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It Seems To Me That Self Confidence And The Ability To Stand One's Ground Are Essential If We Want To Succeed In Life. I Am Not Talking Of Stupid Self-assurance But Of An Awareness Of Our Inner Potential, A Certainty That We Can Always Correct Our Behavior, Improve Ourselves, Enrich Ourselves, And That Things Are Never Hopeless

-Dalai Lama

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It Seems To Me

Dalai Lama

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It Seems To Me That Self Confidence And The Ability To Stand One's Ground Are Essential If We Want To Succeed In Life. I Am Not Talking Of Stupid Self-assurance But Of An Awareness Of Our Inner Potential, A Certainty That We Can Always Correct Our Behavior, Improve Ourselves, Enrich Ourselves, And That Things Are Never Hopeless

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Self Confidence

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Is This What You Have In Mind,' I Asked The Dalai Lama, 'when You Say In Teachings That The Buddhas And Bodhisattvas Of The World Are The Most Selfish Beings Of All, That By Cultivating Altruism They Actually Achieve Ultimate Happiness For Themselves?' Yes. That's Wise Selfish,' He Replied. 'helping Others Not Means We Do This At Our Own Expense. Not Like This. Buddhas And Bodhisattvas, These People Very Wise. All Their Lives They Only Want One Thing: To Achieve Ultimate Happiness. How To Do This? By Cultivating Compassion, By Cultivating Altruism.

(because) The Notion Of Absolute Truth Is Difficult To Sustain Outside The Context Of Religion, Ethical Conduct Is Not Something We Engage In Because It Is Somehow Right In Itself But Because, Like Ourselves, All Others Desire To Be Happy And To Avoid Suffering. Given That This Is A Natural Disposition, Shared By All, It Follows That Each Individual Has A Right To Pursue This Goal. Accordingly, I Suggest That One Of The Things Which Determines Whether An Act Is Ethical Or Not Is Its Effect On Others' Experience Or Expectation Of Happiness.

It Seems To Me That Self Confidence And The Ability To Stand One's Ground Are Essential If We Want To Succeed In Life. I Am Not Talking Of Stupid Self-assurance But Of An Awareness Of Our Inner Potential, A Certainty That We Can Always Correct Our Behavior, Improve Ourselves, Enrich Ourselves, And That Things Are Never Hopeless

Self Confidence

From One Point Of View We Can Say That We Have Human Bodies And Are Practicing The Buddha's Teachings And Are Thus Much Better Than Insects. But We Can Also Say That Insects Are Innocent And Free From Guile, Where As We Often Lie And Misrepresent Ourselves In Devious Ways In Order To Achieve Our Ends Or Better Ourselves. From This Perspective, We Are Much Worse Than Insects.

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With Realization Of One's Own Potential And Self-confidence In One's Ability, One Can Build A Better World.

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Compassion And Tolerance Are Not A Sign Of Weakness, But A Sign Of Strength.

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Historically, The East Was More Concerned With Understanding The Mind And The West Was More Involved In Understanding Matter.

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Anger Cannot Be Overcome By Anger. If Someone Is Angry With You, And You Show Anger In Return, The Result Is A Disaster. On The Other Hand, If You Control Your Anger And Show Its Opposite - Love, Compassion, Tolerance And Patience - Not Only Will You Remain Peaceful, But The Other Person's Anger Will Also Diminish.

Our Business Is To Be Happy.

The Question Of Real, Lasting World Peace Concerns Human Beings, So Basic Human Feelings Are Also At Its Roots. Through Inner Peace, Genuine World Peace Can Be Achieved. In This The Importance Of Individual Responsibility Is Quite Clear; An Atmosphere Of Peace Must First Be Created Within Ourselves, Then Gradually Expanded To Include Our Families, Our Communities, And Ultimately The Whole Planet.

Fear, Hatred, And Suspicion Narrow Your Mind - Compassion Opens It.

Happiness Mainly Comes From Our Own Attitude, Rather Than From External Factors.

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When You Practice Gratefulness, There Is A Sense Of Respect Toward Others.

Appreciate How Rare And Full Of Potential Your Situation Is In This World, Then Take Joy In It, And Use It To Your Best Advantage.

I Met An American Lady Many Years Ago, Much Distant. Then I Told Her About My Own Difficult Experiences And I Showed Some Genuine Concern. She Responded, "why Are You So Concerned About Me?" We Need More Patience. At A Fundamental Level, We Are The Same Human Brothers And Sisters. Then Forget It. The Human Mind Is Very Strange. Like That.

Genuine Concern

All Beings Come From A Mother's Womb. We Should Have A Clear Realization Of The Oneness Of All Humanity.

I Believe Compassion To Be One Of The Few Things We Can Practice That Will Bring Immediate And Long-term Happiness To Our Lives. I'm Not Talking About The Short-term Gratification Of Pleasures Like Sex, Drugs Or Gambling (though I'm Not Knocking Them), But Something That Will Bring True And Lasting Happiness. The Kind That Sticks.

It Is Under The Greatest Adversity That There Exists The Greatest Potential For Doing Good, Both For Oneself And Others.

The Nature Of The Mind Is Such That If Certain Mental Qualities Are Developed On A Sound Basis, They Not Only Remain, But They Also Increase. In Fact, Once Properly Developed, The Mind's Good Qualities Eventually Increase Indefinitely. Therefore Spiritual Practice Brings Us Long-term Happiness And Inner Strength.

Ageing Destroys Youth, Sickness Destroys Health, Degeneration Of Life Destroys All Excellent Qualities And Death Destroys Life. Even If You Are A Great Runner, You Cannot Run Away From Death. You Cannot Stop Death With Your Wealth, Through Your Magic Performances Or Recitation Of Mantras Or Even Medicines. Therefore, It Is Wise To Prepare For Your Death.

We Human Beings Are Social Beings. We Come Into The World As The Result Of Others’ Actions. We Survive Here In Dependence On Others. Whether We Like It Or Not, There Is Hardly A Moment Of Our Lives When We Do Not Benefit From Others’ Activities. For This Reason, It Is Hardly Surprising That Most Of Our Happiness Arises In The Context Of Our Relationships With Others.

What Is The Purpose Of Life? I Believe That The Purpose Of Life Is To Be Happy.

As Long As I Am Alive, I Am Fully Committed To Amity Between Tibetans And Chinese. Otherwise There's No Use.

Love And Compassion Benefit Both Ourselves And Others. Through Kindness To Others, Your Heart And Mind Will Be Peaceful And Open.

Life Does Not Wait: Whether We Spend Our Lives Meaningfully Or Not, The Time Will Be Used Up Moment By Moment.

Meaning Of Life

So The First Step In Seeking Happiness Is Learning. We First Have To Learn How Negative Emotions And Behaviors Are Harmful To Us And How Positive Emotions Are Helpful.

His Holiness Pope John Paul Ii Was A Determined And Deeply Spiritual Minded Person For Whom I Had Great Respect And Admiration. His Experience In Poland, Then A Communist Country, And My Own Difficulties With Communists, Gave Us An Immediate Common Ground

I Do Not Judge The Universe.

The Essence Of Compassion Is A Desire To Alleviate The Suffering Of Others And To Promote Their Well-being

Suffering Of Others

Self-discipline, Although Difficult, And Not Always Easy While Combating Negative Emotions, Should Be A Defensive Measure. At Least We Will Be Able To Prevent The Advent Of Negative Conduct Dominated By Negative Emotion. That Is 'shila', Or Moral Ethics. Once We Develop This By Familiarizing Ourselves With It, Along With Mindfulness And Conscientiousness, Eventually That Pattern And Way Of Life Will Become A Part Of Our Own Life.

Until You Have The Inner Discipline That Brings Calmness Of Mind, External Facilities And Conditions Will Never Bring The Joy And Happiness You Seek. On The Other Hand, If You Possess This Inner Quality, Calmness Of Mind, A Degree Of Stability Within, Even If You Lack The Various External Factors That You Would Normally Require To Be Happy, It Will Still Be Possible To Live A Happy And Joyful Life.

Since We Desire The True Happiness That Is Brought About By A Calm Mind, And Such Peace Of Mind Arises Only From Having A Compassionate Attitude, We Need To Make A Concerted Effort To Develop Compassion.

Peace In The World Relies On Individuals Finding Inner Peace.

The More You Nurture A Feeling Of Loving Kindness, The Happier And Calmer You Will Be.

To Be Extremely Self-centred, Only Interested In Your Own Satisfaction, Always Brings Negative Consequences In The Long Run.

Unfortunately, Love And Compassion Have Been Omitted From Too Many Spheres Of Social Interaction For Too Long. Usually Confined To Family And Home, Their Practice In Public Life Is Considered Impractical, Even Naive. This Is Tragic.

I Truly Believe That Compassion Provides The Basis Of Human Survival.

Whether We Consider The Individual, Family, Local, National Or International Level, Peace Must Arise From Inner Peace. For Example, Making Prayers For Peace While Continuing To Harbor Anger Is Futile. Training The Mind And Overcoming Your Anger Is Much More Effective Than Mere Prayer. Anger, Hatred And Jealousy Never Solve Problems, Only Affection, Concern And Respect Can Do That.

All The World’s Major Religions, With Their Emphasis On Love, Compassion, Patience, Tolerance And Forgiveness, Can And Do Promote Inner Values. But The Reality Of The World Today Is That Grounding Ethics In Religion Is No Longer Adequate. This Is Why I Believe The Time Has Come To Find A Way Of Thinking About Spirituality And Ethics That Is Beyond Religion.

Cultivating A Close, Warmhearted Feeling For Others Automatically Puts The Mind At Ease.

We Must Not Lose Our Trust In The Power Of Truth. Everything Is Always Changing In The World.

We Must Realize That It Is Best To Focus On Our Oneness, To Re Emphasize What Is The Same About Each Of Us Rather Than Dwell On What Is Different.

All Forms Of Violence, Especially War, Are Totally Unacceptable As Means To Settle Disputes Between And Among Nations, Groups And Persons.

Sometimes One Creates A Dynamic Impression By Saying Something, And Sometimes One Creates As Significant An Impression By Remaining Silent.

See The Positive Side, The Potential, And Make An Effort.

I One Individual Human Being. One Of The Seven Billion Human Being. I Believe Each Of Us, Our Future Depends On The Rest Of Humanity.

We Should Practice By Showing One Another Love And Helping One Another. It Is A Mistake To Pursue Happiness And To Seek To The Avoid Suffering By Deceiving And Humiliating Other People. We Must Try To Achieve Happiness And Eliminate Suffering By Being Good-hearted And Well-behaved.

Mutual Respect Is The Foundation Of Genuine Harmony.

It Is My Dream That The Entire Tibetan Plateau Should Become A Free Refuge Where Humanity And Nature Can Live In Peace And In Harmonious Balance. It Would Be A Place Where People From All Over The World Could Come To Seek The True Meaning Of Peace Within Themselves, Away From The Tensions And Pressures Of Much Of The Rest Of The World

There Should Be Pluralism - The Concept Of Many Religions, Many Truths. But We Must Also Be Careful Not To Become Nihilistic.

There Is Often A Big Disparity Between The Way In Which We Perceive Things And The Way Things Really Are.

The Most Important Benefit Of Patience Consists In The Way It Acts As A Powerful Antidote To The Affliction Of Anger - The Greatest Threat To Our Inner Peace, And Therefore Our Happiness. The Mind, Or Spirit, Is Not Physical, It Cannot Be Touched Or Harmed Directly. Only Negative Thoughts And Emotions Can Harm It. Therefore, Only The Corresponding Positive Quality Can Protect It.

Nothing Comes Into Being Without A Cause And When All The Conditions Are Created, There Is Nothing That Can Prevent The Consequence.

Inner Values Like Friendship, Trust, Honesty And Compassion Are Much More Reliable Than Money - They Always Bring Happiness And Strength.

Every Noble Work Is Bound To Face Problems And Obstacles. It Is Important To Check Your Goal And Motivation Thoroughly. One Should Be Very Truthful, Honest, And Reasonable. One's Actions Should Be Good For Others, And For Oneself As Well. Once A Positive Goal Is Chosen, You Should Decide To Pursue It All The Way To The End. Even If It Is Not Realized, At Least There Will Be No Regret.

In Dealing With Those Who Are Undergoing Great Suffering, If You Feel "burnout" Setting In, If You Feel Demoralized And Exhausted, It Is Best, For The Sake Of Everyone, To Withdraw And Restore Yourself. The Point Is To Have A Long-term Perspective.

Don't Become A Buddhist. The World Doesn't Need Buddhist. Do Practice Compassion. The World Needs More Compassion.

It Does Not Matter Whether You Are A Theist Or Atheist, What Matters Is Sincerity, Forgiveness, And Compassion.

Buddha Was Speaking About Reality. Reality May Be One, In Its Deepest Essence, But Buddha Also Stated That All Propositions About Reality Are Only Contingent.

Each Of Us Must Learn To Work Not Just For One Self, One's Own Family Or One's Nation, But For The Benefit Of All Humankind. Universal Responsibility Is The Key To Human Survival. It Is The Best Foundation For World Peace.

The Lessons We Have Begun To Learn Make Me Hopeful, That Human Beings Will Become Friendlier, More Harmonious, Less Harmful. Compassion And The Seeds Of Peace Will Be Able To Flourish. At The Same Time, Every Individual Is Responsible To Help Guide Our Global Family In The Right Direction. Good Wishes Alone Are Not Enough; We Have To Take Responsibility. Large Human Movements Spring From Individual Human Initiatives

At A Fundamental Level, As Human Beings, We Are All The Same; Each One Of Us Aspires To Happiness And Each One Of Us Does Not Wish To Suffer. This Is Why, Whenever I Have The Opportunity, I Try To Draw People's Attention To What As Members Of The Human Family We Have In Common And The Deeply Interconnected Nature Of Our Existence And Welfare.

We Can't Blame The Entire Muslim Society Because Of The Mischievous Acts Of A Few Individuals. Therefore, At The General Public Level We Must Cultivate The Notion Of Not Just One Religion, One Truth, But Pluralism And Many Truths. We Can Change The Atmosphere, And We Can Modify Certain Ways Of Thinking.

Human Happiness And Human Satisfaction Must Ultimately Come From Within Oneself. It Is Wrong To Expect Some Final Satisfaction To Come From Money Or From A Computer.

Consider That Not Only Do Negative Thoughts And Emotions Destroy Our Experience Of Peace, They Also Undermine Our Health.

If You Can Cultivate Wholesome Mental States Prior To Sleep And Allow Them To Continue Right Into Sleep Without Getting Distracted, Then Sleep Itself Becomes Wholesome.

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.

Compassion Can Be Roughly Defined In Terms Of A State Of Mind That Is Nonviolent, Nonharming, And Nonaggressive. It Is A Mental Attitude Based On The Wish For Others To Be Free Of Their Suffering And Is Associated With A Sense Of Commitment, Responsibility, And Respect Towards Others.

Those Who Don't Have A Life Filled With Luxury May Have A Home Filled With Compassion, Based On Their Choice To Be Content And To Practice Self-discipline. Even When We Have Physical Hardships, We Can Be Very Happy.

It Is Maybe Not The Best Choice To Have A Favorite Anything.

A Sense Of Contentment Is A Key Factor For Attaining Happiness

Attaining Happiness

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.

The Many Factors Which Divide Us Are Actually Much More Superficial Than Those We Share. Despite All Of The Things That Differentiate Us - Race, Language, Religion, Gender, Wealth And So On - We Are All Equal Concerning Our Fundamental Humanity.

Despite All Philosophical Differences, All Major World Religions Have The Same Potential To Create Good Human Beings.

World Religions

We Have Made A Great Effort To Maintain All Levels Of Buddhist Education; It Has Helped Us Have A Kind Of Renaissance, Really.

When Selflessness Is Seen In Objects, The Seed Of Cyclic Existence Is Destroyed.

If Others Are Happy, We Will Be Happy. If Others Suffer, Ultimately We All Suffer.

I Believe That At Every Level Of Society The Key To A Happier World Is The Growth Of Compassion. We Do Not Need To Become Religious, Nor Do We Need To Believe In An Ideology. All That Is Necessary Is For Each Of Us To Develop Our Good Human Qualities.

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.

To Reduce Destructive Emotions We Need To Strengthen Constructive Emotions. For Example, To Counter Anger We Cultivate Love And Compassion.

Conservation Is Not Merely A Question Of Morality, But A Question Of Our Own Survival.

Religious Belief Is Not A Precondition Either Of Ethical Conduct Or Of Happiness.

A Lack Of Transparency Results In Distrust And A Deep Sense Of Insecurity.

Through Difficult Experiences, Life Sometimes Becomes More Meaningful.

Spirit Is A Land Of High White Peaks And Glittering Jewel-like Lakes And Flowers. Life Is Sparse And Sounds Travel Great Distances.

One Can Be Deceived By Three Types Of Laziness: Of Indolence, Which Is The Wish To Procrastinate; The Laziness Of Inferiority, Which Is Doubting Your Capabilities; And The Laziness That Is Attachment To Negative Actions, Or Putting Great Effort Into Non-virtue.

Hard Times Build Determination And Inner Strength. Through Them We Can Also Come To Appreciate The Uselessness Of Anger. Instead Of Getting Angry Nurture A Deep Caring And Respect For Troublemakers Because By Creating Such Trying Circumstances They Provide Us With Invaluable Opportunities To Practice Tolerance And Patience.

The Universe Is A Single Atom: The Convergence Of Science And Spirituality.

Science Religion

A Female Dalai Lama Must Be Very Attractive, Otherwise Not Much Use.

If You Think You Are Too Small To Make A Difference, Try Sleeping With A Mosquito.

It Is Time To Fill The World With Strong And Powerful Deeds. It Is Common Knowledge That No Great Captain In The World Has Ever Destroyed All Of His Enemies And Lived With A Sense Of Satisfaction. If One Enemy Is Killed, Two More Will Appear. It Is Important We Cultivate Love And Compassion To All The Sentient Beings Which Is The Way To Bring Peace To All.

It's Not Enough To Be Compassionate. You Must Act.

Passion Is What Gives Sense To Our Life.

I Don't Know Whether The Universe, With Its Countless Galaxies, Stars And Planets, Has A Deeper Meaning Or Not, But At The Very Least, It Is Clear That We Humans Who Live On This Earth Face The Task Of Making A Happy Life For Ourselves. Therefore, It Is Important To Discover What Will Bring About The Greatest Degree Of Happiness.

Today, Due To The Massive Chinese Population Transfer, The Nation Of Tibet Truly Faces The Threat Of Extinction, Along With Its Unique Cultural Heritage Of Buddhist Spirituality.

So Long As Space Remains So Long As Sentient Beings' Suffering Remains I Will Remain In Order To Help, In Order To Serve.

Once A Positive Goal Is Chosen, You Should Decide To Pursue It All The Way To The End. Even If It Is Not Realized, At Least There Will Be No Regret.

The Basic Buddhist Stand On The Question Of Equality Between The Genders Is Age-old. At The Highest Tantric Levels, At The Highest Esoteric Level, You Must Respect Women: Every Woman.

Just As We Take For Granted The Need To Acquire Proficiency In The Basic Academic Subjects, I Am Hopeful That A Time Will Come When We Can Take It For Granted That Children Will Learn, As Part Of The Curriculum, The Indispensability Of Inner Values: Love, Compassion, Justice, And Forgiveness.

I Remain Convinced That Most Human Conflicts Can Be Solved Through Genuine Dialogue Conducted With A Spirit Of Openness And Reconciliation.

When We Encounter Suffering, It Is Important To Respond W/ Compassion Rather Than To Question The Politics Of Those We Help.

Go At Least Once A Year To A Place You've Never Been Before.

Inspiring Travel

All Human Beings Have An Innate Desire To Overcome Suffering, To Find Happiness. Training The Mind To Think Differently, Through Meditation, Is One Important Way To Avoid Suffering And Be Happy.

Distrust Brings Frustration And Fear. So Therefore, The Lonely Feeling Automatically Come. So, Lonely Feeling Is Not Creation Of Environment, But Creation Of Your Own Mental Attitude.

We Have Global Communication And Yet Confrontation Is More Common Than Dialogue.

I'm Nothing Special, Just An Ordinary Human Being. That's Why I Always Describe Myself As A Simple Buddhist Monk.

Peace Starts Within Each One Of Us. When We Have Inner Peace, We Can Be At Peace With Those Around Us.

Without Religion, Also There Is A Way, It Could Be This Way, Through Education, Through Scientific Findings, Then You Get Conviction. Not Necessarily Really Love Other, But For Their Own Interest They Are Showing Love, Compassion To Other Like That.

Anger Is The Ultimate Troublemaker. I Feel You Can Express A Strong Disapproval Or Dislike Of An Object Without Losing Your Temper.

In Order To Be Happy We Must First Possess Inner Contentment; And Inner Contentment Doesn't Come From Having All We Want; But Rather From Wanting And Appreciating Being Grateful For All We Have.

I Am A Firm Believer In The Importance Of Democracy, Not Only As The Ultimate Goal, But Also As An Essential Part Of The Process.

I Believe That The Very Purpose Of Life Is To Be Happy. From The Very Core Of Our Being, We Desire Contentment. In My Own Limited Experience I Have Found That The More We Care For The Happiness Of Others, The Greater Is Our Own Sense Of Well-being.

I Love Smiles. That Is A Fact. How To Develop Smiles? There Are A Variety Of Smiles. Some Smiles Are Sarcastic. Some Smiles Are Artificial-diplomatic Smiles. These Smiles Do Not Produce Satisfaction, But Rather Fear Or Suspicion. But A Genuine Smile Gives Us Hope, Freshness. If We Want A Genuine Smile, Then First We Must Produce The Basis For A Smile To Come.

My Earnest Request Is That You Practice Love And Kindness Whether You Believe In A Religion Or Not

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John O. Brennan

Francis Of Assisi

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