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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 The Next Step Is To Accept That The Idea Of Propagating Religion Is Outdated.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.

-Dalai Lama

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Religion Is Important For

Dalai Lama

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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 The Next Step Is To Accept That The Idea Of Propagating Religion Is Outdated.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.

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At The Beginning Of This Century, People Never Questioned The Effectiveness Of War, Never Thought There Could Be Real Peace. Now, People Are Tired Of War And See It As Ineffective In Solving Anything.

More Often Than Not, Anger Is Actually An Indication Of Weakness Rather Than Of Strength.

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.

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Human Potential

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Science Religion

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Procrastination

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Negative Experiences

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As Far As Ignorance Is Concerned, Not Just Buddhism, Every Religion Recognizes It As The Source Of Suffering.

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I Always Tell People That Religious Institutions And Political Institutions Should Be Separate. So While I'm Telling People This, I Myself Continue With Them Combined. Hypocrisy!

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

There Must Be A Way Of Promoting Human Values Without Involving Religion, Based On Common Sense, Experience And Recent Scientific Findings.

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

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Positive Future

Change Only Takes Place Through Action, Not Through Meditation And Prayer.

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

Every Sort Of Seven Billion Human Being Have To Think About The Well-being Of Humanity.

Many Tibetans Sacrifice Their Lives.

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

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.

If Science Proves Facts That Conflict With Buddhist Understanding, Buddhism Must Change Accordingly. We Should Always Adopt A View That Accords With The Facts.

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

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.

If You Want Others To Be Happy, Practice Compassion. If You Want To Be Happy, Practice Compassion.

If Your Mental Attitude Is Positive, Even When Threats Abound, You Won’t Lose Your Inner Peace. On The Other Hand, If Your Mind Is Negative, Marked By Fear, Suspicion And Feelings Of Helplessness, Even Among Your Best Friends, In A Pleasant Atmosphere And Comfortable Surroundings, You Won’t Be Happy.

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.

In Spiritual Growth, It Is Important To Avoid Imbalances Between Academic Or Intellectual Learning And Practical Implementation. Otherwise There Is A Danger That Too Much Intellectualiza Tion Will Kill The More Contemplative Practices And Too Much Emphasis On Practical Implementation Without Study Will Kill The Understanding. There Has Got To Be A Balance.

Today Different Ethnic Groups And Different Nations Come Together Due To Common Sense.

My Message Is Always The Same: To Cultivate And Practice Love, Kindness, Compassion And Tolerance.

Self-discipline Is Crucial To A Simpler, More Contented Life.

Self Discipline

More Compassionate Mind, More Sense Of Concern For Other's Well-being, Is Source Of Happiness.

Concern For Others

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

The World Has Also Learned That Economic Growth, By Itself, Cannot Close The Gap Between Rich And Poor.

My Religion Is Kindness. A Good Mind, A Good Heart, Warm Feelings These Are The Most Important Things.

My Enemy Is My Greatest Teacher.

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

I Believe The Ultimate Source Of Blessings Is Within Us. A Good Motivation And Honesty Bring Self-confidence , Which Attracts The Trust And Respect Of Others. Therefore The Real Source Of Blessings Is In Our Own Mind.

Disagreement Is Something Normal.

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

Without The Human Community One Single Human Being Cannot Survive.

The Purpose Of Our Life Needs To Be Positive. We Weren't Born With The Purpose Of Causing Trouble, Harming Others. For Our Life To Be Of Value, I Think We Must Develop Basic Good Human Qualities - Warmth, Kindness, Compassion. Then Our Life Becomes Meaningful And More Peaceful - Happier.

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

If We Looked Down At The World From Space, We Would Not See Any Demarcations Of National Boundaries. We Would Simply See One Small Planet, Just One.

The Great Benefit Of Science Is That It Can Contribute Tremendously To The Alleviation Of Suffering At The Physical Level, But It Is Only Through The Cultivation Of The Qualities Of The Human Heart And The Transformation Of Our Attitudes That We Can Begin To Address And Overcome Our Mental Suffering...

Misunderstanding May Arise By Confusing The Buddhist And Scientific Definitions Of Death. Within The Scientific System You Spoke Quite Validly Of The Death Of The Brain And The Death Of Heart. Different Parts Of The Body Can Die Separately. However, In The Buddhist System, The Word Death Is Not Used In That Way. You'd Never Speak Of The Death Of A Particular Part Of The Body, But Rather Of The Death Of An Entire Person. When People Say That A Certain Person Died, We Don't Ask, "well, Which Part Died?"

One Scientist Had Discussions About Love And Compassion. Usually, He Felt Irritation. After Our Meeting, For Some Months, Anger Never Come.

The Antidote To Hatred In The Heart, The Source Of Violence, Is Tolerance. Tolerance Is An Important Virtue Of Bodhisattvas [enlightened Heroes And Heroines] - It Enables You To Refrain From Reacting Angrily To The Harm Inflicted On You By Others. You Could Call This Practice "inner Disarmament," In That A Well-developed Tolerance Makes You Free From The Compulsion To Counterattack. For The Same Reason, We Also Call Tolerance The "best Armor," Since It Protects You From Being Conquered By Hatred Itself.

Study And Practice Are Both Very Important, But They Must Go Hand In Hand. Faith Without Knowledge Is Not Sufficient. Faith Needs To Be Supported By Reason. However Intellectual Understanding That Is Not Applied In Practice Is Also Of Little Use. Whatever We Learn From Study We Need To Apply Sincerely In Our Daily Lives.

The Practice Of Patience Guards Us Against Losing Our Presence Of Mind. It Enables Us To Remain Undisturbed, Even When The Situation Is Really Difficult. It Gives Us A Certain Amount Of Inner Peace, Which Allows Us Some Self-control, So That We Can Choose To Respond To Situations In An Appropriate And Compassionate Manner, Rather Than Being Driven By Our Disturbing Emotions.

When You Encounter Some Problems, If You Point Your Finger At Yourself And Not At Others, This Gives You Control Over Yourself And Calmness In A Situation, Where Otherwise Self-control Becomes Problematic.

If A Problem Can Be Solved It Will Be. If It Can Not Be Solved There Is No Use Worrying About It.

Firstly, As A Buddhist Monk, I Hold That Violence Is Not Good. Secondly, I Am A Firm Believer In The Gandian Ethic Of Passive Resistance. And Thirdly, In Reality, Violence Is Not Our Strength.

Passive Resistance

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.

World Belongs To Humanity, Not This Leader, That Leader Or That King Or Prince Or Religious Leader. World Belongs To Humanity.

If You Wonder What You Were Doing In The Past, Look At Your Body; To Know What Will Happen To You In The Future, Look At Your Mind.

As Human Beings We Have The Same Experience Of Destructive And Constructive Emotions. We Also Have A Human Mind Capable Of Developing Wisdom. We All Have The Same Buddha Nature.

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 Consider That The Lives Of All Beings Are Just As Precious As Our Own, And Through This We Develop A Sense Of Concern For Others.

Concern For Others

The Future Will Be In The Hands Of Those Of You Who Belong To The 21st Century. You Have The Opportunity And Responsibility To Build A Better Humanity. This Means Developing Warm-heartednes S In This Very Life, Here And Now. So, Do Whatever Work You Do, But Ask Yourselves Now And Then, 'how Can I Contribute To Human Beings Being Happier And More Peaceful?'

There Are Techniques Of Buddhism, Such As Meditation, That Anyone Can Adopt.

The Purpose Of All The Major Religious Traditions Is Not To Construct Big Temples On The Outside, But To Create Temples Of Goodness And Compassion Inside, In Our Hearts.

In Order To Become Prosperous, A Person Must Initially Work Very Hard, So He Or She Has To Sacrifice A Lot Of Leisure Time.

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.

Tibet Is Not Like Kuwait. Kuwait Has Oil.

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.

All Major Religious Traditions Carry Basically The Same Message, That Is Love, Compassion And Forgiveness The Important Thing Is They Should Be Part Of Our Daily Lives.

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.

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.

Do Not Let The Behavior Of Others Destroy Your Inner Peace.

There Needs To Be Understanding That Anger Never Helps To Solve A Problem. It Destroys Our Peace Of Mind And Blinds Our Ability To Think Clearly. Anger And Attachment Are Emotions That Distort Our View Of Reality.

I Myself Feel, And Also Tell Other Buddhists That The Question Of Nirvana Will Come Later. There Is Not Much Hurry. If In Day To Day Life You Lead A Good Life, Honesty, With Love, With Compassion, With Less Selfishness, Then Automatically It Will Lead To Nirvana.

A Genuine Transformation That Results From Sustained Concerted Effort Is Long Lasting Because It Has A Firm Foundation.

It Is Felt That A Disciplined Mind Leads To Happiness And An Undisciplined Mind Leads To Suffering, And In Fact It Is Said That Bringing About Discipline Within One's Mind Is The Essence Of The Buddha's Teaching.

Once Your Mind Is Calm And Full Of Love, There Is No Room For Hatred Or Fear. Others Will Trust You Because Of Your Open Heart.

The Practicing Of Loving Kindness Toward One's Enemy Is The Ultimate Test Of One's Own Spiritual Attainment.

True Happiness Comes From Having A Sense Of Inner Peace And Contentment, Which In Turn Must Be Achieved By Cultivating Altruism, Love And Compassion, And By Eliminating Anger, Selfishness And Greed.

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

Take Into Account That Great Love And Great Achievements Involve Great Risk.

You Are The People Who Are Shaping A Better World. One Of The Secrets Of Inner Peace Is The Practice Of Compassion.

If The Mind Is Tranquil And Occupied With Positive Thoughts, The Body Will Not Easily Fall Prey To Disease

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.

In Most Cases, My Visits To The West Are For Promotion Of Human Values And Religious Harmony.

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

Human Potential Is The Same For All. Your Feeling, 'i Am Of No Value', Is Wrong. Absolutely Wrong. You Are Deceiving Yourself. We All Have The Power Of Thought — So What Are You Lacking? If You Have Will-power , Then You Can Do Anything. It Is Usually Said That You Are Your Own Master.

Believe In Yourself

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.

The Real Test Of Compassion Is Not What We Say In Abstract Discussions But How We Conduct Ourselves In Daily Life.

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

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.

If We Have A Positive Mental Attitude, Then Even When Surrounded By Hostility, We Shall Not Lack Inner Peace.

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.

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.

The Essence Of Buddhism Is If You Can, Help Others. If Not, Then At Least Refrain From Hurting Others.

It Seems That For Some People The Idea Of Compassion Entails A Complete Disregard For Or Even A Sacrifice Of Their Own Interests. This Is Not The Case. In Fact, You First Of All Have To Have A Wish To Be Happy Yourself - If You Don't Love Yourself Like That, How Can You Love Others?

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.

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

As Far As Mental Development Is Concerned, We Should Never Be Complacent. We Can Develop Our Minds Infinitely - There Is No Limitation.

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

The Most Important Thing In Life Is Human Affection. Without It One Cannot Achieve Genuine Happiness. And If We Want A Happier Life, A Happier Family, Happier Neighbours Or A Happier Nation, The Key Is Inner Quality. Even If The Five Billion Human Beings That Inhabit The Earth Become Millionaires, Without Inner Development There Cannot Be Peace Or Any Lasting Happiness.

Lasting Happiness

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.

When We Talk About Global Crisis, Or A Crisis Of Humanity, We Cannot Blame A Few Politicians, A Few Fanatics, Or A Few Troublemakers. The Whole Of Humanity Has A Responsibility Because It Is Our Business, Human Business. I Call This A Sense Of Universal Responsibility. That Is A Crucial Point.

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.

Some Feel That You Lose Your Independence If You Don't Let Your Mind Just Wander Where It Wants To, If You Try To Control It. But That Is Not The Case. If Your Mind Is Proceeding In The Correct Way, One Already Has The Correct Opinion. But If Your Mind Is Proceeding In An Incorrect Way, Then It's Necessary, Definitely, To Exercise Control.

I Never Dreamt, In My Dream, I'm Dalai Lama.

When You Think Everything Is Someone Else's Fault, You Will Suffer A Lot.

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.

If Someone Has A Gun And Is Trying To Kill You, It Would Be Reasonable To Shoot Back With Your Own Gun.

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

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

Service To Others

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

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

One Country ... One Ideology, One System Is Not Sufficient. It Is Helpful To Have A Variety Of Different Approaches ... We Can Then Make A Joint Effort To Solve The Problems Of The Whole Of Humankind.

Never Give Up. No Matter What Is Happening, No Matter What Is Going On Around You, Never Give Up.

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

The Compassion We Feel Normally Is Biased And Mixed With Attachment. Genuine Compassion Flows Towards All Living Beings, Particularly Your Enemies. If I Try To Develop Compassion Towards My Enemy, It May Not Benefit Him Directly, He May Not Even Be Aware Of It. But It Will Immediately Benefit Me By Calming My Mind. On The Other Hand, If I Dwell On How Awful Everything Is, I Immediately Lose My Peace Of Mind.

We Should Reflect On The Idea That Since The Beginning Of Time Sentient Beings Have Been Mentally Unstable Because They Have Been Slaves Of Delusion, They Lack The Eye Of Wisdom To See The Path Leading To Nirvana And Enlightenment, And They Lack The Necessary Guidance Of A Spiritual Teacher. Moment By Moment They Are Indulging In Negative Actions, Which Will Eventually Bring About Their Downfall.

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

Our Planet Is Blessed With Vast Natural Treasures. If We Use Them Wisely, Beginning With The Elimination Of Militarism And War, Every Human Being Will Be Able To Live A Healthy, Prosperous Existence.

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