I did not expect at the beginning: It has the power to transform your thoughts , and in turn your actions. This is a big promise for a tiny book, but it is one that Lori delivers in a most sincere and inviting tone. I respect her for not just stating an opinion or an account of her experience. She examines every topic from every angle and then lets you to form your own conclusions, even as she offers her own.

It’s dependent on when we choose to change the stories we tell about our lives; when we decide to spend more time creating the life we want than lamenting the hand we’ve been dealt; and when we realize that no one’s love, forgiveness, or acceptance can be as profoundly healing as our own.
~ Tiny Buddha

Have you read something this powerful lately? Let me know in the comments as I am always looking for new books and take my word on Tiny Buddha!