I started reading The Dalai Lama's Cat because it's the February selection for my local book club. Though a cat person, the slightly infantilised style was offputting. Nevertheless, I persisted, and am pleased that I did.

David Michie uses a fairly twee device, the narration of her life story by Rinpoche, a Himalayan cat rescued by the Dalai Lama from some street urchins in Delhi, to teach readers some essentials of Buddhism. I have shamefully neglected my mindfulness practice for many months now, so this was a timely reminder of how important this practice is.

Over the week or so that I've taken to read the book, I've had opportunities to practice some of the other things Michie writes about: treating change as opportunity, and exercising patience. Without the gentle prompting of this book, I probably would have been a little bit pricklier to live with, and may even have made a bad decision to leave my job just because the conditions had changed.

So go ahead, Dear Reader. It's only a short book but it may just bring some good things into your life like it did for me. ( )

Was it not Winston Churchill who said that a cat is a riddle, inside an enigma, inside a delightful pelt of cuddliness? No? I could have sworn that just recentlyI read something to that effect in an article about him. And if he didn't say it, he almost certainly thought it. Wikipedia should be told!

During the course of this book, a himalayan cat who goes by several names, HHC (His Holiness' Cat), Mousie-Tung, Rimpoche and Snow Lion, learns a lot about Buddhism from the Dalai Lama and other people in his headquarters and the surrounding town. ( )

Surprisingly clear and accessible discussion of Buddhism. Liked seeing it all through the eyes of an adopted cat... ( )

I'm really enjoying this book...it's a gentle view of Buddhism from the cat's point of view. I learned a lot about the Buddhist lifestyle, and enjoyed the cat's perspective of life as she lived it. ( )

4 1/2 Stars
Short but great book, filled with timeless cat wisdom, written by the Dali Lama's Cat.

Some of my favorite parts

Was it not Winston Churchill who said that a cat is a riddle, inside an enigma, inside a delightful pelt of cuddliness? No? I could have sworn that just recently I read something to that effect in an article about him. And if he didn’t say it, he almost certainly thought it. Wikipedia should be told!

We cats are the most habitual of creatures. Preferred sun loungers, meal times, hidey holes, and scratching posts are among the considerations in which we take daily satisfaction. And it is exactly because many humans embrace routine that we even consider allowing them to share our homes, let alone retain them as members of our staff.

“One of the last things Buddha said to his followers was that anyone who believed a word he had taught them was a fool—unless they had tested it against their own experience.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

“This farmer acquired his very first horse, and all the local villagers came around to congratulate him. ‘How proud you must be to own such a magnificent horse!’ they all said.
“But the farmer, understanding something about the importance of equanimity, simply smiled and said, ‘We’ll see.’
“Soon afterward, the horse broke out of the paddock and ran into the countryside. The villagers commiserated with the farmer. ‘What a terrible tragedy! What a great loss! How is it possible to recover from such a thing?’
“Again, the farmer simply smiled and said, ‘We’ll see.’
“Less than a week passed, and the farmer woke to find that the horse had returned—accompanied by two wild horses. With the greatest of ease he led them into the paddock and closed the gate behind them. The villagers could hardly believe what happened. ‘This is amazing good fortune! A cause for great celebration! Who could have believed such a thing was possible?’
“Of course, the farmer only smiled and said, ‘We’ll see.’
“His son began the work of breaking in the two wild horses. It was dangerous work, and during the course of it, he was thrown from one of the horses and broke his leg. This happened shortly before harvest, and without his son’s help, the farmer faced a great challenge in collecting his crops. ‘How difficult is your hardship,’ the villagers told him. ‘Losing your son’s help at a time like this—there could be few greater misfortunes.’
“‘We’ll see,’ is all the farmer said.
“A few days later, the Imperial Army sent troops to every village to round up fit, able-bodied young men. The Emperor had decided to go to war and was rallying the troops. But because the farmer’s son had a broken leg, he was excused from service.”

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