Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to Publish New Book on Moving Beyond Religion by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

NEW YORK – In light of His Holiness the Dalai Lama′s meeting with President Obama this past weekend, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is pleased to announce BEYOND RELIGION: Ethics for a Whole World, a timely and stirring call to embrace a system of ethics based on universal, rather than religious, principles, one which offers the guidance to improve life on individual, community and global levels. The Dalai Lama′s new book will be published on December 8, 2011. Last week, his Holiness the Dalai Lama met with President Obama to discuss the future and preservation of Tibet′s unique religious and cultural identity. The meeting came as the Dalai Lama is leaving his role as political leader of Tibet to concentrate wholly on his spiritual leadership. With his book BEYOND RELIGION, the Dalai Lama, at his most compassionate and outspoken, elaborates and deepens his vision for the nonreligious way. Transcending the “religion wars,” he outlines a system of ethical belief that gives tolerant respect to religion while teaching the importance of inner values that he hopes will help in building a more compassionate and peaceful world. In BEYOND RELIGION, the Dalai Lama writes, “The reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.” BEYOND RELIGION is an essential statement from the Dalai Lama, a blueprint for those seeking a life of spiritual fulfillment as they work for a better world. TENZIN GYATSO, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. His tireless efforts on behalf of human rights and world peace have brought him international recognition. He is the recipient of the Wallenberg Award (conferred by the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Foundation), the Albert Schweitzer Award, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Nobel Peace Prize. About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt′s Trade & Reference Division With nearly two–centuries of award–winning history, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt′s Trade and Reference Division continues to publish some of the most renowned novels, non′fiction, children′s books and reference works in hardcover, Mariner Books trade paperbacks and ebooks. Its distinguished author list includes eight Nobel Prize winners, 47 Pulitzer Prize winners, 13 National Book Award winners, and more than 100 Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, and Silbert Medal and Honor recipients. HMH publishes such distinguished authors as Philip Roth, Temple Grandin, Tim O'Brien, and Umberto Eco, as well as The Best American series®, The American Heritage® family of dictionaries, The Gourmet Cookbook and other culinary classics, the Peterson Field Guides and books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Along with a celebrated lineup of children′s authors, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children′s Book Group is the publisher of some of the best–loved children′s books and book characters including Curious George, The Little Prince and The Polar Express. For more information, visit www.hmhbooks.com.