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David Michie

Author of The Dalai Lama's Cat

37+ Works 1,129 Members 55 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

David Michie is the internationally best-selling author of The Dalai Lama's Cat series, as well as the spiritual thrillers The Magician of Lhasa and The Secret Mantra, and the non-fiction titles Buddhism for Busy People, Buddhism for Pet Lovers, Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate and Hurry Up and show more Meditate. His books have been translated into 30 different languages and are available in over 50 countries. In 2015 he established Mindful Safaris to Africa, combining wildlife viewing and meditation sessions in journeys to unexplored places, outer and inner. show less

Includes the names: David Michie, david mitchie

Series

Works by David Michie

The Dalai Lama's Cat (2012) 387 copies
The Magician of Lhasa (2009) 44 copies
Conflict of Interest (1999) 28 copies
Expiry Date (2002) 18 copies
Pure Deception (2001) 17 copies
Invisible Persuaders (1998) 8 copies
Dalay Lama'nin Kedisi (2014) 1 copy

Associated Works

The Bad Girl (2007) — Narrator, some editions — 2,099 copies

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Michie, David
Birthdate
1962-02-13
Gender
male
Nationality
Zimbabwe (birth)
Australia
Places of residence
London, England, UK
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Education
Rhodes University, South Africa
Short biography
David Michie was born and brought up in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Britain’s last colony in Africa was a place where imperial values still held sway, and a conventional education was accompanied by Sunday School at the Presbyterian Church.

It was as a teenager in the late 1970’s that he first heard about Tibetan Buddhism, discovering the books of T. Lobsang Rampa, an English plumber claiming to be a reincarnated lama who wrote utterly fanciful but wildly popular tales about life in Himalayan monasteries.

David gained more credible glimpses of Buddhism while studying Jung as part of his psychology degree, also developing a keen interest in cognitive behaviour therapy and other concepts he later discovered form a central part of Buddhist psychology. During his twenties and early thirties, his career in corporate public relations and social life became pre-eminent - all more esoteric interests were put firmly on hold. There they may have remained were it not for an allergic condition in his early thirties which led to the start of his meditation practice and a journey of inner growth.

Within two years of beginning to meditate, David achieved a long-held ambition of becoming a published writer. And having met and married his Australian wife, they moved to Perth where he continued his work both in public relations and writing. Away from the frenetic buzz of the big city, he was able to develop his interest in Tibetan Buddhism further, attending regular classes and retreats. Buddhism for Busy People describes David’s encounter with the Dharma, both in London and Perth, weaving an autobiographic narrative through a presentation of core Tibetan Buddhist concepts.

Buddhism for Busy People has become a bestseller in Australia, where it has received favourable endorsements and reviews. It will be published in USA and UK in June 2008, and is also being published in a number of different languages.

Given the success of the book, and the heart-warming emails he continues to receive from readers, David has written Hurry Up and Meditate, published in Australia in April 2008 and in USA and UK in September 2008.

Website: www.davidmichie.com

Members

Reviews

This was a quick and light read. Just what I was looking for. I'd actually read this one before but didn't recall the story very well. After chapter one, this is mostly a feel-good book, with some Buddhist life-lessons infused into the story. Since this is told from the perspective of HHC (His Holiness‘s Cat), it didn't come across as overly preachy, although I'm not a big fan of talking animals in otherwise realistic books.

If you have already studied the philosophy of Buddhism through books written by the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh or Tara Branch, you probably won't learn anything new from The Dalai Lama's Cat, other than to possibly be entertained by the antics of HHC. As with most books of a spiritual nature, my motto is; take from it what you will.… (more)
 
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Ann_R | 21 other reviews | Jan 28, 2024 |
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.… (more)
 
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isabelx | 21 other reviews | Dec 29, 2023 |
Surprisingly clear and accessible discussion of Buddhism. Liked seeing it all through the eyes of an adopted cat...
 
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Dabble58 | 21 other reviews | Nov 11, 2023 |
An interesting thought project where the author looks at what happens when Karma is real and has an immediate effect and how it would affect people.
Do I believe people would actually mend their ways, nope. I've met people who eat foods that they're allergic to. Do I think it's realistic, no. Do I think it's an interesting parable? Yes, but I've read better. I also found it a touch ableist, one of the characters stops being disabled because she does good deeds and that feels like blaming the victim for an accident., plus people get prettier because they're nice, their physical appearance actually changes and that feels wrong and a bit like blaming ugliness on deed, not on chance and that feels somewhat subjective rather than learning to like people for themselves. I felt myself lost a few times between the amount of characters in the story and honestly didn't really care what happened to them. It sometimes felt like the author was too invested in making his point rather than creating a story and the characters simply served the story and to point out different things that the author believed and how his belief was right.
Yes we should all be better to each other but this made it seem like there was one true way and I'm inclined to be a little sceptical about that.
… (more)
 
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wyvernfriend | Nov 10, 2023 |

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Associated Authors

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Statistics

Works
37
Also by
1
Members
1,129
Popularity
#22,743
Rating
3.8
Reviews
55
ISBNs
203
Languages
9
Favorited
1

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