Evaluate the Dalai Lama’s comparative performance, both good and bad then, evaluate how you engage with differing religions/worldviews/beliefs and finally create a thesis based on what you learned through comparing the Dalai Lama’s methods with your own.

This essay addresses the course’s main thesis: By taking the truth claims of others seriously, we become
more aware of our own quasi-dogmatic “default settings.” Through maintaining an open mind and an
empathetic heart, we can better engage in the “magic of comparison,” allowing us to better understand our
own views and the views of others.
To begin, read the preface, introduction, and chapters 1-4 of the Dalai Lama’s The Good Heart: A
Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus. Use the text’s preface and introduction, as well as the
material we have covered in the assigned readings and lectures, to analyze The Good Heart, chapters 1-4.
This essay asks you to do three things. First, evaluate the Dalai Lama’s comparative performance, both
good and bad. Second, evaluate how you engage with differing religions/worldviews/beliefs. Third, create
a thesis based on what you learned through comparing the Dalai Lama’s methods with your own.
More specifically, you can choose your own thesis and content, but please do so with self- awareness
regarding how your preconceived beliefs determine your selection of data. At some point in the essay, in
no particular order, address the potential pitfalls, best methods, and the benefits of comparing religions. In
your analysis, please use at least one example from each of the four chapters in the Dalai Lama’s The
Good Heart.