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One Problem With Our Current Society Is That We Have An Attitude Towards Education As If It Is There To Simply Make You More Clever, Make You More Ingenious... Even Though Our Society Does Not Emphasize This, The Most Important Use Of Knowledge And Education Is To Help Us Understand The Importance Of Engaging In More Wholesome Actions And Bringing About Discipline Within Our Minds. The Proper Utilization Of Our Intelligence And Knowledge Is To Effect Changes From Within To Develop A Good Heart.

-Dalai Lama

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One Problem With Our

Dalai Lama

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One Problem With Our Current Society Is That We Have An Attitude Towards Education As If It Is There To Simply Make You More Clever, Make You More Ingenious... Even Though Our Society Does Not Emphasize This, The Most Important Use Of Knowledge And Education Is To Help Us Understand The Importance Of Engaging In More Wholesome Actions And Bringing About Discipline Within Our Minds. The Proper Utilization Of Our Intelligence And Knowledge Is To Effect Changes From Within To Develop A Good Heart.

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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.

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

Treat Each Person As You Would An Old Friend.

When The Only Bond Between Close Friends Is Attachment, Then Even A Minor Issue May Cause One's Projections To Change. As Soon As Our Projections Change, The Attachment Disappears, Because That Attachment Was Based Solely On Projection And Expectation. It Is Possible To Have Compassion Without Attachment, And Similarly, To Have Anger Without Hatred.

My Religion Is Very Simple. My Religion Is Kindness.

The Right Way To Deal With Mental Unhappiness Must Be Within The Mind Too. On An Emotional Level, Anger, Fear And Worry Bring Unhappiness. Scientists Say They Eat Into Our Immune System. On The Other Hand, We Are Also Equipped With A Sense Of Affection And Compassionate Concern For The Well-being Of Others.

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.

Some Mischievous People Always There. Last Several Thousand Years, Always There. In Future, Also.

All I Can Do Is Engage With Complete Sincerity. Then Whatever Happens, There Is No Regret.

There Are Five Billion Human Beings And In A Certain Way I Think We Need Five Billion Different Religions, Because There Is Such A Large Variety Of Dispositions. I Believe That Each Individual Should Embark Upon A Spiritual Path That Is Best Suited To His Or Her Mental Disposition, Natural Inclination, Temperament, Belief, Family And Cultural Background.

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

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.

The Highest Happiness Is When One Reaches The Stage Of Liberation, At Which There Is No More Suffering.

Peace And The Survival Of Life On Earth As We Know It Are Threatened By Human Activities Which Lack A Commitment To Humanitarian Values. Destruction Of Nature And Nature's Resources Result From Ignorance, Greed And Lack Of Respect For The Earth's Living Things.

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.

A Compassionate Attitude Helps You Communicate More Easily With Your Fellow Human Beings. As A Result, You Make More Genuine Friends And The Atmosphere Around You Is More Positive, Which Gives You Greater Inner Strength. This Inner Strength Helps You Spontaneously Concern Yourself With Others, Instead Of Thinking Only About Yourself.

Genuine Friends

The Realization That We Are All Basically The Same Human Beings Who Seek Happiness And Try To Avoid Suffering Is Very Helpful In Developing A Sense Of Brotherhood And Sisterhood; A Warm Feeling Of Love And Compassion For Others.

I Call Myself A Feminist. Isn't That What You Call Someone Who Fights For Women's Rights?

The Purpose Of Our Lives Is To Be Happy. We Live In Hope, Which Means Looking Forward To Something Good. And There Are Increasing Scientific Findings That Both Our Physical And Mental Well-being Depend On Our Peace Of Mind.

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.

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.

I Will Not Propose To You That My Way Is Best. The Decision Is Up To You. If You Find Some Point Which May Be Suitable To You, Then You Can Carry Out Experiments For Yourself. If You Find That It Is Of No Use, Then You Can Discard It.

When We Are Motivated By Compassion And Wisdom, The Results Of Our Actions Benefit Everyone, Not Just Our Individual Selves.

I Am Confident That The Next Century Will Be Better Than This One.

Our Enemies Provide Us With A Precious Opportunity To Practice Patience And Love. We Should Have Gratitude Toward Them.

When You Realize You've Made A Mistake, Take Immediate Steps To Correct It.

Through Constant Familiarity, We Can Definitely Establish New Behavior Patterns, Using Our Tendency To Form Habits To Our Advantage. If We Make A Steady Effort, I Think We Can Overcome Any Form Of Negative Conditioning And Make Positive Changes In Our Lives. But We Need To Remember That Genuine Change Doesn't Happen Overnight.

We Must Openly Accept All Ideologies And Systems As A Means Of Solving Humanity's Problems. One Country, One Nation, One Ideology, One System Is Not Sufficient.

Since Periods Of Great Change, Such As The Present One, Come So Rarely In Human History, It Is Up To Each Of Us To Make The Best Use Of Our Time To Help Create A Happier World.

When Young We Have A Vivid Sense Of Basic Values Like Trust And Warm-heartedness, Which We Tend To Neglect In Today's Competitive World As We Grow Up, Yet From Birth We All Have A Need For Affection. The Emotions We Experience Today Have Not Changed Much Over The Last Few Thousand Years, But The Interest Increasing Numbers Of People Are Showing In Their Inner World And How Their Emotions Work Is A Sign Of Maturity.

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.

The Two Most Important Things To Remember In Business Are: To Be Aware Of The Consequential Impact On Ecology, And A Caring Relationship Between Employer And Employee.

Be Kind Whenever Possible. It Is Always Possible.

It Is A Question Of Our Own Peace And Mental Stability.

Mental Stability

As Free Human Beings We Can Use Our Unique Intelligence To Try To Understand Ourselves And Our World. But If We Are Prevented From Using Our Creative Potential, We Are Deprived Of One Of The Basic Characteristics Of A Human Being.

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

The Most Important Thing Is To Have A Sense Of Responsibility, Commitment, And Concern For Each Of Our Fellow Human Beings.

We Must Work To Resolve Conflicts In A Spirit Of Reconciliation And Always Keep In Mind The Interests Of Others. We Cannot Destroy Our Neighours! We Cannot Ignore Their Interests!

All Religion Teaches The Virtues Of Love, Altruism And Patience, While Showing Us How To Discipline And Transform Ourselves To Achieve Inner Peace And A Kind Heart. Therefore, They Are Worthy Of Our Respect.

I Do Not Judge The Universe.

Pain Is Inevitable,suffering Is Optional... We Have Bigger Houses,but Smaller Families. More Conveniences,but Less Time. We Have Knowledge,but Less Judgements; More Experts,but More Problems ; More Medicines But Less Health.

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.

Destructive Thoughts And Emotions Undermine The Very Causes Of Peace And Happiness. If You Think Clearly About It, It Makes No Sense To Think You’re Seeking Happiness, If You Do Nothing To Restrain Angry, Spiteful, And Malicious Thoughts And Emotions.

The Antidote To Hatred In The Heart, The Source Of Violence, Is Tolerance.

Unfortunate Events Though Potentially A Source Of Anger And Despair Have Equal Potential To Be A Source Of Spiritual Growth. Whether Or Not This Is The Outcome Depends On Your Response.

Depression Seems To Be Related To Fear, Anger And Frustration. When You're In A Bad Mood, Even If You Meet With Your Friends, You Don't Take Pleasure In Their Company. But When You're In A Good Mood, Even If Things Go Wrong, You Can Cope With Them Without Difficulty. This Is Why Putting Yourself In A Good Mood, Making A Point Of Developing A Sense Of Loving Kindness Gives You Greater Inner Strength.

Humanity Happy, I Get Benefit. Humanity In State Of Trouble, Or Violence, I Cannot Escape From That.

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

What Unites All Beings Is Their Desire For Happiness.

Every Morning When I Wake Up, I Dedicate Myself To Helping Others To Find Peace Of Mind. Then, When I Meet People, I Think Of Them As Long Term Friends; I Don't Regard Others As Strangers.

Old Friends Pass Away, New Friends Appear. It Is Just Like The Days. An Old Day Passes, A New Day Arrives. The Important Thing Is To Make It Meaningful: A Meaningful Friend - Or A Meaningful Day.

Each Individual Has A Universal Responsibility To Shape Institutions To Serve Human Needs.

The World Will Be Saved By The Western Woman.

I Don't Take Myself Too Seriously! That Makes Me Happy.

The Only "definitive Truth" For Buddhism Is The Absolute Negation Of Any One Truth As The Definitive Truth.

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

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.

Compassion Is Concern Of Others' Well Being.

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

Each One Of Us Is Responsible For The Whole Of Humankind. We Need To Think Of Each Other Really As Brothers And Sisters And To Be Concerned For Each Other’s Welfare. Rather Than Working Solely To Acquire Wealth, We Need To Do Something Meaningful, Something Directed Seriously Towards The Welfare Of Humanity As A Whole.

Hardship, In Forcing Us To Exercise Greater Patience And Forbearance In Daily Life, Actually Makes Us Stronger And More Robust. From The Daily Experience Of Hardship Comes A Greater Capacity To Accept Difficulties Without Losing Our Sense Of Inner Calm. Of Course, I Do Not Advocate Seeking Out Hardship As A Way Of Life, But Merely Wish To Suggest That, If You Relate To It Constructively, It Can Bring Greater Inner Strength And Fortitude.

True Compassion Is Universal In Scope. It Is Accompanied By A Feeling Of Responsibility.

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

Concern For Others

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 Think, That In The Twenty-second Century, There Will Be More Female Reincarnations At Female Institutions. Then There'll Be Competition Between Male Lama Institutions And Female Lama Institutions. It'll Be A Positive Sort Of Competition.

If I Had Not Been A Monk, I Would Have Become An Engineer.

A Calm Mind Helps Our Human Intelligence To Assess The Situation Realistically.

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

There Is Nothing That Does Not Get Easier Through Cultivation. The Buddhas Of The Past Started Out As Ordinary Beings. They Were Not Buddhas In The Beginning. The Path To Buddhahood Is Traversed Only Through Gradually Developing More And More Courage And Determination -then It Is Attained.

Cultivating Inner Discipline Is Something That Takes Time; Expecting Rapid Results Is Simply A Sign Of Impatience.

If You Don't Love Yourself, You Cannot Love Others. You Will Not Be Able To Love Others. If You Have No Compassion For Yourself Then You Are Not Able Of Developing Compassion For Others.

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.

We May Now Have Reached A Point Where This Gap In Our Make-up Has Become Unsustainable; Partly Because What In The Past Would Have Counted As Material Plenty Has Become The Norm For The Majority In Much Of The World; And Partly Because The Slow Retreat Of Religion That Coincided With The Spread Of A Capitalist Economy Has Left A Gaping Hole In Millions Of People's Lives. (geoff Mulgan)

Capitalist Economy

My Call For A Spiritual Revolution Is Not A Call For A Religious Revolution. Nor Is It A Reference To A Way Of Life That Is Somehow Otherworldly, Still Less To Something Magical Or Mysterious. Rather It Is A Call For A Radical Reorientation Away From Our Habitual Preoccupation With Self. It Is A Call To Turn Toward The Wider Community Of Beings With Whom We Are Connected, And For Conduct Which Recognizes Others' Interests Alongside Our Own.

The Main Cause Of Suffering Is Egoistic Desire For One's Own Comfort And Happiness.

Nowadays The World Is Becoming Increasingly Materialistic, And Mankind Is Reaching Toward The Very Zenith Of External Progress, Driven By An Insatiable Desire For Power And Vast Possessions. Yet By This Vain Striving For Perfection In A World Where Everything Is Relative,they Wander Even Further Away From Inward Peace And Happiness Of The Mind.

The Very Purpose Of Religion Is To Control Yourself, Not To Criticize Others. Rather, We Must Criticize Ourselves. How Much Am I Doing About My Anger? About My Attachment, About My Hatred, About My Pride, My Jealousy? These Are The Things Which We Must Check In Daily Life.

Modern Education Is Premised Strongly On Materialistic Values. It Is Vital That When Educating Our Children's Brains That We Do Not Neglect To Educate Their Hearts, A Key Element Of Which Has To Be The Nurturing Of Our Compassionate Nature.

Determination, With An Optimistic Attitude Is The Key To Success.

There Are Many Different Kinds Of Power. True Power Comes From Serving And Helping Others. Such Behavior Makes People Respect You. They Are Willing To Listen To Your Views And Advice, And They Support You. The Energy Of Many People Is Thus Channeled Through One Person. This Kind Of Power Is Positive And Authentic.

Because Past Environmental Destruction Was The Result Of Ignorance, We Can Easily Forgive It. Today, We Are Better Informed. Therefore, It's Essential That We Make An Ethical Examination Of What We Have Inherited, What We Are Responsible For, And What We Will Pass On To Coming Generations. Ours Is Clearly A Pivotal Generation. We Have Global Communication And Yet Confrontation Is More Common Than Dialogue.

I Can Do What My Energy, My Time, To My Other Sort Of Commitment. And Then Also Emotional, Religious Harmony. So In These Two Field, Now That More Or Less I Think The Spirituality Or Human Values In These Fields, I May Consider My Only Professional Field. The Political, National Struggle, These Are Not My Profession.

World Peace Begins With Inner Peace.

For A Practitioner Of Love And Compassion, An Enemy Is One Of The Most Important Teachers. Without An Enemy You Cannot Practice Tolerance, And Without Tolerance You Cannot Build A Sound Basis Of Compassion.

Happiness Arises As A Result Of Different Causes And Conditions. If You Harm Someone Out Of Anger, You May Feel Some Superficial Satisfaction, But Deep Down You Know It Was Wrong. Your Confidence Will Be Undermined. However, If You Have An Altruistic Attitude, You’ll Feel Comfortable And Confident In The Presence Of Others.

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

Tolerance Is An Important Virtue Of Bodhisattvas .

Don't Ever Mistake My Silence For Ignorance, My Calmness For Acceptance Or My Kindness For Weakness. Compassion And Tolerance Are Not A Sign Of Weakness, But A Sign Of Strength.

Different People Describe Me In A Different Ways. Some Describe Me As The Living Buddha. Nonsense. Some Describe Me As 'god-king.' Nonsense. Some Consider Me As A Demon Or A Wolf In Buddhist Robes. That Also, I Think Nonsense.

Chinese People Themselves, They Really Want Change.

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.

We All Wish To Live A Happy Life. In Addition, We All Have The Same Right To Fulfil This Goal. And We All Have The Potential To Do So For The Simple Reason That Future Is Not Fixed, It Can Be Changed. Therefore, We Should Live In Hope That We Really Can Overcome Whatever Problems We Face.

The Problems We Face Today, Violent Conflicts, Destruction Of Nature, Poverty, Hunger, And So On, Are Human-created Problems Which Can Be Resolved Through Human Effort, Understanding And The Development Of A Sense Of Brotherhood And Sisterhood. We Need To Cultivate A Universal Responsibility For One Another And The Planet We Share.

We Have Always Been A Nation Different From The Chinese. Long Ago We Fought Wars With Them.

Spiritually, Yes, Now Many People Knows Tibetans In Spiritual Field Are Very, Very Advanced But In Material Field Is Very, Very Backward.

Instead Of Wondering Why This Is Happening To You, Consider Why This Is Happening To You.

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 Buddha Gave Equal Opportunities To Women. But We, Even As Followers Of Buddha, Neglected That.

Although Attempting To Bring About World Peace Through The Internal Transformation Of Individuals Is Difficult, It Is The Only Way.

When, From The Depths Of Your Heart, You Spontaneously Wish All Beings To Find True, Lasting Happiness, This Is Great Love.

Lasting Happiness

Giving Up Attachment To The World Does Not Mean That You Set Yourself Apart From It. Generating A Desire For Others To Be Happy Increases Your Humanity. As You Become Less Attached To The World, You Become More Humane. As The Very Purpose Of Spiritual Practice Is To Help Others, You Must Remain In Society.

If The Basic Human Nature Was Aggressive, We Would Have Been Born With Animal Claws & Huge Teeth -- But Ours Are Very Short, Very Pretty, Very Weak! That Means We Are Not Well Equipped To Be Aggressive Beings. Even The Size Of Our Mouth Is Very Small. So I Think The Basic Nature Of Human Beings Should Be Gentle.

When A Problem First Arises, Try To Remain Humble And Maintain A Sincere Attitude, And Be Concerned That The Outcome Is Fair.

Our Own Brain, Our Own Heart Is Our Temple; The Philosophy Is Kindness.

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

My Own Share Making Contribution [to The The Well-being Of Humanity]. So I Never Feel I Am Something Special.

Every Day, Think As You Wake Up, Today I Am Fortunate To Be Alive, I Have A Precious Human Life, I Am Not Going To Waste It. I Am Going To Use All My Energies To Develop Myself, To Expand My Heart Out To Others; To Achieve Enlightenment For The Benefit Of All Beings. I Am Going To Have Kind Thoughts Towards Others, I Am Not Going To Get Angry Or Think Badly About Others. I Am Going To Benefit Others As Much As I Can.

It Is Our Custom To Say That Someone Is 'lucky' Or 'unlucky' If They Meet With Fortunate Or Unfortunate Circumstances, Respectively. It Is, However, Too Simplistic To Think In Terms Of Random 'luck.' Even From A Scientific Point Of View, This Is Not A Sufficient Explanation.

You Must Not Hate Those Who Do Wrong Or Harmful Things; But With Compassion, You Must Do What You Can To Stop Them — For They Are Harming Themselves, As Well As Those Who Suffer From Their Actions.

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

Generosity Is The Most Natural Outward Expression Of An Inner Attitude Of Compassion And Loving-kindness .

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

Choose To Be Optimistic, It Feels Better.

All Beings Want To Live In Peace And Happiness, Undisturbed. Therefore The Concept Of Human Rights Is Universal.

Peace And Happiness

In Some Places, There's The Concept Of One Religion, One Truth. In The Muslim World, There's The Notion Of Allah. The Western, Multireligious Modern Society Is Some Kind Of A Challenge To This. These, I Feel, Are The Main Causes [for Terrorism], And, When Combined With Lots Of Anger And Frustration, Cause A Huge Amount Of Hate.

A Mind That Is Characterized By Unrest Will Not Be Tranquil Even In The Presence Of Great Calm.

Better Grounded Emotionally Through Patience, We Become Stronger Mentally And Spiritually, And Tend To Be Healthier Physically.

In The Present Circumstances, No One Can Afford To Assume That Someone Else Will Solve Their Problems. Every Individual Has A Responsibility To Help Guide Our Global Family In The Right Direction. Good Wishes Are Not Sufficient; We Must Become Actively Engaged.

An Eye For An Eye....we Are All Blind

There Should Be A Balance Between Material And Spiritual Progress, A Balance Achieved Through The Principles Based On Love And Compassion.

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.

A Great Rock Is Not Disturbed By The Wind; The Mind Of A Wise Man Is Not Disturbed By Either Honor Or Abuse.

World Peace Must Develop From Inner Peace.

Human Compassion

Anger Is The Real Destroyer Of Our Good Human Qualities; An Enemy With A Weapon Cannot Destroy These Qualities, But Anger Can. Anger Is Our Real Enemy.

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.

I Think The Person Who Has Had More Experience Of Hardships Can Stand More Firmly In The Face Of Problems Than The Person Who Has Never Experienced Suffering. From This Angle Then, Some Suffering Can Be A Good Lesson For Life.

Don't Try To Use What You Learn From Buddhism To Be A Buddhist; Use It To Be A Better Whatever-you-al Ready-are.

If You Wish To Heal Your Own Sadness Or Anger, Seek To Heal The Sadness Or Anger Of Another. Those Others Are Waiting For You Now. They Are Looking To You For Guidance, For Help, For Courage, For Strength, For Understanding, And For Assurance At This Hour. Most Of All, They Are Looking To You For Love.

A Mind Wishing To Benefit Other People And Other Sentient Beings Is The Very Basis Of Peace And Happiness.

I Think That Ethical Behaviour Is Another Feature Of The Kind Of Inner Discipline That Leads To A Happier Existence.

I Call The Light And High Aspects Of My Being Spirit And The Dark And Heavy Aspects Soul. Soul Is At Home In The Deep, Shaded Valleys. Heavy Torpid Flowers Saturated With Black Grow There. The Rivers Flow Like Warm Syrup. They Empty Into Huge Oceans Of Soul. Spirit Is A Land Of High White Peaks And Glittering Jewel-like Lakes And Flowers. Life Is Sparse And Sounds Travel Great Distances. There Is Soul Music, Soul Food, And Soul Love... People Need To Climb The Mountain Not Simple Because It Is There But Because The Soulful Divinity Needs To Be Mated With The Spirit.

Material Progress And A Higher Standard Of Living Bring Us Greater Comfort And Health, But Do Not Lead To A Transformation Of The Mind, Which Is The Only Thing Capable Of Providing Lasting Peace. Profound Happiness, Unlike Fleeting Pleasures, Is Spiritual In Nature. It Depends On The Happiness Of Others And It Is Based On Love And Affection.

If You Have A Particular Faith Or Religion, That Is Good. But You Can Survive Without It.

These Days, In Our Materialistic Culture, Many People Are Led To Believe That Money Is The Ultimate Source Of Happiness. Consequently, When They Don’t Have Enough Of It They Feel Let Down. Therefore, It Is Important To Let People Know That They Have The Source Of Contentment And Happiness Within Themselves, And That It Is Related To Nurturing Our Natural Inner Values.

Even A Small Act Of Compassion Grants Meaning And Purpose To Our Lives.

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

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.

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

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.

Easy Times Are The Enemy, They Put Us To Sleep. Adversity Is Our Friend, It Wakes Us Up

There Are A Number Of Qualities Which Are Important For Mental Peace, But From The Little Experience I Have, I Believe That One Of The Most Important Factors Is Human Compassion And Affection: A Sense Of Caring.

The Mind Must Be Developed By You Alone. There Is No Way For Others To Do The Work And For You To Reap The Results. Reading Someone Else's Blueprint Of Mental Progress Will Not Transfer Its Realizations To You. You Have To Develop Them Yourself.

It Is My Fundamental Conviction That Compassion - The Natural Capacity Of The Human Heart To Feel Concern For And Connection With Another Human Being - Constitutes A Basic Aspect Of Our Nature Shared By All Human Beings, As Well As Being The Foundation Of Our Happiness. All Ethical Teachings, Whether Religious Or Nonreligious, Aim To Nurture This Innate And Precious Quality, To Develop It And To Perfect It.

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.

The Natural Environment Sustains The Life Of All Beings Universally.

Being Concerned About Other People Is Especially Relevant In Today's World. If We Consider The Complex Inter-connected Ness Of Our Modern Lives, How We Depend On Others And Others Depend On Us, Our Outlook Will Change. We’ll Begin To See 'others' Not As Somehow Distant From Us, But As People We Are In Touch With, People Close To Us; We Will No Longer Feel Indifferent To Them.

I Am Just One Human Being.

An Ethical Act Is One Which Does Not Harm Others' Experience Or Expectation Of Happiness.

Most Of Our Problems Are Related To The Mind, So We Have To Work To Reduce Our Destructive Emotions.

A Disciplined Mind Leads To Happiness, And An Undisciplined Mind Leads To Suffering.

Developing Inner Values Is Much Like Physical Exercise. The More We Train Our Abilities, The Stronger They Become. The Difference Is That, Unlike The Body, When It Comes To Training The Mind, There Is No Limit To How Far We Can Go.

The Period Of Greatest Gain In Knowledge And Experience Is The Most Difficult Period In One's 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.

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.

Most Real Change Is Slow. Happiness And Joy Are The Purpose Of Life. If We Know That The Future Will Be Very Dark Or Painful, Then We Lose Our Determination To Live. Therefore, Life Is Something Based On Hope.

If One's Life Is Simple, Contentment Has To Come.

Anger, Jealousy, Impatience, And Hatred Are The Real Troublemakers, With Them Problems Cannot Be Solved.

Love, Compassion And Concern For Others Are Real Sources Of Happiness. If You Have These In Abundance, You Will Not Be Disturbed Even By The Most Uncomfortable Circumstances. If You Nurse Hatred, However, You Will Not Be Happy Even In The Lap Of Luxury. Thus, If We Really Want Happiness, We Must Widen The Sphere Of Love. This Is Both Religious Thinking And Basic Common Sense.

If We See Pride Among People Who Have No Idea About Dharma, It Is Understandable. However, If Afflictive Emotions And Haughtiness Are Present Among Dharma Practitioners, It Is Great Disgrace To Practice

Education Is The Best Way To Train Ourselves That We Will Secure Our Own Well-being By Concerning Ourselves With Others. It Is Possible To Create A Better World, A More Compassionate, More Peaceful World, Which Is Not Only In Everyone’s Interest, But Is Everyone’s Responsibility To Achieve.

Some People Automatically Associate Morality And Altruism With A Religious Vision Of The World. But I Believe It Is A Mistake To Think That Morality Is An Attribute Only Of Religion. We Can Imagine Two Types Of Spirituality: One Tied To Religion, While The Other Arises Spontaneously In The Human Heart As An Expression Of Love For Our Neighbors And A Desire To Do Them Good.

There Are Techniques Of Buddhism, Such As Meditation, That Anyone Can Adopt. And, Of Course, There Are Christian Monks And Nuns Who Already Use Buddhist Methods In Order To Develop Their Devotion, Compassion, And Ability To Forgive.

On Every Level Of Human Life, Compassion Is The Key Thing.

How Can We Eliminate The Deepest Source Of All Unsatisfactory Experience? Only By Cultivating Certain Qualities Within Our Mindstream.

When I Meet People From Other Cultures I Know That They Too Want Happiness And Do Not Want Suffering, This Allows Me To See Them As Brothers And Sisters.

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.

I Try To Treat Whoever I Meet As An Old Friend [with Dignity, With Honor].

Happiness Comes Through Taming The Mind; Without Taming The Mind There Is No Way To Be Happy

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.

Happiness Doesn't Always Come From A Pursuit. Sometimes It Comes When We Least Expect It.

Time Passes Unhindered. When We Make Mistakes, We Cannot Turn The Clock Back And Try Again. All We Can Do Is Use The Present Well.

Like The Lotus Which Thrives In Mud, The Potential For Realization Grows In The Rich Soil Of Everyday Life

Try To Remain Truthful. The Power Of Truth Never Declines. Force And Violence May Be Effective In The Short Term, But In The Long Run It's Truth That Prevails.

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.

I Could Justify Violence Only In This Extreme Case, To Save The Last Living Knowledge Of Buddhism Itself.

A Calm Mind Is Good For Our Physical Health, But It Also Enables Us To See Things More Realistically.

In Order To Satisfy One Human Stomach, So Many Lives Are Taken Away. We Must Promote Vegetarianism. It Is Extremely Important.

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.

More Fundamental Than Religion Is Our Basic Human Spirituality. We Have A Basic Human Disposition Towards Love, Kindness And Affection, Irrespective Of Whether We Have A Religious Framework Or Not. When We Nurture This Most Basic Human Resource - When We Set About Cultivating Those Basic Inner Values Which We All Appreciate In Others, Then We Start To Live Spiritually.

Maybe, Just Maybe, I Would Like To Become A Real Spiritual Teacher, A Working Lama!

Self-rule Means That China Must Stop Its Intensive Effort To Colonize Tibet With Chinese Settlers And Must Allow Tibetans To Hold Responsible Positions In The Government Of Tibet.

One Thing I Want To Make Clear, As Far As My Own Rebirth Is Concerned, The Final Authority Is Myself And No One Else, And Obviously Not China's Communists.

We Don’t Need More Money, We Don’t Need Greater Success Or Fame, We Don’t Need The Perfect Body Or Even The Perfect Mate-right Now, At This Very Moment, We Have A Mind, Which Is All The Basic Equipment We Need To Achieve Complete Happiness.

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.

There Is A Common Perception That Compassion Is, If Not Actually An Impediment, At Least Irrelevant To Professional Life. Personally, I Would Argue That Not Only Is It Relevant, But That When Compassion Is Lacking, Our Activities Are In Danger Of Becoming Destructive. This Is Because When We Ignore The Question Of The Impact Our Actions Have On Others' Well-being, Inevitably We End Up Hurting Them.

Attention-yes! That's Present! And Present, You See, Makes Past And Future.

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".

Peace In The World Depends On Peace In The Hearts Of Individuals; This Depends On Each Of Us Practising Ethics By Disciplining Our Negative Thoughts And Emotions, And Developing Basic Spiritual Qualities.

If We Human Beings Rely Only On Material Development, We Can’t Be Sure Of A Positive Outcome. Employing Technology Motivated By Anger And Hatred Is Likely To Be Destructive. It Will Only Be Beneficial If We Seek The Welfare Of All Beings. Human Beings Are The Only Species With The Potential To Destroy The World. Because Of The Risks Of Unrestrained Desire And Greed We Need To Cultivate Contentment And Simplicity.

Dangerous Consequences Will Follow When Politicians And Rulers Forget Moral Principles. Whether We Believe In God Or Karma, Ethics Is The Foundation Of Every Religion.

We Can Only Transform Humanity And Create A Happier More Compassionate World Through Education.

The Jealousy That Arises From Another's Achievement Is Overcome By Developing An Awareness Of And Admiration For One's Own And Other's Achievement.

If We Try To Secure The Well-being Of Others, We Will, At The Same Time, Create The Conditions For Our Own.

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.

Universal Responsibility Is The Key To Human Survival. It Is The Best Foundation For World Peace.

Love Is The Absence Of Judgment.

When A Person Is In A Miserable Situation, Then, Yes, It Is Difficult To Develop Genuine Compassion Toward Others. That's Why I Find It Difficult To Say To Poor People, "please Have Compassion Toward Millionaires." That's Not Easy.

According To Buddhism, Individuals Are Masters Of Their Own Destiny. And All Living Beings Are Believed To Possess The Nature Of The Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra, The Potential Or Seed Of Enlightenment, Within Them. So Our Future Is In Our Own Hands. What Greater Free Will Do We Need?

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

I Want To Show That There Are Indeed Some Universal Ethical Principles Which Could Help Everyone To Achieve The Happiness We All Aspire To.

Ethical Principles

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Robert B. Laughlin

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