The Dalai Lama visited New York in 2003 and gave a series of lectures, culminating in a public talk in Central Park, which drew more than a quarter of a million people. Based on these lectures, this book presents his practical instruction on how we can use meditation to realize the mind's true and remarkable potential. The book leads the reader through the diverse schools of Buddhist philosophy and explains how to let go of our own strong ideas of self and find more happiness in life, for ourselves and for others.