In answer to another question elsewhere, the Dalai Lama states his belief that there can probably never be one world religion, and that the different faiths all have much to offer.
There are some difficult technical passages, such as this one: "The grosser level of impermanence refers to transitory states of a particular object in the sense of disintegration of its continuity. When we talk about subtle impermanence, it is more in the sense of momentary disintegration rather than disintegration in terms of its continuity." Luckily, they aren't typical.
Popes and Dalai Lamas haven't usually taken to setting down their wisdom in cold print. But, the two present incumbents have each been responsible for several books. This is slightly perplexing, given that their strength would appear to lie in the cabalistic secrets they alone have access to. To explain these mysteries in paperback pages might run the risk of their being analyzed and refuted by their enemies. During the 19th century, Buddhism and Roman Catholicism alike were frequently derided as enemies of science, and hence of progress. More recently, they came back into favor, probably because they were perceived as bulwarks against communism.
The Dalai Lama is understandably a great friend of Taiwan, even though on his last visit a party of what looked like aged KMT soldiers and their wives lined up with placards at the airport (the wrong airport as it turned out) demanding that he go away and recognize a "one China" that included Tibet. But I doubt if such people would have very much interest in the contents of this book, whatever their political stance.
RSS