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Famous Quotes By Dalai Lama
 According to Buddhist teaching, there is a very close interdependence between the natural environment and the sentient beings living in it. 
All major religious traditions have teachings on the practice o compassion, love, forgiveness, but the Buddha has become a symbol of nonviolence around the world, a symbol of compassion. All ancient masters teach the same message, but the Buddha's message is not just for humanity alone; it is for all sentient beings. It puts a strong emphasis on respect for all forms of life.
As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery... We have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear, and suspicion, while love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the source of peace and happiness.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, people never questioned the effectiveness of war, never thought there could be real peace. Now, people are tired of war and see it as ineffective in solving anything.
Because we all share an identical need for love, it is possible to feel that anybody we meet, in whatever circumstances, is a brother or sister.
Before we seek refuge from suffering, we must first deepen our understanding of its nature and causes. Doing so intensifies our wish to find protection from suffering. Such a mental process, which incorporates study and contemplation, must also be applies to develop our appreciation of the Buddha's qualities.
Broadly speaking, our experiences fall into two categories. One type of experience is more connected with our bodies, and occurs mainly through our sense organs, while the other type is more related to what can be called "the mental consciousness" or "the mind".
Buddhism is more than a religion. It is a science of the mind.
Buddhist are concerned not only for this life but for life after life, on and on. We count not weeks or months or even years, but lives and eons.
Compassion can be roughly defined in terms of a state of mind that is nonviolent and nonharming, or nonaggresive. Because of this there is a danger of confusing compassion with the attachment and intimacy.
Cultivating an attitude of compassion and developing wisdom are slow processes. As you gradually internalize techniques for developing morality, concentration of mind, and wisdom, untamed states of mind become less and less frequent. You will need to practice these techniques day by day, year by year. As you transform your mind, you will transform your surroundings. Others will see the benefits of your practice of tolerance and love, and will work at bringing these practices into their own lives.
Every day the media reports incidents of terrorism, crime, and aggression. I have never been to a country where tragic stories of death and bloodshed did not fill the newspapers and airwaves... but the overwhelming majority of the human race does not behave destructively; very few of the five billion people on this planet actually commit acts of violence. Most of us prefer to be as peaceful as possible.
Generally speaking, it is better to keep one's own tradition. But among some people... there is an interest in Buddhism. Sometimes, because of their individual mental dispositions, they do not find much in their own tradition that is effective, but they still want a spiritual practice. They feel a strong pull toward Buddhism, an then, of course, it is their right to follow Buddhism. After all, all religions belong to humanity. What's important is that once we make a decision to follow another religion we should keep in our minds that we must avoid criticizing our own previous tradition.
Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
I always consider myself as a simple Buddhist monk. I feel that is the real me. I feel that the Dalai Lama as a temporal ruler is a man-made institution. As long as the people accept the Dalai Lama, they will accept me. But being a monk is something which belongs to me. No one can change that.
I always tell people that we human beings, in a way because of this intelligence, are the biggest troublemakers. Yet because of this intelligence, we also have the capacity to not only take care of ourselves but also to take care of the whole world.
According to Buddhist psychology, most of our troubles are due to our passionate desire for and attachment to things that we misapprehend as enduring entities.
I am of the view that the welfare of the world [is] possible only by following the path shown by lord Buddha.
I believe that the proper utilization of time is this: if you can, serve other people, other sentient beings. If not, at least refrain from harming them. I think that is the whole basis of my philosophy.
I feel that love and compassion are the moral fabric of world peace. Let me first define what I mean by compassion. When you have pity or compassion for a very poor person, you are showing sympathy because he or she is poor; your compassion is based on altruistic considerations. On the other hand, love towards you wife, your husband, your children, or a close friend is usually based on attachment. When your attachment changes, your kindness also changes; it may disappear. This is not true love. Real love is not based on attachment, built on altruism.
I have long looked forward to the time when we could devise a political system, suited both to our traditions and to the demands of the modern world. A democracy that has nonviolence and peace at its roots.
I pray for all of us, oppressor and friend, that together we succeed in building a better world through human understanding and love, and that in doing so we may reduce the pain and suffering of all sentient beings.
I see all the different religious traditions as paths for the development of inner peace, which is the true foundation of world peace. These ancient traditions come to us as a gift from our common past. Will we continue to cherish it as a gift and hand it over the the future generations as a legacy of our shared desire for peace?
If a person's basic state of mind is serene and calm, then it is possible for this inner peace to overwhelm a painful physical experience. On the other hand, if someone is suffering from depression, anxiety, or any form of emotional distress, then even if he or she happens to be enjoying physical comforts, he will not really be able to experience the happiness that these could bring.
If any sensible person thinks deeply, he will respect justice. There is an inborn appreciation and respect for justice within our human body. In children, we find what is natural to be the human character. But as they grow up, they develop a lot of conditioning and wrong attitudes. I often feel there is more truthfulness in a small child and I find reasons to have confidence in human courage and human nature.
If object and people evoke attachment in us, we do not understand the true nature of phenomena. We can only become detached by realizing the true nature of things.
If one's life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements. And finally, there is an intense delight in abandoning faulty states of mind and in cultivating helpful ones in meditation.
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
In general, I always state that I have three commitments in life. Firstly, on the level of a human being, my first commitment is the promotion of human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment, and self-discipline. All human beings are the same. We all want happiness and do not want suffering. Even people who do not believe in religion recognize the importance of these human values in making their lives more happier. I remain committed to talk about the importance of these human values and share them with everyone I meet.
In general, I always state that I have three commitments in life. On the level of a religious practitioner, my second commitment is the promotion of religious harmony and understanding amongst different religious traditions. Despite philosophical differences, all major world religions have the same potential to create better human beings. It is therefore important for all religious traditions to respect one another and recognize the value of each other's respective traditions.
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