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My Own View, Which Does Not Rely Solely On Religious Faith Or Even On An Original Idea, But Rather On Ordinary Common Sense, Is That Establishing Binding Ethical Principles Is Possible When We Take As Our Starting Point The Observation That We All Desire Happiness And Wish To Avoid Suffering.

-Dalai Lama

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My Own View, Which

Dalai Lama

...

My Own View, Which Does Not Rely Solely On Religious Faith Or Even On An Original Idea, But Rather On Ordinary Common Sense, Is That Establishing Binding Ethical Principles Is Possible When We Take As Our Starting Point The Observation That We All Desire Happiness And Wish To Avoid Suffering.

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Ethical Principles

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Do Not Think Only Of Your Own Joy, But Vow To Save All Beings From Suffering. This Is Sharing In Its Highest Form And Purity Beyond All Poisons Of This World.

Smile If You Want A Smile From Another Face.

Peace Does Not Mean An Absence Of Conflicts; Differences Will Always Be There. Peace Means Solving These Differences Through Peaceful Means; Through Dialogue, Education, Knowledge; And Through Humane Ways.

A Good Friend Who Points Out Mistakes And Imperfections And Rebukes Evil Is To Be Respected As If He Reveals The Secret Of Some Hidden Treasure.

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

We Discover That All Human Beings Are Just Like Us, So We Are Able To Relate To Them More Easily. That Generates A Spirit Of Friendship In Which There Is Less Need To Hide What We Feel Or What We Are Doing.

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.

Even Secular Humanism Has Great Spiritual Resources; It Is Almost Like A Religion To Me.

Secular Humanism

Religion Is Like Going Out To Dinner With Friends. Everyone May Order Something Different, But Everyone Can Still Sit At The Same Table.

Dinner With Friends

A Lot Of Problems We Are Facing, Essentially, Man Made Problem. Own Creation. Not Due To Lack Of Intelligence.

We Need An Approach To Ethics Which Makes No Recourse To Religion And Can Be Equally Acceptable To Those With Faith And Those Without.

Some People Get The Impression That Buddhism Talks Too Much About Suffering. In Order To Become Prosperous, A Person Must Initially Work Very Hard, So He Or She Has To Sacrifice A Lot Of Leisure Time. Similarly, The Buddhist Is Willing To Sacrifice Immediate Comfort So That He Or She Can Achieve Lasting Happiness.

Whenever There Is A Challenge, There Is Also An Opportunity To Face It, To Demonstrate And Develop Our Will And Determination.

A Balanced And Skillful Approach To Life, Taking Care To Avoid Extremes, Becomes A Very Important Factor In Conducting One's Everyday Existence.

I Believe Compassion To Be One Of The Few Things We Can Practice That Will Bring Immediate And Long-term Happiness To Our Lives.

You Make Me Happy

Meditation May Also Be Thought Of As A Technique By Which We Diminish The Force Of Old Thought Habits And Develop New Ones.

In The Past, Destruction Of Your Neighbour Might Have Been Considered A Victory, But Today We Are All Interdependent. We Live In A Global Economy; We Face Problems Like Climate Change That Affect Us All. The 7 Billion Human Beings Alive Today Belong To One Human Family. In The Context That Others' Interests Are In Our Interest And Our Interest Is In Their Interest, The Use Of Force Is Self-destructive.

If We Make Consistent Effort, Based On Proper Education, We Can Change The World.

Kindness And A Good Heart Are The Foundation For Success In This Life, Progress On The Spiritual Path, And The Fulfillment Of Our Aspirations. Our Need For Them Is Not Limited To Any Specific Time, Place, Society, Or Culture.

Most Of Our Troubles Are Due To Our Passionate Desire For And Attachment To Things That We Misapprehend As Enduring Entities.

Passionate Desire

I Am Increasingly Convinced That The Time Has Come To Find A Way Of Thinking About Spirituality And Ethics Beyond Religion Altogether.

We Can Wake Ourselves Up, Discover In Ourselves An Energy That Was Hidden There, And Act With More Clarity, More Force.

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.

Spend Some Time Alone Every Day.

As You Breathe In, Cherish Yourself. As You Breathe Out, Cherish All Beings.

In Some Cases, In Order To Protect Global Issues Some Sacrifice For National Interest Is Worth It In The Long Run. Global Warming, These Things, They Suffer Everybody.

Human Satisfaction Must Ultimately Come From Within Oneself.

Human Happiness

Our State Of Mind Plays A Major Role In Our Day-to-day Experiences As Well As Our Physical And Mental Well-being. If A Person Has A Calm And Stable Mind, This Influences His Or Her Attitude And Behavior In Relation To Others. In Other Words, If Someone Remains In A Peaceful And Tranquil State Of Mind, External Surroundings Can Cause Them Only A Limited Disturbance.

Buddha Himself Taught Different Teachings To Different People Under Different Circumstances. For Some People, There Are Beliefs Based On A Creator. For Others, No Creator. The Only "definitive Truth" For Buddhism Is The Absolute Negation Of Any One Truth As The Definitive Truth.

We Must Recognize That All Beings Want The Same Thing We Want. This Is The Way To Achieve A True Understanding, Unfettered By Artificial Consideration.

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.

Moving Towards Better Rather Than Moving Away From Bad Is An Attitude Of Embracing Life Rather Than Rejecting It.

Our Visit To This Planet Is Short, So We Should Use Our Time Meaningfully, Which We Can Do By Helping Others Wherever Possible. And If We Cannot Help Others, At Least We Should Try Not To Create Pain And Suffering For Them.

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.

Refraining From Harm, Not Out Of Fear, But Out Of Concern For Others, Their Well-being And Out Of Respect Is Non-violence.

Concern For Others

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

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

If We Wish To Ensure Everyone’s Peace And Happiness We Need To Cultivate A Healthy Respect For The Diversity Of Our Peoples And Cultures, Founded On An Understanding Of This Fundamental Sameness Of All Human Beings

If We Are Demoralized, Sad And Only Complain, We’ll Not Solve Our Problems. If We Only Pray For A Solution, We’ll Not Solve Our Problems. We Need To Face Them, To Deal With Them Without Violence, But With Confidence - And Never Give Up. If You Adopt A Non-violent Approach, But Are Also Hesitant Within, You’ll Not Succeed. You Have To Have Confidence And Keep Up Your Efforts - In Other Words, Never Give Up.

The Root Of Happiness Is Altruism - The Wish To Be Of Service To Others.

Service To Others

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 Really Feel That Some People Neglect And Overlook Compassion Because They Associate It With Religion. Of Course, Everyone Is Free To Choose Whether They Pay Religion Any Regard, But To Neglect Compassion Is A Mistake Because It Is The Source Of Our Own Well-being.

The Greater The Force Of Your Compassion, The Greeater Your Resilience In Confronting Hardships.

Peace Does Not Come Through Prayer, We Human Beings Must Create Peace.

First One Must Change. I First Watch Myself, Check Myself, Then Expect Changes From Others.

It Is Important To Pray For Peace. . . But You Must Also Take Actions To Make That Happen. Every Single Day.

There Is No Need To Mention The Great Difference Between The Amount Of Satisfaction There Is In Just Oneself Being Happy And The Amount Of Satisfaction There Is In An Infinite Number Of People Being Happy.

Spend Some Amount Of Time Alone Everyday.

Every Man Has The Basis Of Good. Not Only Human Beings, You Can Find It Among Animals And Insects, For Instance, When We Treat A Dog Or Horse Lovingly.

My Hope And Wish Is That One Day, Formal Education Will Pay Attention To What I Call 'education Of The Heart'.

If We Can Refrain From Harming Others In Our Actions & Words, We Can Start To Give Serious Attention To Actively Doing Good.

The Ultimate Authority Must Always Rest With The Individual's Own Reason And Critical Analysis.

There Are So Many Things I Could Say About You But None Of Them Can Describe You Fully. You Are The Beauty I Was Waiting For. The Love Of My Life Of Whom I Dreamed Day And Night.

Love Of My Life

Kindness Is The Key To Peace And Harmony In Family Life.

Many People Think That Patience Is A Sign Of Weakness. I Think This Is A Mistake. It Is Anger That Is A Sign Of Weakness, Whereas Patience Is A Sign Of Strength

Real Power Has To Do With One's Ability To Influence The Hearts And Minds Of Others.

Not So Long Ago People Believed In Ideologies, Systems, And Institutions To Save All Societies. Today, They Have Given Up Such Hopes And Have Returned To Relying On The Individual, On Individual Freedom, Individual Initiative, Individual Creativity.

Religion Is Important For Humanity, But It Should Evolve With Humanity. The First Priority Is To Establish And Develop The Principle Of Pluralism In All Religious Traditions. If We, The Religious Leaders, Cultivate A Sincere Pluralistic Attitude, Then Everything Will Be More Simple. It Is Good That Most Religious Leaders Are At Least Beginning To Recognize Other Traditions, Even Though They May Not Approve Of Them. The Next Step Is To Accept That The Idea Of Propagating Religion Is Outdated. It No Longer Suits The Times.

We Are Visitors On This Planet. We Are Here For One Hundred Years At The Very Most. During That Period We Must Try To Do Something Good, Something Useful, With Our Lives. If You Contribute To Other People's Happiness, You Will Find The True Meaning Of Life.

The Creatures That Inhabit This Earth-be They Human Beings Or Animals-are Here To Contribute, Each In Its Own Particular Way, To The Beauty And Prosperity Of The World.

If We Lose Our Hope, That's Our Real Disaster!

Painful Experiences

When We Are Young And Again When We Are Old, We Depend Heavily On The Affection Of Others. Between These Stages We Usually Feel That We Can Do Everything Without Help From Others And That Other People's Affection Is Simply Not Important. But At This Stage I Think It Is Very Important To Keep Deep Human Affection.

It Is Not Enough Simply To Wish That Love And Compassion Should Increase In Us. We Need To Make A Sustained Effort, Again And Again, To Cultivate The Positive Aspects Within Us - And The Key Here Is Constant Familiarity. The Nature Of Human Thoughts And Emotions Is Such That The More You Engage In Them, The More You Consciously Develop Them, The More Powerful They Become.

Mental Happiness Is More Important Than Physical Comfort. Physical Comfort Comes From The Material. But Material Facilities Cannot Provide You With Peace Of Mind.

It Is Important To Have Determination And Optimism And Patience. If You Lack Patience, Even When You Face Some Small Obstacle, You Lose Courage. There Is A Tibetan Saying, "even If You Have Failed At Something Nine Times, You Have Still Given It Effort Nine Times." I Think That's Important. Use Your Brain To Analyze The Situation. Do Not Rush Through It, But Think. Once You Decide What To Do About That Obstacle, Then There's A Possibility That You Will Achieve Your Goal.

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.

A Zero Itself Is Nothing, But Without A Zero You Cannot Count Anything; Therefore, A Zero Is Something, Yet Zero.

I Always Believe The Rule By King Or Official Leader Is Outdated. Now We Must Catch Up With The Modern World.

The Proper Way To Create Friends Is To Have A Warm Heart, Not Simply Money Or Power. The Friend Of Power And The Friend Of Money Are Something Different.

Whenever I Visit A Market And See The Chickens Crowded Together In Tiny Cages That Give Them No Room To Move Around And Spread Their Wings And The Fish Slowly Drowning In The Air, My Heart Goes Out To Them. People Have To Learn To Think About Animals In A Different Way, As Sentient Beings Who Love Life And Fear Death. I Urge Everyone Who Can To Adopt A Compassionate Vegetarian Diet.

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

The Most Important Thing Is Practice In Daily Life; Then You Can Know Gradually The True Value Of Religion. Doctrine Is Not Meant For Mere Knowledge, But For The Improvement Of Our Minds. In Order To Do That, It Must Be Part Of Our Life. If You Put Religious Doctrine In A Building And When You Leave The Building Depart From The Practices, You Cannot Gain Its Value.

One Of The Most Effective Ways To Overcome Anxiety Is To Try To Shift The Focus Of Attention Away From Self And Toward Others. When We Succeed In This, We Find That The Scale Of Our Own Problems Diminishes. This Is Not To Say We Should Ignore Our Own Needs Altogether, But Rather That We Should Try To Remember Others' Needs Alongside Our Own, No Matter How Pressing Ours May Be

I Hold The View That Death Is Rather Like Changing One's Clothes When They Are Torn And Old. It Is Not An End In Itself. Yet Death Is Unpredictable-you Do Not Know When And Howt It Will Take Place.

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.

If You Are Mindful Of Death, It Will Not Come As A Surprise-you Will Not Be Anxious. You Will Feel That Death Is Merely Like Changing Clothes. Consequently, At That Point You Will Be Able To Maintain Your Calmness Of Mind.

I Find Hope In The Darkest Of Days, And Focus In The Brightest. I Do Not Judge The Universe.

If There Are Sound Reasons Or Bases For The Points You Demand, Then There Is No Need For Violence. On The Other Hand, When There Is No Sound Reason That Concessions Should Be Made To You But Mainly Your Own Desire, Then Reason Cannot Work And You Have To Rely On Force. Thus Using Force Is Not A Sign Of Strength But Rather A Sign Of Weakness.

We Can Live Without Religion And Meditation, But We Cannot Survive Without Human Affection.

The Challenge Today Is To Convince People Of The Value Of Truth, Honesty, Compassion And A Concern For Others.

Concern For Others

If You Contribute To Other Peoples Happiness, You Will Find The True Meaning Of Life. The Key Point Is To Have A Genuine Sense Of Universal Responsibility

Meaning Of Life

The Way To Overcome Negative Thoughts And Destructive Emotions Is To Develop Opposing, Positive Emotions That Are Stronger And More Powerful.

Given The Scale Of Life In The Cosmos, One Human Life Is No More Than A Tiny Blip. Each One Of Us Is A Just Visitor To This Planet, A Guest, Who Will Only Stay For A Limited Time. What Greater Folly Could There Be Than To Spend This Short Time Alone, Unhappy Or In Conflict With Our Companions? Far Better, Surely, To Use Our Short Time Here In Living A Meaningful Life, Enriched By Our Sense Of Connection With Others And Being Of Service To Them.

I Think The Problem Is These Basic Sort Of Human Values From Our - From The Beginning, From Birth, Are Not Sort Of Properly Nurtured. So Then Our Mind, Our Brain, Through Education And Also Difference Of Experiences, That Eventually, These Basic Values Or What Are Called Dominant, Not Have The Catching Up Our Intelligence, Experience Growth, That Also Should Grow. Then Our Life Become More Human.

I Really Do Not Want To Carry Some Kind Of Party Function.

The Key To Genuine Happiness Is In Our Hands. To Think This Way Is To Discover The Essential Values Of Kindness, Brotherly Love And Altruism. The More Clearly We See The Benefits Of These Values, The More We Will Seek To Reject Anything That Opposes Them; In This Way We Will Be Able To Bring About Inner Transformation.

We Humans Have Existed In Our Present Form For About A Hundred Thousand Years. I Believe That If During This Time The Human Mind Had Been Primarily Controlled By Anger And Hatred, Our Overall Population Would Have Decreased. But Today, Despite All Our Wars, We Find That The Human Population Is Greater Than Ever. This Clearly Indicates To Me That Love And Compassion Predominate In The World. And This Is Why Unpleasant Events Are "news"; Compassionate Activities Are So Much A Part Of Daily Life That They Are Taken For Granted And , Therefore, Largely Ignored.

Love And Compassion Are The Pillars Of World Peace.

Because Of Lack Of Moral Principle, Human Life Becomes Worthless. Moral Principle, Truthfulness, Is A Key Factor. If We Lose That, Then There Is No Future.

Every Human Actions Becomes Dangerous When It Is Deprived Of Human Feeling. When They Are Performed With Feeling And Respect For Human Values, All Activities Become Constructive.

By Developing A Sense Of Concern For Others' Well-being, Then No Matter What Others' Attitudes Are, You Can Keep Inner Peace.

Concern For Others

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. Reality Is Devoid Of Any Intrinsic Identity That Can Be Captured By Any One Single Proposition - That Is What Buddha Meant By "voidness." Therefore, Buddhism Strongly Discourages Blind Faith And Fanaticism.

A Sense Of Contentment Is A Key Factor For Attaining Happiness

Attaining Happiness

Whether One Is Rich Or Poor, Educated Or Illiterate, Religious Or Nonbelieving, Man Or Woman, Black, White, Or Brown, We Are All The Same. Physically, Emotionally, And Mentally, We Are All Equal. We All Share Basic Needs For Food, Shelter, Safety, And Love. We All Aspire To Happiness And We All Shun Suffering. Each Of Us Has Hopes, Worries, Fears, And Dreams. Each Of Us Wants The Best For Our Family And Loved Ones. We All Experience Pain When We Suffer Loss And Joy When We Achieve What We Seek. On This Fundamental Level, Religion, Ethnicity, Culture, And Language Make No Difference.

Try To Improve. Don't Expect Too Much, But Don't Feel Discouraged Either; Keep Up Your Enthusiasm; You Will Make Progress.

Certain Beliefs Must Accompany Every Action: One Should Act Without Selfishness, Cultivate Compassion For All Living Things, And Develop Respect For Others.

According To Buddhist Psychology Most Of Our Troubles Stem From Attachment To Things That We Mistakenly See As Permanent.

Everybody Loves To Talk About Calmness And Peace, Whether In A Family, National, Or International Context, But Without Inner Peace How Can We Make Real Peace? World Peace Through Hatred And Force Is Impossible.

I Consider Myself To Be Just One Among 7 Billion Human Beings. If I Were To Think Of Myself As Different From Others, Or As Something Special, It Would Create A Barrier Between Us. What Makes Us The Same Is That We All Want To Lead Happy Lives And Gather Friends Around Us. And Friendship Is Based On Trust, Honesty And Openness.

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.

Peace Isn't The Mere Absence Of Violence; Peace Must Come From Inner Peace. And Inner Peace Comes From Taking Others’ Interests Into Account.

Many Of The Earth's Habitats, Animals, Plants, Insects And Even Micro-organisms That We Know To Be Rare May Not Be Known At All By Future Generations. We Have The Capability And The Responsibility To Act; We Must Do So Before It Is Too Late.

Without Inner Peace It Is Impossible To Have World Peace.

Physical Comforts Cannot Subdue Mental Suffering, And If We Look Closely, We Can See That Those Who Have Many Possessions Are Not Necessarily Happy. In Fact, Being Wealthy Often Brings Even More Anxiety.

Hard Times Build Determination And Inner Strength. Through Them We Can Also Come To Appreciate The Uselessness Of Anger.

Everything Is Interconnected. My Interest Is Linked To Everyone Else's. Our Survival And Future Are Linked. Therefore The Destruction Of Your So-called Enemy Is Actually The Destruction Of Your Self.

If You Young People Who Today Belong To The First Generation Of The 21st Century Make An Effort Now, You May Be Able To Create A Happier, More Peaceful World. But You Can't Take For Granted That It Will Happen By Itself, You'll Need To Take Action.

We May Be Different Races And Religions But We Are All Part Of The Same Human Family

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.

Pursuit Of Happiness

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

I Would Like To Explain The Meaning Of Compassion, Which Is Often Misunderstood. Genuine Compassion Is Based Not On Our Own Projections And Expectations, But Rather On The Rights Of The Other: Irrespective Of Whether Another Person Is A Close Friend

Genuine Concern

Live A Good, Honourable Life. Then When You Get Older And Look Back, You'll Be Able To Enjoy It A Second Time.

We Believe In Self Creation. That's Why Buddhists Believe In The Four Noble Truths.

I Am Confident I Will Set Foot Again In Tibet In My Lifetime.

All Good Qualities Must Be Sown And Cultivated. We Can’t Expect To Change Overnight From An Ordinary Person Into One With High Realizations.

Be Kind Whenever Possible. It Is Always Possible.

Love And Compassion Are The True Religions To Me. But To Develop This, We Do Not Need To Believe In Any Religion.

We Don't Need To Respond With Desperate Violence.

Even More Important Than The Warmth And Affection We Receive, Is The Warmth And Affection We Give. It Is By Giving Warmth And Affection, By Having A Genuine Sense Of Concern For Others, In Other Words Through Compassion, That We Gain The Conditions For Genuine Happiness. More Important Than Being Loved, Therefore, Is To Love.

Concern For Others

According To Accounts Of The Buddha's Life, It Would Seem That He Had A Very Deep Relationship With Nature. He Was Not Born In The Royal Palace But In A Park, Under A Sala Tree. He Attained Complete Enlightenment Under The Bodhi Tree And Left This Earth To Enter Parinirvana, Again, Between Three Sala Trees. It Would Seem That The Buddha Was Very Fond Of Trees.

When You Lose, Don't Lose The Lesson.

It Is Our Enemies Who Provide Us With The Challenge We Need To Develop The Qualities Of Tolerance, Patience And Compassion.

Follow The Three R's: - Respect For Self. - Respect For Others. - Responsibility For All Your Actions.

Calm Mind Brings Inner Strength And Self-confidence, So That's Very Important For Good Health.

Self Confidence

Religion Does Not Mean Just Precepts, A Temple, Monastery, Or Other External Signs, For These As Well As Hearing And Thinking Are Subsidiary Factors In Taming The Mind.

A Generous Heart And Wholesome Actions Lead To Greater Peace.

We Need Material Development, But We Need To Understand That By Itself It Doesn't Bring Peace Of Mind.

True Compassion Is Not Just An Emotional Response But A Firm Commitment Founded On Reason.

The Feeling Of Being Happy Or Unhappy Rarely Depends On Our Absolute State, But On Our Perception Of The Situation, On Our Capacity To Be Satisfied With What We Have.

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.

‎in Today's Materialistic World There Is A Risk Of People Becoming Slaves To Money, As Though They Were Simply Cogs In A Huge Money-making Machine. This Does Nothing For Human Dignity, Freedom, And Genuine Well-being. Wealth Should Serve Humanity, And Not The Other Way Around.

If Humanity Is To Survive, Happiness And Inner Balance Are Crucial. Otherwise The Lives Of Our Children And Their Children Are More Likely To Be Unhappy, Desperate And Short. Material Development Certainly Contributes To Happiness - To Some Extent - And A Comfortable Way Of Life. But This Is Not Sufficient. To Achieve A Deeper Level Of Happiness We Cannot Neglect Our Inner Development.

Killing Animals For Sport, For Pleasure, For Adventure, And For Hides And Furs Is A Phenomena Which Is At Once Disgusting And Distressing. There Is No Justification In Indulging Is Such Acts Of Brutality.

Funny Inspirational

The First Beneficiary Of Compassion Is Always Oneself. When Compassion, Or Warmheartedness, Arises In Us And Our Focus Shifts Away From Our Own Narrow Self-interest, It Is As If We Open An Inner Door. It Reduces Fear, Boosts Confidence And Brings Us Inner Strength. By Reducing Distrust, It Opens Us To Others And Brings Us A Sense Of Connection To Others, And Sense Of Purpose And Meaning In Life.

Always Engage Yourself Positively With Situations.

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.

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.

I Believe All Suffering Is Caused By Ignorance.

Those Who Suffer From An Exaggerated Sense Of Their Own Ability And Accomplishment Are Continually Subject To Frustration, Disappointment, And Rage When Reality Intrudes And The World Doesn't Validate Their Idealized View Of Themselves.

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.

But When It Comes To Democratic Political Parties, I Prefer That Monks And Nuns Not Join Them - In Order To Ensure Proper Democratic Practice.

While It Is All Very Well To Distinguish Happiness That Is Transient From That Which Is Lasting, Between Ephemeral And Genuine Happiness, The Only Happiness It Is Meaningful To Speak Of When A Person Is Dying From Thirst Is Access To Water.

Through Violence, You May 'solve' One Problem, But You Sow The Seeds For Another.

I Believe That We Are Fundamentally The Same And Have The Same Basic Potential.

We All Have The Potential To Show Others Love And Affection, But As We Progress In Our Materialistic World, These Values Tend To Remain Dormant. We Can Develop Them On The Basis Of Common Sense, Common Experience And Scientific Findings. The Response To The Recent Tragedy In The Philippines Is An Example Of How Such Values Are Awakened; People Helped Simply Because Others Are Suffering And In Need Of Support.

Today, As We Wish Each Other A Happy New Year, Let Us Determine To Be More Sincere, Compassionate, Warm-hearted Human Beings, Trying To Make Our World A More Equal Place. That Way We'll Actually Make It A Happy Year.

It Is Very Wrong For People To Feel Deeply Sad When They Lose Some Money, Yet When They Waste The Precious Moments Of Their Lives They Do Not Have The Slightest Feeling Of Repentance.

Be A Good Human Being, A Warm-hearted Affectionate Person. That Is My Fundamental Belief. Having A Sense Of Caring, A Feeling Of Compassion Will Bring Happiness Of Peace Of Mind To Oneself And Automatically Create A Positive Atmosphere.

We Cannot Overcome Anger And Hatred Simply By Suppressing Them. We Need To Actively Cultivate The Antidotes: Patience And Tolerance.

Just As Ripples Spread Out When A Single Pebble Is Dropped Into Water, The Actions Of Individuals Can Have Far-reaching Effects.

One Must Be Compassionate To One's Self Before External Compassion.

There Can Be No Peace As Long As There Is Grinding Poverty, Social Injustice, Inequality, Oppression, Environmental Degradation, And As Long As The Weak And Small Continue To Be Trodden By The Mighty And Powerful.

Concern Yourselves More With The Needs Of Others, With The Needs Of All Humanity, And You'll Have Peace Of Mind.

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

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.

For Material Progress And Physical Well Being, Peace Of Mind Is Of Utmost Importance.

This We Can All Bear Witness To, Living As We Do Plagued By Unremitting Anxiety . It Becomes More And More Imperative That The Life Of The Spirit Be Avowed As The Only Firm Basis Upon Which To Establish Happiness And Peace.

Pain Can Change You, But That Doesn't Mean It Has To Be A Bad Change. Take That Pain And Turn It Into Wisdom.

Peace Must First Be Developed Within An Individual. And I Believe That Love, Compassion, And Altruism Are The Fundamental Basis For Peace. Once These Qualities Are Developed Within An Individual, He Or She Is Then Able To Create An Atmosphere Of Peace And Harmony. This Atmosphere Can Be Expanded And Extended From The Individual To His Family, From The Family To The Community And Eventually To The Whole World.

It Is Important That When Pursing Our Own Self-interest We Should Be 'wise Selfish' And Not 'foolish Selfish'. Being Foolish Selfish Means Pursuing Our Own Interests In A Narrow, Shortsighted Way. Being Wise Selfish Means Taking A Broader View And Recognizing That Our Own Long-term Individual Interest Lies In The Welfare Of Everyone. Being Wise Selfish Means Being Compassionate.

We Can Hardly Call A Beggar An Obstacle To Generosity.

The Roots Of All Goodness Lie In The Soil Of Appreciation For Goodness.

We Must Cultivate A Universal Responsibility Toward Each Other And Extend It To The Planet That We Have To Share

There Is...a Tendency To Think Of The Spiritual Life As Primarily Introspective, Divorced From The Concerns Of Everyday Life....faith That Does Not Translate Into Actions Is No Faith At All.

The Problem Isn't Materialism As Such. Rather It Is The Underlying Assumption That Full Satisfaction Can Arise From Gratifying The Senses Alone. Unlike Animals Whose Quest For Happiness Is Restricted To Survival And To The Immediate Gratification Of Sensory Desires, We Human Beings Have The Capacity To Experience Happiness At A Deeper Level Which, When Achieved, Can Overwhelm Unhappy Experiences.

Look At Children. Of Course They May Quarrel, But Generally Speaking They Do Not Harbor Ill Feelings As Much Or As Long As Adults Do. Most Adults Have The Advantage Of Education Over Children, But What Is The Use Of An Education If They Show A Big Smile While Hiding Negative Feelings Deep Inside? Children Don�t Usually Act In Such A Manner. If They Feel Angry With Someone, They Express It, And Then It Is Finished. They Can Still Play With That Person The Following Day.

The Quality Of Everything We Do: Our Physical Actions, Our Verbal Actions, And Even Our Mental Actions, Depends On Our Motivation. That's Why It's Important For Us To Examine Our Motivation In Our Day To Day Life. If We Cultivate Respect For Others And Our Motivation Is Sincere, If We Develop A Genuine Concern For Others’ Well-being, Then All Our Actions Will Be Positive.

Each Of You Should Feel That You Have Great Potential And That, With Self-confidence And A Little More Effort, Change Really Is Possible If You Want It. If You Feel That Your Present Way Of Life Is Unpleasant Or Has Some Difficulties, Then Don't Look At These Negative Things. See The Positive Side, The Potential, And Make An Effort.

Self Confidence

A Heart Full Of Love And Compassion Is The Main Source Of Inner Strength, Willpower, Happiness, And Mental Tranquility

If Scientific Analysis Were Conclusively To Demonstrate Certain Claims In Buddhism To Be False, Then We Must Accept The Findings Of Science And Abandon Those Claims.

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.

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

The Most Compassionate Form Of Giving Is Done With No Thought Or Expectation Of Reward, And Grounded In Genuine Concern For Others.

Genuine Concern

Concern For Others

The Purpose Of Our Lives Is To Be Happy.

If You Want Change, Create The Causes.

Happiness Cannot Come From Hatred Or Anger. Nobody Can Say, 'today I Am Happy Because This Morning I Was Angry.' On The Contrary, People Feel Uneasy And Sad And Say, 'today I Am Not Very Happy, Because I Lost My Temper This Morning.'

Only Through Kindness And Love Can Peace Of Mind Be Achieved.

(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.

If You Become More Concerned For The Welfare Of Others, You Will Experience A Sense Of Calm, Inner-strength, And Self Confidence.

Self Confidence

Sectarian Feelings And Criticism Of Other Teachings Or Other Sects Is Very Bad, Poisonous, And Should Be Avoided.

Genuine Peace Is Based On Inner Peace, Because You Cannot Build Peace On The Basis Of Anger

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.

The Need For Love Lies At The Very Foundation Of Human Existence.

The Simple Recognition That Everyone Else Wants To Be Happy And Not To Suffer, Just As I Do, Serves As A Constant Reminder Against Selfishness And Partiality. It Reminds Us There Is Little To Be Gained From Being Kind And Generous While Hoping To Win Something In Return. Actions Motivated By A Desire To Earn A Good Name For Ourselves Are Still Selfish, Even If They Appear To Be Acts Of Kindness.

Affection Is Important Because It Counters Anger, Hatred And Suspicion That Can Prevent Our Minds From Functioning Clearly.

As A Buddhist, I View Death As A Normal Process, A Reality That I Accept Will Occur As Long As I Remain In This Earthly Existence. Knowing That I Cannot Escape It, I See No Point In Worrying About It. I Tend To Think Of Death As Being Like Changing Your Clothes When They Are Old And Worn Out, Rather Than As Some Final End. Yet Death Is Unpredictable: We Do Not Know When Or How It Will Take Place. So It Is Only Sensible To Take Certain Precautions Before It Actually Happens.

I Only Escaped From Tibet Because I Feared My People Would Resort To Desperate Violence If The Chinese Took Me As Their Prisoner.

In The Past, The Respect People Had For Religion Meant That Ethical Practice Was Maintained Through A Majority Following One Religion Or Another. But This Is No Longer The Case. We Must Therefore Find Some Other Way Of Establishing Basic Ethical Principles.

Ethical Principles

I Consider Myself As A Free Spokesman For The People.

We Begin From The Recognition That All Beings Cherish Happiness And Do Not Want Suffering. It Then Becomes Both Morally Wrong And Pragmatically Unwise To Pursue Only One's Own Happiness Oblivious To The Feelings And Aspirations Of All Others Who Surround Us As Members Of The Same Human Family. The Wiser Course Is To Think Of Others When Pursuing Our Own Happiness.

You Make Me Happy

If You Shift Your Focus From Yourself To Others, Extend Your Concern To Others, And Cultivate The Thought Of Caring For The Well Being Of Others, Then This Will Have The Immediate Effect Of Opening Up Your Life And Helping You To Reach Out.

If Through Practice Of Insight You Develop A Sense Of Ease, Then Time Has No Relevance. If You're Miserable, Time Does Matter. It's So Unbearable, So Enormous You Want To Get Out Of It As Soon As Possible.

The Basis Of Human Rights Is Happy Life. Everyone Wants To Lead A Happy Life For Which We Need To Have A Holistic Approach.

Because The Twentieth Century Was A Century Of Violence, Let Us Make The Twenty-first A Century Of Dialogue.

If We Want To Save The World, We Must Have A Plan. But No Plan Will Work Unless We Meditate.

Appearance Is Something Absolute, But Reality Is Not That Way - Everything Is Interdependent, Not Absolute.

Self Confidence Plays An Important Part In Every Aspect Of Man's Life.

Self Confidence

Neither A Space Station Nor An Enlightened Mind Can Be Realized In A Day.

We Can Never Obtain Peace In The Outer World Until We Make Peace With Ourselves.

There Is Only One Important Point You Must Keep In Your Mind And Let It Be Your Guide. No Matter What People Call You, You Are Just Who You Are. Keep To This Truth. You Must Ask Yourself How Is It You Want To Live Your Life. We Live And We Die, This Is The Truth That We Can Only Face Alone. No One Can Help Us, Not Even The Buddha. So Consider Carefully, What Prevents You From Living The Way You Want To Live Your Life?

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