The following titles are more specific on what the teachings of the Buddha and his spiritual heirs offer to humanity.
Where Buddhism Meets Neuroscience (previously published as Consciousness at the Crossroads: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Brain Science and Buddhism) records the Dalai Lama's conversations with many leading scientists who specialize in how the brain works. The Western approach of the scientific method meets the Buddhist approach of the science of experience. Questions of perception, dualism, categories of consciousness, memory, dreams, the nature of mental illness, and the mind during and after death are all explored. Discussing the difference between the brain and the mind, he states,
"Generally speaking, awareness, in the sense of our familiar, day-to-day mental processes, does not exist apart from or independent from the brain, according to the Buddhist view. But Buddhism holds that the cause of awareness is to be found in a preceding continuum of awareness from one life to another. Whence does this awareness arise initially? It must arise fundamentally not from a physical base but from a preceding continuum of awareness. "
In Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists, His Holiness responds to a wide range of questions (from Western non-Buddhists as well!), on topics such as the idea of a creator god, how to reconcile Western physics and Buddhist teachings, Buddhism's essence versus its cultural forms, vipassana in sutra and tantra, tantric meditation, and guru devotion.
Kindness, Clarity, and Insight, one of the most widely read of His Holiness's books, includes a series of talks covering the fundamentals of Buddhism (the four noble truths, karma, the six perfections) as well as topics appropriate for a general audience, like religious values, compassion in global politics, and religious harmony. On this latter topic, he says,
"Philosophical teachings are not the end, not the aim, not what you serve. The aim is to help and benefit others. . . . If we go into the differences in philosophy and argue with and criticize each other, it is useless. . . . Better to look at the purpose of the philosophies and to see what is shared-an emphasis on love, compassion, and respect for a higher force."