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We Are Beset By Problems And If We Look For Their Source, We Find They Arise Because Of Our Selfishness, Because We Tend To Pursue Our Own Interests At The Expense Of Others. Our Various Religious Traditions Exist To Help Us Reduce These Problems. They All Teach Ways To Overcome Suffering Through Cultivating Love And Compassion, Tolerance, Patience And Contentment.

-Dalai Lama

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We Are Beset By

Dalai Lama

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We Are Beset By Problems And If We Look For Their Source, We Find They Arise Because Of Our Selfishness, Because We Tend To Pursue Our Own Interests At The Expense Of Others. Our Various Religious Traditions Exist To Help Us Reduce These Problems. They All Teach Ways To Overcome Suffering Through Cultivating Love And Compassion, Tolerance, Patience And Contentment.

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So Long As Space Remains, So Long Sentient Beings' Suffering Remain, I Will Remain, In Order To Help, In Order To Serve... I Am Nothing But A Servant To Provide To Others. So If You Provide Some Happiness, Some Comfort To Others, Then Your Life Becomes Meaningful. If Your Life Creates Problems Or Suffering To Others, Then There's No Meaning To Your Existence.

If Science Proves Some Belief Of Buddhism Wrong, Then Buddhism Will Have To Change.

If You Have Peace Of Mind, When You Meet With Problems And Difficulties They Won’t Disturb Your Inner Peace. You’ll Be Able To Employ Your Human Intelligence More Effectively. But, If Your Mental State Is Disturbed, Full Of Emotion, It Is Very Difficult To Cope With Problems, Because The Mind That Is Full Of Emotion Is Biased, Unable To See Reality. So Whatever You Do Will Be Unrealistic And Naturally Fail.

God Exists Or God Does Not Exist. Leave It For Us. Your Task Is To Learn How To Live Peacefully.

World Peace Must Develop From Inner Peace. Peace Is Not Just Mere Absence Of Violence. Peace Is, I Think, The Manifestation Of Human Compassion.

What Is The Meaning Of Life? To Be Happy And Useful.

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

I Consider Non-violence To Be Compassion In Action. It Doesn’t Mean Weakness, Cowering In Fear, Or Simply Doing Nothing. It Is To Act Without Violence, Motivated By Compassion, Recognising The Rights Of Others.

Many Problems That Confront Us Today Are Created By Man, Whether They Are Violent Conflicts, Destruction Of The Environment, Poverty Or Hunger. These Problems Can Be Resolved Thanks To Human Efforts By Understanding That We Are Brother And Sister And By Developing This Sense Of Closeness. We Must Cultivate A Universal Responsibility Toward Each Other And Extend It To The Planet That We Have To Share.

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

Today We Face Many Problems. Some Are Created Essentially By Ourselves Based On Divisions Due To Ideology, Religion, Race, Economic Status, Or Other Factors. Therefore, The Time Has Come For Us To Think On A Deeper Level, On The Human Level, And From That Level We Should Appreciate And Respect The Sameness Of Others As Human Beings.

World Peace Must Develop From Inner Peace.

Human Compassion

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

Where There Is A Mind, There Are Feelings Such As Pain, Pleasure, And Joy. No Sentient Being Wants Pain: All Wants Happiness Instead.

I Think Really, China, Chinese, I Think They Really Have A Long History Of Civilization, Rich Culture.

Don't Use Buddhism To Become A Buddhist. Use Buddhism To Become Better At Whatever Else In Your Life You Are Doing Already.

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.

Just Because They're Not On Your Road Doesn't Mean They've Gotten Lost.

In This Century We Have Made Remarkable Material Progress, But Basically We Are The Same As We Were Thousands Of Years Ago. Our Spiritual Needs Are Still Very Great.

We Must Conduct Research And Then Accept The Results. If They Don't Stand Up To Experimentation, Buddha`s Own Words Must Be Rejected.

In The Final Analysis, The Hope Of Every Person Is Simply Peace Of Mind.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

However Capable And Skillful An Individual May Be, Left Alone, He Or She Will Not Survive. When We Are Sick Or Very Young Or Very Old, We Must Depend On The Support Of Others. There Is No Significant Division Between Us And Other People, Because Our Basic Natures Are The Same. 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.

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.

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.

I Feel Like My Life Is Something Purposeful. Many People Have Told Me That After They Listen To My Talk, Some Point Which I Made, They Got Certain Ideas And Their Whole Life Is Changed. They Are Happier.

Of Course, There Are Different Truths On Different Levels. Things Are True Relative To Other Things; "long" And "short" Relate To Each Other, "high" And "low," And So On. But Is There Any Absolute Truth? Something Self-sufficient, Independently True In Itself? I Don't Think So.

The Only Way To Fail Is To Quit.

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

The Way Of Presentation Is Different According To Each Religion. In Theistic Religions Like Buddhism, Buddhist Values Are Incorporated. In Nontheistic Religions, Like Some Types Of Ancient Indian Thought, The Law Of Karma Applies. If You Do Something Good, You Get A Good Result. Now, What We Need Is A Way To Educate Nonbelievers. These Nonbelievers May Be Critical Of All Religions, But They Should Be Decent At Heart.

When Invitation Come, Then I Inquire Just To See New Place Or Seeing Just The One Sort Of Family, Then Not Much Interest.

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.

Awareness Of Death Is The Very Bedrock Of The Entire Path. Until You Have Developed This Awareness, All Other Practices Are Obstructed.

Individuality Is Very Important For A Full Human Life.

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.

I Believe All Suffering Is Caused By Ignorance. People Inflict Pain On Others In The Selfish Pursuit Of Their Happiness Or Satisfaction. Yet True Happiness Comes From A Sense Of Inner Peace And Contentment, Which In Turn Must Be Achieved Through The Cultivation Of Altruism, Of Love And Compassion And Elimination Of Ignorance, Selfishness And Greed.

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

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.

If You Want To Change The World, First Try To Improve And Bring About Change Within Yourself. That Will Help Change Your Family. From There It Just Gets Bigger And Bigger. Everything We Do Has Some Effect, Some Impact.

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.

I'd Rather Be Kind Than Right. You Can Always Be Kind.

Wealth Is Not Necessarily A Bad Thing When It Has Been Earned In An Honest Manner And Neither Other Individuals Nor The Environment Suffered For It.

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

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.

Love And Kindness Are The Very Basis Of Society. If We Lose These Feelings, Society Will Face Tremendous Difficulties; The Survival Of Humanity Will Be Endangered.

By Setting Our Motivation Strongly In The Morning When Our Mind Is Fresh And Clear, We Are Much More Likely To Remember It During The Day And Act With That Intention

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

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.

Only The Development Of Compassion And Understanding For Others Can Bring Us The Tranquility And Happiness We All Seek.

Unlike An External Enemy, The Inner Enemy Cannot Regroup And Launch A Comeback Once It Has Been Destroyed From Within.

We Have To Have Some Form Of Politics. Politics Is A Form Of Resolving Conflicts. Politics Which Comes From Sincere Motivation Is Constructive.

Today We Understand That The Future Of Humanity Very Much Depends On Our Planet, And That The Future Of The Planet Very Much Depends On Humanity.

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

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

In Daily Practice, Reflect On The Benefits Of Love, Compassion And Kindness, Then Reflect On The Disadvantages Of Anger. Such Continuous Contemplation, The Growing Appreciation Of Love, Has The Effect Of Reducing Our Inclination Towards Hatred And Increasing Our Respect For Love. By This Means Even Anger Can Be Diminished.

Inspirational Love

It Is The State Of Mind Of The Person Wielding The Instrument That Determines To What End It Will Be Put.

My Main Interest Is In The Promotion Of Human Values. From Birth We Have A Sense Of Affection And Some Sense Of Concern For Others. We Need To Nurture It. Scientists Have Found That To Ensure Even Physical Health Peace Of Mind Is Essential. People Often Think That Love And Compassion Are Only Matters Of Religious Concern, But In Fact Such Values Are Necessary In All Human Relations

Once We Have A Firm Practice Of Compassion Our State Of Mind Becomes Stronger Which Leads To Inner Peace, Giving Rise To Self-confidence, Which Reduces Fear. This Makes For Constructive Members Of The Community. Self-centredness On The Other Hand Leads To Distance, Suspicion, Mistrust And Loneliness, With Unhappiness As The Result.

Self Confidence

I Have No Trouble Sleeping.

Trouble Sleeping

People Should Never Sit Alone For Too Long When They're Crying.

In The Modern World, The Interests Of A Particular Community Can No Longer Be Considered To Lie Within The Confines Of Its Own Boundaries.

In Twenty Years' Time I'll Be Eighty-three, Just An Old Man With A Stick Moving Like A Sloth Bear. While I'm Alive, I Am Fully Committed To Autonomy, And I Am The Person Who Can Persuade The Tibetan People To Accept It.

Human Beings Are Of Such Nature That They Should Have Not Only Material Facilities But Spiritual Sustenance As Well. Without Spiritual Sustenance, It Is Difficult To Get And Maintain Peace Of Mind.

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

If Someone Does Not Smile At You, Be Generous And Offer Your Own Smile. Nobody Needs A Smile More Than The One That Cannot Smile To Others.

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

Many People Today Agree That We Need To Reduce Violence In Our Society. If We Are Truly Serious About This, We Must Deal With The Roots Of Violence, Particularly Those That Exist Within Each Of Us. We Need To Embrace 'inner Disarmament,' Reducing Our Own Emotions Of Suspicion, Hatred And Hostility Toward Our Brothers And Sisters

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

Under The Bright Sun, Many Of Us Are Gathered Together With Different Languages, Different Styles Of Dress, Even Different Faiths. However, All Of Us Are The Same In Being Humans, And We All Uniquely Have The Thought Of 'i' And We're All The Same In Wanting Happiness And In Wanting To Avoid Suffering.

On Love, Not Harming Others, And Respecting All Beings. Even Animals Have These Elements In Their Behavioral Patterns. We Should Start By Observing How Animals Act. They Are Honest And Appreciate It When We Are Honest With Them. If You Present Something Nice To An Animal In One Hand While Hiding A Rope In The Other, The Creature Will Know Your Intention. Yet Animals Have No Religion, No Constitution. Basic Nature Has Endowed Them With The Faculty Of Discernment. It Is The Same For Humans.

A Compassionate State Of Mind Brings Inner Peace, And Therefore A Healthier Body.

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.

We Need To Teach People That The Environment Has A Direct Bearing On Our Own Benefit.

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

It Is Not Only Our Right As Members Of The Global Human Family To Protest When Our Brothers And Sisters Are Being Treated Brutally, But It Is Also Our Duty To Do Whatever We Can To Hep Them.

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

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

We Are All Here On This Planet, As It Were, As Tourists. None Of Us Can Live Here Forever. The Longest We Might Live Is A Hundred Years. So While We Are Here We Should Try To Have A Good Heart And To Make Something Positive And Useful Of Our Lives. Whether We Live Just A Few Years Or A Whole Century, It Would Be Truly Regrettable And Sad If We Were To Spend That Time Aggravating The Problems That Afflict Other People, Animals, And The Environment. The Most Important Things Is To Be A Good Human Being.

Because My Main Concern Is The Tibetan Buddhist Culture, Not Just Political Independence, I Cannot Seek Self-rule For Central Tibet And Exclude The 4 Million Tibetans In Our Two Eastern Provinces Of Amdo And Kham.

If The Mind Is Dominated By Hatred, The Best Part Of The Brain, Which Is Used To Judge Right And Wrong, Does Not Function Properly.

We Need To Strengthen Such Inner Values As Contentment, Patience And Tolerance, As Well As Compassion For Others. Keeping In Mind That It Is Expressions Of Affection Rather Than Money And Power That Attract Real Friends, Compassion Is The Key To Ensuring Our Own Well-being.

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.

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

Self Confidence

It Is Not Enough To Be Compassionate, We Must Act.

Compassion Is The Wish To See Others Free From Suffering.

We Need To Make Material Progress, But We Need Inner Development Too ... Remember That The Real Development We Seek Is Not In The Buildings But In Our Hearts And Minds.

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...

My Faith Helps Me Overcome Such Negative Emotions And Find My Equilibrium.

Irrespective Of Whether We Are Believers Or Agnostics, Whether We Believe In God Or Karma, Moral Ethics Is A Code Which Everyone Is Able To Pursue.

Peace Starts Within Each One Of Us. When We Have Inner Peace, We Can Be At Peace With Those Around Us. When Our Community Is In A State Of Peace, It Can Share Peace With Neighboring Communities, And So On. When We Feel Love And Kindness Towards Others, It Not Only Makes Others Feel Loved And Cared For, But It Helps Us Also To Develop Inner Happiness And Peace.

Some Consider Me As A Living Buddha. That's Nonsense. That's Silly. That's Wrong. If They Consider Me A Simple Buddhist Monk, However, That's Probably Okay.

When We Face Problems With Compassion, Sincerity, And Good Motivation, Our Solutions May Take Longer, But Ultimately They Are Better.

Sometimes We Feel That One Individual's Action Is Very Insignificant. Then We Think, Of Course, That Effects Should Come From Channeling Or From A Unifying Movement. But The Movement Of The Society, Community Or Group Of People Means Joining Individuals. Society Means A Collection Of Individuals, So That Initiative Must Come From Individuals. Unless Each Individual Develops A Sense Of Responsibility, The Whole Community Cannot Move. So Therefore, It Is Very Essential That We Should Not Feel That Individual Effort Is Meaningless- You Should Not Feel That Way. We Should Make An Effort.

Compassion Naturally Creates A Positive Atmosphere, And As A Result You Feel Peaceful And Content.

Not To Identify Oneself With Something, Or To Associate Things With The 'me,' And To See That The Idea That There Is A 'me,' Which Is Distinct From Things, Is A Delusion.

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

Compassion Instills A Sense Of Calm, Inner Strength, And A Deep Confidence And Satisfaction

The More We Care For The Happiness Of Others, The Greater Is Our Own Sense Of Well-being.

Although It Is Difficult To Pinpoint The Physical Base Or Location Of Awareness, It Is Perhaps The Most Precious Thing Concealed Within Our Brains. And It Is Something That The Individual Alone Can Feel And Experience. Each Of Us Cherishes It Highly, Yet It Is Private.

Each Of Us In Our Own Way Can Try To Spread Compassion Into People's Hearts. Western Civilizations These Days Place Great Importance On Filling The Human Brain With Knowledge, But No One Seems To Care About Filling The Human Heart With Compassion. This Is What The Real Role Of Religion Is.

All Sentient Beings Have The Seed Of The Buddha Within Them.

Sentient Beings

Death And Dying Provide A Meeting-point Between The Tibetan Buddhist And Modern Scientific Traditions. I Believe Both Have A Great Deal To Contribute To Each Other On The Level Of Understanding And Of Practical Benefit.

If You're Looking For Work And Have A Choice Of A Job, Choose A Job That Allows The Opportunity For Some Creativity, And For Spending Time With Your Family. Even If It Means Less Pay.

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

It Is In Everybody's Interest To Seek Those [actions] That Lead To Happiness And Avoid Those Which Lead To Suffering. And Because Our Interests Are Inextricably Linked, We Are Compelled To Accept Ethics As The Indispensable Interface Between My Desire To Be Happy And Yours.

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

A Sense Of Concern For Others Gives Our Lives Meaning; It Is The Root Of All Human Happiness

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

‎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.

I Have Found A Much Greater Appreciation Of Buddhism Because I Couldn't Take It For Granted Here In Exile.

It Helps Remove Whatever Fears Or Insecurities We May Have And Gives Us The Strength To Cope With Any Obstacles We Encounter. It Is The Principal Source Of Success In Life. Since We Are Not Solely Material Creatures, It Is A Mistake To Place All Our Hopes For Happiness On External Development Alone. The Key Is To Develop Inner Peace.

If You Wish To Experience Peace, Provide Peace For Another.

Use Your Human Intelligence In The Best Way You Can; Transform Your Emotions In A Positive Way.

Scientists May Study Mainly Matter But They Cannot Ignore The Human Mind, Or Consciousness: Spiritual Practitioners May Be Engaging Mainly In Developing The Mind But They Cannot Completely Ignore Their Physical Needs. It Is For This Reason That I Have Always Stressed The Importance Of Combining Both Mental And The Material Approach To Achieving Happiness For Humankind.

It Is Not Enough To Be Compassionate. You Must Act. There Are Two Aspects To Action. One Is To Overcome The Distortions And Afflictions Of Your Own Mind, That Is, In Terms Of Calming And Eventually Dispelling Anger. This Is Action Out Of Compassion. The Other Is More Social, More Public. When Something Needs To Be Done In The World To Rectify The Wrongs, If One Is Really Concerned With Benefitting Others, One Needs To Be Engaged, Involved.

People Once Considered That Religions Were Obsolete And That Material Science Would Solve All Human Problems. Then They Have Become Disillusioned With Materialism And Machinery And Have Realized That Spiritual Sciences Are Also Indispensable For Human Welfare.

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

I Request You To Try To Be Warm-hearted. I Ask This Of You Because These Mental Attitudes Actually Bring Us Happiness.

Here, The Certain Temple Rule, This Seems To Me To Have A Certain Responsibility To Look After The Well-being Of Society And Look After Buddhism And Culture. I Consider These Part Of The Practice Of Spirituality. There Is No Competition Between Spiritual Practice And Party Politics. That Is Outdated. We Already, Since 2001, Have Elected Political Position. My Position Is Semi-retired. I Am Looking Forward To Complete Retirement.

Let Us Try To Recognize The Precious Nature Of Each Day.

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

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.

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.

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.

You Cant Help Someone Just By Making A Wish To Do So, You Have To Take Action.

Even Without A Religion, We Can Become A Good Human Being.

Good Human Being

I Want To Say, Without Hesitation, The Purpose Of Our Life Is Happiness.

Anger May Bring Extra Energy, But It Eclipses The Best Part Of Our Brain: Its Rationality. The Energy Of Anger Is Almost Always Unreliable.

An Open Heart Is An Open Mind.

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

Whatever Forms Of Meditation You Practice, The Most Important Point Is To Apply Mindfulness Continuously, And Make A Sustained Effort. It Is Unrealistic To Expect Results From Meditation Within A Short Period Of Time. What Is Required Is Continuous Sustained Effort.

Happiness Can Be Achieved Through Training The Mind.

We Must Have A Pure, Honest, And Warm-hearted Motivation, And On Top Of That, Determination, Optimism, Hope, And The Ability Not To Be Discouraged. The Whole Of Humanity Depends On This Motivation.

Chairman Mao Once Said That Political Power Comes From The Barrel Of A Gun. He Was Only Partly Right: Power That Comes From The Barrel Of A Gun Can Be Effective Only For A Short Time. In The End, Peoples Love For Truth, Justice, Freedom, And Democracy Will Triumph. No Matter What Governments Do, The Human Spirit Will Always Prevail.

The Proper Use Of Our Intelligence And Knowledge Is To Effect Changes From Within To Develop A Good Heart.

Open Your Arms To Change But Don't Let Go Of Your Values.

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

Some People, Sweet And Attractive, And Strong And Healthy, Happen To Die Young. They Are Masters In Disguise Teaching Us About Impermanence.

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

Suffering Of Others

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

It Is Natural That We Face Obstacles In Pursuit Of Our Goals. But If We Remain Passive, Making No Effort To Solve The Problems We Meet, Conflicts Will Arise And Hindrances Will Grow. Transforming These Obstacles Into Opportunities Is A Challenge To Our Human Ingenuity.

Although You Can Find Certain Differences Among The Buddhist Philosophical Schools About How The Universe Came Into Being, The Basic Common Question Addressed Is How The Two Fundamental Principles-external Matter And Internal Mind Or Consciousness-although Distinct, Affect One Another. External Causes And Conditions Are Responsible For Certain Of Our Experiences Of Happiness And Suffering. Yet We Find That It Is Principally Our Own Feelings, Our Thoughts And Our Emotions, That Really Determine Whether We Are Going To Suffer Or Be Happy.

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.

Everybody Wants A Happy Life And A Peaceful Mind, But We Have To Produce Peace Of Mind Through Our Own Practice.

It Is Important To Understand That Counterproducti Ve Actions Of Body, Speech And Mind Do Not Arise Of Their Own Accord, But Spring Up In Dependence On Our Motivation. Faulty States Of Mind Give Rise To Faulty Actions. To Control Negative Physical And Verbal Actions, We Need To Tame Our Minds.

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.

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

As Long As We Observe Love For Others And Respect For Their Rights And Dignity In Our Daily Lives, Then Whether We Are Learned Or Unlearned, Whether We Believe In The Buddha Or God, Follow Some Religion Or None At All, As Long As We Have Compassion For Others And Conduct Ourselves With Restraint Out Of A Sense Of Responsibility, There Is No Doubt We Will Be Happy.

Have No Discrepancy Between What You Say, What You Are And What You Do.

Discrepancies Between

It Is Our Collective And Individual Responsibility To Preserve And Tend To The Environment In Which We All Live.

May I Examine My Mind In All Actions And As Soon As A Negative State Occurs, Since It Endangers Myself And Others, May I Firmly Face And Avert It.

Forget The Failures. Keep The Lessons.

Anger And Hatred Lead To Fear; Compassion And Concern For Others Allow Us To Develop Self-confidence, Which Breeds Trust And Friendship.

Self Confidence

Concern For Others

I Feel That We Should Not Only Maintain Gentle, Peaceful Relations With Our Fellow Human Beings Bur Also That Is Very Important To Extend The Same Kind Of Attitude Toward The Natural Environment.

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

Generally Speaking, If A Human Being Never Shows Anger, Then I Think Something's Wrong. He's Not Right In The Brain.

Spend 5 Minutes Breathing In, Cherishing Yourself; And, Breathing Out Cherishing Others. If You Think About People You Have Difficulty Cherishing, Extend Your Cherishing To Them Anyway.

Even An Animal, If You Show Genuine Affection, Gradually Trust Develops... If You Always Showing Bad Face And Beating, How Can You Develop Friendship?

Nowadays, We Are Confronted By A Huge Gap Between Rich And Poor. This Is Not Only Morally Wrong, But Practically A Mistake. It Leads To The Rich Living In Anxiety And The Poor Living In Frustration, Which Has The Potential To Lead To More Violence. We Have To Work To Reduce This Gap. It's Truly Unfair That Some People Should Have So Much While Others Go Hungry.

Just Give Food Without Showing Affection, [animals] Might Not Get Sort Of 100% Satisfaction. So They Also, You See, When We Human Beings, We Show Affection, The Poor Animal Also Respond To Us.

I Have Found That The Greatest Degree Of Inner Peace Comes From Cultivating Love And Compassion.

Once You Encourage The Thought Of Compassion In Your Mind, Once It Becomes Active, Then Your Attitude Towards Others Changes Automatically.

The Ultimate Source Of A Happy Life Is Warm-heartedness. This Means Extending To Others The Kind Of Concern We Have For Ourselves. On A Simple Level We Find That If We Have A Compassionate Heart We Naturally Have More Friends. And Scientists Today Are Discovering That While Anger And Hatred Eat Into Our Immune System, Warm-heartedness And Compassion Are Good For Our Health.

When We Develop A Right Attitude Of Compassion And Gratitude, We Take A Giant Step Towards Solving Our Personal And International Problems

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

The Purpose Of Life Is To Be Happy.

Purpose Of Life

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

Inner Disarmament, External Disarmament; These Must Go Together, You See. Peace Is Not Just Mere Absence Of Violence - Genuine Peace Must Start In Each Individual Heart.

If A Problem Is Fixable, If A Situation Is Such That You Can Do Something About It, Then There Is No Need To Worry. If It's Not Fixable, Then There Is No Help In Worrying. There Is No Benefit In Worrying Whatsoever.

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

We Can Reject Everything Else: Religion, Ideology, All Received Wisdom. But We Cannot Escape The Necessity Of Love And Compassion. This, Then, Is My True Religion, My Simple Faith. In This Sense, There Is No Need For Temple Or Church, For Mosque Or Synagogue, No Need For Complicated Philosophy, Doctrine, Or Dogma. Our Own Heart, Our Own Mind, Is The Temple. The Doctrine Is Compassion. Love For Others And Respect For Their Rights And Dignity, No Matter Who Or What They Are: Ultimately These Are All We Need.

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

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 Learned Person Will Become Noble Only When He Or She Has Put Into Real Practice What Has Been Learned, Instead Of Mere Words.

The Practice Of Love Can Be Expressed In One Sentence: 'do Not Harm Others.'

I Always Try To Share With Others The Idea That In Order To Become Compassionate It Is Not Necessary To Become Religious.

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

Happiness Is Not Something Ready Made. It Comes From Your Own Actions.

Smile If You Want A Smile From Another Face.

This Generation Has A Responsibility To Reshape The World. Start The Task Even If It Will Not Be Fulfilled In Your Lifetime. Even If It Seems Hopeless Now, Never Give Up. Offer A Positive Vision, With Enthusiasm And Joy, And An Optimistic Outlook.

Altruism Is The Best Source Of Happiness. There Is No Doubt About That.

What Acts As A Far More Effective Circumstance For Generating Compassion And What, In Fact, Rouses Us From Our Comfortable Meditation Seat Is Actually Seeing Or Hearing Others - Encountering Others Directly, Not Just Conceptually In Our Imagination.

The Reality Today Is That We Are All Interdependent And Have To Co-exist On This Small Planet. Therefore, The Only Sensible And Intelligent Way Of Resolving Differences And Clashes Of Interests, Whether Between Individuals Or Nations, Is Through Dialogue.

We Are Working As Hard As We Can; We Are Preparing Ourselves As Carefully As We Can; We Fully Intend To Make Our Contribution To The World In The Coming Century.

Look At Children... If They Feel Angry With Someone, They Express It, And Then It Is Finished. They Can Still Play With That Person The Following Day.

Consciousness Will Always Be Present, Though A Particular Consciousness May Cease. For Example, The Particular Tactile Consciousness That Is Present Within This Human Body Will Cease When The Body Comes To An End. Likewise, Consciousnesses That Are Influenced By Ignorance, By Anger Or By Attachment, These Too Will Cease. But The Basic, Ultimate, Innermost Subtle Consciousness Will Always Remain. It Has No Beginning, And It Will Have Not End.

No Material Object, However Beautiful Or Valuable, Can Make Us Feel Loved, Because Our Deeper Identity And True Character Lie In The Subjective Nature Of The Mind.

Once A Year Go Somewhere You Have Never Been Before.

Travel The World

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

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

Happiness Is Determined More By One's State Of Mind Than By External Events.

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

If You Lose Your Temper, Your Sound Sleep Will Go, And You Will Have To Use A Tranquilizer Or Sleeping Pills? Then Gradually, More White Hair, Wrinkles.

I Believe That The Destructive Nature Of Society That Now Threatens The Existence Of The Entire Human World Has Much To Do With Human Intelligence. The Way To Overcome All Human Suffering-that Also Is Through Human Intelligence.

Yet Even The Rich Have Their Own Kind Of Suffering, Anxiety, Doubt, And Fear. So In Many Cases, Wealthy People Aren't Happy! And Once Those With Material Wealth Encounter Small Difficulties, Their Amount Of Mental Suffering Is Sometimes Bigger Than It Is For Those Who Have Faced Such Difficulties Every Day.

Anger And Hatred Are The Real Enemies That We Must Confront And Defeat, Not The 'enemies' Who Appear From Time To Time In Our Lives.

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