Dalai Lama Quotes

The nature of our motivation determines the character of our work.

Through violence, you may 'solve' one problem, but you sow the seeds for another.

For discovering one's true inner nature, I think one should try to take out some time, with quiet and relaxation, to think more inwardly and to investigate the inner world. That may help.

The question is not to know what is the meaning of life, but what meaning I can give to my life.

Be a good human being, a
warmhearted, affectionate person.
That is my fundamental belief.

It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily lives. If we find we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them.

My message is always the same: to cultivate and practice love, kindness, compassion and tolerance.

Action for Happiness encourages each of us to live more compassionately and put the happiness of others at the centre of our lives. This is the path to lasting peace and happiness

Happiness can be achieved through training the mind.

As far as ignorance is concerned, not just Buddhism, every religion recognizes it as the source of suffering.

It is natural that we face obstacles in pursuit of our goals. But if we remain passive, making no effort to solve the problems we meet, conflicts will arise and hindrances will grow. Transforming these obstacles into opportunities is a challenge to our human ingenuity.

If we try to secure the well-being of others, we will, at the same time, create the conditions for our own.

If we adopt a self-centered approach to life, by which we attempt to use others for our own self interest, we might be able to gain temporary benefits, but in the long run we will not succeed in achieving even our personal happiness, and hope for the next life is out of the question.

To foster inner awareness, introspection, and reasoning is more efficient than meditation and prayer.

The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.

When we develop a right attitude of compassion and gratitude, we take a giant step towards solving our personal and international problems

We need to teach people that the environment has a direct bearing on our own benefit.

On every level of human life, compassion is the key thing.

I believe deeply that we must find a new spirituality ... in such a way that all people of good will could adhere to it ... We ought to promote this concept with the help of scientists ... It could lead us to what we are looking for.

If you have peace of mind, when you meet with problems and difficulties they won't disturb your inner peace. You'll be able to employ your human intelligence more effectively. But, if your mental state is disturbed, full of emotion, it is very difficult to cope with problems, because the mind that is full of emotion is biased, unable to see reality. So whatever you do will be unrealistic and naturally fail.

With genuine love and compassion, another person's appearance or behavior has no affect on your attitude.

Meditation may also be thought of as a technique by which we diminish the force of old thought habits and develop new ones.

Provided that societies stay mindful of the challenges that capitalism creates and never forget the paramount importance of inclusion and equal opportunity, we can and should celebrate the miracle of free enterprise-and the billions of souls it has helped free from desperate poverty.

The real enemy of happiness is the mind's fixations and delusions ... If you have the right mind, you can overcome anything - you can be happy, no matter what.

As soon as I wake up I pay homage to the Buddha, and I try to prepare my mind to be more altruistic, more compassionate, during the day to come so I can be of benefit to beings. Then I do physical exersice - I walk on a treadmill.

I believe that constant effort, tireless effort, pursuing clear goals with sincere effort is the only way

Some people consider the practice of love and compassion is only related to religious practice and if they are not interested in religion they neglect these inner values. But love and compassion are qualities that human beings require just to live together.

From the viewpoint of absolute truth, what we feel and experience in our ordinary daily life is all delusion. Of all the various delusions, the sense of discrimination between oneself and others is the worst form, as it creates nothing but unpleasantness for both sides. If we can realize and meditate on ultimate truth, it will cleanse our impurities of mind and thus eradicate the sense of discrimination. This will help to create true love for one another. The search for ultimate truth is, therefore, vitally important.

All sentient beings have the seed of the Buddha within them.

All People and things are interdependent. The world has become so small that no nation can solve its problems alone, in isolation from others. That is why I believe we must all cultivate a sense of responsibility based on love and compassion for each other.

All living beings have experience of pleasure and pain, and we are among them. What makes human beings different is that we have a powerful intelligence and a much greater ability to achieve happiness and avoid suffering. Real happiness and friendship come not from money or even knowledge, but from warm-heartednes s. Once we recognize this we will be more inclined to cultivate it.

Real power has to do with one's ability to influence the hearts and minds of others.

We can wake ourselves up, discover in ourselves an energy that was hidden there, and act with more clarity, more force.

Conservation is not merely a question of morality, but a question of our own survival.

The most important thing is transforming our minds, for a new way of thinking, a new outlook: we should strive to develop a new inner world.

Treat each person as you would an old friend.

I feel like my life is something purposeful. Many people have told me that after they listen to my talk, some point which I made, they got certain ideas and their whole life is changed. They are happier.

It is important to pray for peace ... But you must also take actions to make that happen. Every single day.

The immediate source of a mind ... must be a mind which existed before the conception took place; the mind must have a continuity from a previous mind. This we hold to prove the existence of a past life.

I feel many problems that we are facing, are man-made problems, we have too much emphasis on this secondary thing, forgetting our foundation. At foundation, we are the same human being and we are sharing the same planet. Six billion human beings' future is my future and my future is never separate from the future of six billion human beings.

Every human should have the idea of taking care of the environment, of nature, of water. So using too much or wasting water should have some kind of feeling or sense of concern. Some sort of responsibility and with that, a sense of discipline.

A balanced and skillful approach to life, taking care to avoid extremes, becomes a very important factor in conducting one's everyday existence.

I feel that we should not only maintain gentle, peaceful relations with our fellow human beings bur also that is very important to extend the same kind of attitude toward the natural environment.

Always engage yourself positively with situations.

Human potential is the same for all. If you have will power, then you can change anything.

In our concern for others, we worry less about ourselves.

People need to climb the mountain not simple because it is there But because the soulful divinity needs to be mated with the spirit.

Like the lotus which thrives in mud, the potential for realization grows in the rich soil of everyday life

Although violence and the use of force may appear powerful and decisive, their benefits are short-lived. Violence can never bring a lasting and long term resolution to any problem, because it is unpredictable and for every problem it seems to solve, others are created. On the other hand, truth remains constant and will ultimately prevail.

Have no discrepancy between what you say, what you are and what you do.

Real love is not based on attachment, but on altruism. In this case, your compassion will remain as a humane response to suffering as long as beings continue to suffer.

Sometimes religion becomes yet another source for more division and even open conflict. Because of that situation, I feel the different religious traditions have a great responsibility to provide peace of mind and a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood among humanity.

Today different ethnic groups and different nations come together due to common sense.

Anger and hatred lead to fear; compassion and concern for others allow us to develop self-confidence, which breeds trust and friendship.

Anger, hatred, fear, is very bad for our health

Media people should have long noses like an elephant to smell out politicians, mayors, prime ministers and businessmen. We need to know the reality, the good and the bad, not just the appearance.

As far as mental development is concerned, we should never be complacent. We can develop our minds infinitely - there is no limitation.

We consider that the lives of all beings are just as precious as our own, and through this we develop a sense of concern for others.

It is not enough to belong to a religion. You also have to put it into practice. Religion is like medicine. You have to ingest it to combat the illness.

Hatred, jealousy and excessive attachment cause suffering and agitation. I feel compassion can help us overcome these disturbances and let us return to a calm state of mind. Compassion is not just being kind to your friend. That involves attachment because it is based on expectation. Compassion is when you do something good without any expectations - based on realizing that "the other person is also just like me".

The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

There is no way to escape death, it is just like trying to escape by four great mountains touching sky. There is no escape from these four mountains of birth, old age, sickness and death.

I believe that the basic nature of human beings is gentle and compassionate. It is therefore in our own interest to encourage that nature, to make it live within us, to leave room for it to develop. If on the contrary we use violence, it is as if we voluntarily obstruct the positive side of human nature and prevent its evolution.

Through awareness, you get a certain attitude. That's the way, you see, to achieve more peaceful, more compassion, more friendship through that way.

What is the purpose of life? I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy.

Compassion and love give meaning to our activities and makes them constructive.

I do not understand men. They spend their lives to use their health to make money and then they spend their money to restore their health.

The more adept we become at cultivating an altruistic attitude, the happier we will feel and the more comfortable will be the atmosphere around us. But if our emotions fluctuate wildly and we easily give in to hatred and jealousy, even our friends will avoid us. So even for people with no spiritual beliefs, it is important to have a peaceful mind.

By developing a sense of respect for others and a concern for their welfare, we reduce our own selfishness, which is the source of all problems, and enhance our sense of kindness, which is a natural source of goodness.

Nothing comes into being without a cause and when all the conditions are created, there is nothing that can prevent the consequence.

Even an animal, if you show genuine affection, gradually trust develops ... If you always showing bad face and beating, how can you develop friendship?

The egotistical ambition to always want to earn more money harms both the company and the individual himself. That is the biggest weakness of many managers - the financial crisis has proven this.

Furthermore, I shall explain the nature of dharmata: Such a nature as this cannot be determined to be any one thing. So however you label it, that is how it appears.

Children are our greatest untapped resource.

Cultivating inner discipline is something that takes time; expecting rapid results is simply a sign of impatience.

Happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors.

I am simply just one monk. That's all.

Differences in religious beliefs, politics, social status, and position are all secondary. When we look at someone with compassion, we are able to see beyond these secondary differences and connect to the primary essence that binds all humans together as one.

We have to make a sustained effort, again and again, to cultivate the positive aspects within us.

Your friend, your enemy, your neutral all are equal. Genuine compassion is unbiased.

I believe in justice and truth, without which there would be no basis for human hope

If you focus only on yourself and neglect others, you will lose; but you will gain if you value others as much as you cherish yourself.

Blessings don't come from outside, but from within. Whatever blessings we receive are the result of our own efforts and positive actions.

Taking care of our planet is like taking care of our houses. Since we human beings come from Nature, there is no point in our going against nature, which is why I say the environment is not a matter of religion or ethics or morality. These are luxuries, since we can survive without them. But we will not survive if we continue to go against nature.

So the smart brain must be balanced with a warm heart, a good heart -a sense of responsibility, of concern for the well-being of others.

In today's interconnected and globalized world, it is now commonplace for people of dissimilar world views, faiths and races to live side by side. It is a matter of great urgency, therefore, that we find ways to cooperate with one another in a spirit of mutual acceptance and respect.

Wherever I go meeting the public ... spreading a message of human values, spreading a message of harmony, is the most important thing.

When you engage in fulfilling the needs of others, your own needs are fulfilled as a by-product.

If we looked down at the world from space, we would not see any demarcations of national boundaries. We would simply see one small planet, just one.

Internal peace is an essential first step to achieving peace in the world. How do you cultivate it? It's very simple. In the first place by realizing clearly that all mankind is one, that human beings in every country are members of one and the same family.

I myself feel, and also tell other Buddhists that the question of Nirvana will come later. There is not much hurry. If in day to day life you lead a good life, honesty, with love, with compassion, with less selfishness, then automatically it will lead to Nirvana.

People often expect the other person to respond first in a positive way, instead of taking the initiative to create that possibility. I feel that's wrong; it can act as a barrier that just promotes a feeling of isolation from others. To overcome feelings of isolation and loneliness, your underlying attitude makes a tremendous difference - approaching others with the thought of compassion in your mind is the best way.

What acts as a far more effective circumstance for generating compassion and what, in fact, rouses us from our comfortable meditation seat is actually seeing or hearing others - encountering others directly, not just conceptually in our imagination.

The more contact we have with one another and the more we come to understand each other's values, the greater will be our mutual respect.

Looking at various means of developing compassion, I think empathy is an important factor: the ability to appreciate others' suffering.

Conversion is not my intention. Changing religion is not easy. You may develop some kind of confusion or difficulties.

I have three commitments. Number one commitment is promotion of human value. Number two commitment is promotion of race harmony. Number three commitment is about Tibet. My retirement is the third commitment. The previous two commitments, to my death, I have committed.

I felt we must separate political responsibility. The Dalai Lama should not carry that burden. So that is my selfish reason - to protect the old Dalai Lama tradition. It is safer without political involvement.

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.

By developing a sense of concern for others' well-being, then no matter what others' attitudes are, you can keep inner peace.