Lama Zopa Quotes

Compassion is a mind that focuses on the sentient beings that are miserable and wishes them to be free from suffering. Compassion can be of three types, depending on the aspect of wisdom that accompanies it. These three are: compassion focused on sentient beings, compassion focused on phenomena, and compassion focused on the unapprehendable. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

All problems, including terrorism, can be overcome through education, particularly by introducing concern for all others at the preschool level. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

As long as space endures, as long as sentient beings remain, until then, may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

On a certain day, month and year one should observe the ceremony of tree-planting. Thus, one fulfils one's responsibilities, serves one's fellow-beings which not only brings happiness but benefits all. ~ Dalai Lama

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. ~ Dalai Lama

We need to learn how to want what we have NOT to have what we want in order to get steady and stable Happiness ~ Dalai Lama XIV

Who has magnificent self-confidence
And fears nothing that exists?
The man who has attained to truth
And lives free of error. ~ Dalai Lama

Nowadays, we are confronted by a huge gap between rich and poor. This is not only morally wrong, but practically a mistake. It leads to the rich living in anxiety and the poor living in frustration, which has the potential to lead to more violence. We have to work to reduce this gap. It's truly unfair that some people should have so much while others go hungry. ~ Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama challenged me - he said, 'Why can't you use technological tools to study kindness and compassion? ~ Richard Davidson

If you have religious faith, very good, you can add on secular ethics, then religious belief, add on it, very good. But even those people who have no interest about religion, okay, it's not religion, but you can train through education. ~ Dalai Lama

Under the bright sun, many of us are gathered together with different languages, different styles of dress, even different faiths. However, all of us are the same in being humans, and we all uniquely have the thought of 'I' and we're all the same in wanting happiness and in wanting to avoid suffering. ~ Dalai Lama

However, if we can transform our attitude towards suffering, adopt an attitude that allows us greater tolerance of it, then this can do much to help counteract feelings of mental unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and discontent. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

Today we understand that the future of humanity very much depends on our planet, and that the future of the planet very much depends on humanity. ~ Dalai Lama

If I am practicing spiritual poverty, which says that I own nothing, then the problems aren't mine and neither are the energy and compassion pouring through my heart to try to solve them. I am just a link in the process. If I don't take anything personally, then I can do great work without flagging. The Dalai Lama once said, 'Try with all your might - to work very, very hard - to make the world a better place, and if all your efforts are to no avail ... no hard feelings!' ~ Bo Lozoff

If your mind is scattered, it is quite powerless. Distraction here and there opens the way for counterproductive emotions, leading to many kinds of trouble. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

Nothing is permanent. ~ Dalai Lama

Spend some amount of time alone everyday. ~ Dalai Lama

My religion is kindness. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

If each of us can learn to relate to each other more out of compassion, with a sense of connection to each other and a deep recognition of our common humanity, and more important, to teach this to our children, I believe that this can go a long way in reducing many of the conflicts and problems that we see today. ~ Dalai Lama

Just as you have the instinctive natural desire to be happy and overcome suffering, so do all sentient beings; just as you have the right to fulfill this innate aspiration, so do all sentient beings. So on what exact grounds do you discriminate? ~ Dalai Lama

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. ~ Dalai Lama

Afflictive emotions - our jealousy, anger, hatred, fear - can be put to an end. When you realize that these emotions are only temporary, that they always pass on like clouds in the sky, you also realize they can ultimately be abandoned. ~ Dalai Lama

I consider non-violence to be compassion in action. It doesn't mean weakness, cowering in fear, or simply doing nothing. It is to act without violence, motivated by compassion, recognising the rights of others. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

Like this cup, you are full of opinions and speculations. To see the light of wisdom... you first must empty your cup. ~ Lama Rinpoche

My true religion, my simple faith is in love and compassion. There is no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine, or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are - these are ultimately all we need. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

More dangerous than guns or bombs are hatred, lack of compassion, and lack of respect for the rights of others. As long as hatred dwells in the human mind, real peace is impossible. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

A positive future cannot emerge from the mind of anger of despair ~ Dalai Lama

A tree with strong roots can withstand the most violent storm, but the tree can't grow roots just as the storm appears on the horizon. ~ Dalai Lama

I am not promoting Buddhism. I am promoting human values. ~ Dalai Lama

Always embrace the common humanity that lies at the heart of us all. ~ Dalai Lama

Gratitude is something you show in relation to others. ~ Dalai Lama

We are in the habit of rating our lives in real time - a sad day, a nice visit, a terrible commute, a good meditation - qualifying and quantifying everything. There are actually neither unequivocally good nor bad events, things, or people - only the wanted and the unwanted - and everything is subjective. This is strong medicine; think about it. It's a matter of perspective. ~ Lama Surya Das

It is ... very helpful to think of adversity not so much as a threat to our peace of mind but rather as the very means by which patience is attained. ~ Dalai Lama

If I prayed as much as I pluck, I'd be the Dalai Lama. ~ Kathie Lee Gifford

It is not enough to be compassionate, we must act. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

Unlike many spiritual leaders, Dalai Lama is never been in a position to just sit on a mountain top handing out wisdom. He's had to live out his principles in the middle of this very complex situation, every day for sixty years or more. I think it's something that moves many people about his example. ~ Pico Iyer

As you breathe in, cherish yourself.
As you breathe out, cherish all Beings. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

You don't have to be the Dalai Lama to tell people that life's about change. ~ John Cleese

Even modern medical researchers have come to the conclusion that peace of mind is vital for good health. ~ Dalai Lama

Peace has a great deal to do with warm-heartednes s and respect for the lives of others, avoiding doing them harm and regarding their lives as being as precious as our own. If, on that basis, we can also be of help to others, so much the better. ~ Dalai Lama

When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts. ~ Dalai Lama

At a personal level, as a Buddhist practitioner, I deliberately visualize and think about death in my daily practice. Death is not separated from our lives. Due to my research and thoughts about death, I have some guarantee and some conviction that it will be a positive experience. ~ Dalai Lama