Book of Joy (Lama, Tutu) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Book of Joy … then take off on your own:

1. First, talk about the two men at the heart of this treatise on joy. Discuss their backgrounds and how two such different men have come to understand the need for and the path to joy. Do the the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu share any similarities in their personal histories?

2. In your own words, what is joy? Do you experience it — frequently, on occasion, rarely if ever? What in your life triggers feelings of joy?

3. How do the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu define joy — what do they see as its true nature?

4. One of the shortest answers to attaining joy in a world of suffering is not thinking too much about yourself. What does that mean? How is it possible to step outside of one's consciousness … NOT to think of the self?

5. The Dalai Lama, when asked about exile from his homeland, says, "wherever you have friends, that's your country, and wherever you receive love, that's your home." Do you agree?

6. What does BishopTutu mean when he says that even a person who struggles with hardship is a "masterpiece in the making"?

7. Go through each of the Eight Pillars of Joy — the four of the mind: perspective, humility, humor, acceptance; and the four of the heart: forgiveness, gratitude, compassion, generosity. Talk about what each of those pillars means, personally or generally, and how each contributes to feeling joyful. Or try the opposite: what happens in you don't incorporate these pillars into your life? How does that "nil" approach detract from experiencing joy?

8. Have you ever kept your own notebook on gratitude or joy, writing down at the start or end of each day your thoughts about what has made you thankful or joyful?

9. What role does religion, or any spiritual practice, play in creating a sense of joy?

10. Nearly every page of The Book of Joy contains some remarkable insight. Which observations or passages in particular made you stop and ponder … or say, "Yes!" … or which struck you as profound in some way?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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