In September 2000, at the invitation of Sogyal Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama visited the south of France to give what would be one of his most extensive and vital Buddhist teachings, entitled "The Path to Enlightenment." Over ten thousand people attended, from twenty-one different countries.

In these teachings, His Holiness set out the key principles of Buddhism, showing how the mind can be transformed, and suffering overcome, through love, compassion, and a true understanding of the nature of reality. Illustrating his brilliant overview of the path with his own personal experiences and advice on how to integrate practice into our lives, the Dalai Lama is at his best here, bringing Buddhist teachings, especially those of the Great Perfection, or Dzogchen, to life.

"Like an expert jeweller," as Sogyal Rinpoche writes in his foreword, the Dalai Lama "set the teaching of Dzogchen within the context of the other traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, highlighting their parallels and their common ultimate aim of realizing the clear light nature of the mind."

Mind in Comfort and Ease was not drawn from the oral translation of the event but is instead a re-translation of His Holiness’s original Tibetan. Thus it captures a deeper fidelity and nuance than other such works, and will stand the test of time as a remarkable record of the Dalai Lama’s great erudition, compassion, humor, and insight.