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Whether You Believe In God Or Not Does Not Matter So Much, Whether You Believe In Buddha Or Not Does Not Matter So Much; As A Buddhist, Whether You Believe In Reincarnation Or Not Does Not Matter So Much. You Must Lead A Good Life. And A Good Life Does Not Mean Just Good Food, Good Clothes, Good Shelter. These Are Not Sufficient. A Good Motivation Is What Is Needed: Compassion, Without Dogmatism, Without Complicated Philosophy; Just Understanding That Others Are Human Brothers And Sisters And Respecting Their Rights And Human Dignity.

-Dalai Lama

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Whether You Believe In

Dalai Lama

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Whether You Believe In God Or Not Does Not Matter So Much, Whether You Believe In Buddha Or Not Does Not Matter So Much; As A Buddhist, Whether You Believe In Reincarnation Or Not Does Not Matter So Much. You Must Lead A Good Life. And A Good Life Does Not Mean Just Good Food, Good Clothes, Good Shelter. These Are Not Sufficient. A Good Motivation Is What Is Needed: Compassion, Without Dogmatism, Without Complicated Philosophy; Just Understanding That Others Are Human Brothers And Sisters And Respecting Their Rights And Human Dignity.

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Anger, Hatred And Jealousy Never Solve Problems, Only Affection, Concern And Respect Can Do That.

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

From Adversity We Can Learn The Value Of Patience.

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

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

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.

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

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

Human Beings By Nature Want Happiness And Do Not Want Suffering. With That Feeling Everyone Tries To Achieve Happiness And Tries To Get Rid Of Suffering, And Everyone Has The Basic Right To Do This. In This Way, All Here Are The Same, Whether Rich Or Poor, Educated Or Uneducated, Easterner Or Westerner, Believer Or Non-believer, And Within Believers Whether Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, And So On. Basically, From The Viewpoint Of Real Human Value We Are All The Same.

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

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

Compassion Is Of Little Value If It Just Remains An Idea. It Must Motivate How We Respond To Others And Be Reflective In All Our Thoughts And Actions

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

Lasting Happiness

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

We Have A Responsibility To Look After Our Planet. It Is Our Only Home.

The More We Feel Concern For Others And Seek Their Well-being, The More Friends We Will Have And The More Welcome We Will Feel.

Concern For Others

The Chinese Government Wants Me To Say That For Many Centuries Tibet Has Been Part Of China. Even If I Make That Statement, Many People Would Just Laugh. And My Statement Will Not Change Past History. History Is History.

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

Love And Compassion Are The Pillars Of World Peace.

For The Rest Of Your Life To Be As Meaningful As Possible, Engage In Spiritual Practice If You Can. It Is Nothing More Than Acting Out Of Concern For Others. If You Practice Sincerely And With Persistence, Little By Little, Step By Step You Will Gradually Reorder Your Habits And Attitudes So As To Think Less About Your Own Narrow Concerns And More About Others' - And Thereby Find Peace And Happiness Yourself.

Don't Be A Person Of Success, Be A Person Of Value.

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

Once You Have A Genuine Sense Of Concern For Others, There’s No Room For Cheating, Bullying Or Exploitation.

Concern For Others

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

It Is Difficult To Violently Suppress People In The Long Run, As The Example Of The Soviet Union And The Eastern European Countries Has Shown.

To Combat Hatred Directed Toward A Person, A Buddhist Cultivates Loving Kindness Toward That Person.

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Forgiveness Love

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

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I Am Basically Optimistic.

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

You Can Develop The Right Attitude Toward Others If You Have Kindness, Love And Respect For Them, And A Clear Realization Of The Oneness Of All Human Beings.

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

It Is Very Rare Or Almost Impossible That An Event Can Be Negative From All Points Of View.

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

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

You're Happy When You Help Others Become Happy.

Too Much Self-centered Attitude, You See, Brings, You See, Isolation. Result: Loneliness, Fear, Anger. The Extreme Self-centered Attitude Is The Source Of Suffering.

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

In Disagreements With Loved Ones, Deal Only With The Current Situation. Don't Bring Up The Past.

Rules To Live By

For Tibetans, The Real Strength Of Our Struggle Is Truth - Not Size, Money, Or Expertise. China Is Much Bigger, Richer, More Powerful Militarily, And Has Much Better Skill In Diplomacy. They Outdo Us In Every Field. But They Have No Justice. We Have Placed Our Whole Faith In Truth And In Justice. We Have Nothing Else, In Principle And In Practice.

Even When A Person Has All Of Life's Comforts - Good Food, Good Shelter, A Companion - He Or She Can Still Become Unhappy When Encountering A Tragic Situation.

I'm Sure All Of Us Agree That We Need To Overcome Violence, But We First Need To Examine Whether It Has Any Value. From A Strictly Practical Perspective, On Certain Occasions Violence Appears To Be Useful. We Can Solve A Problem Quickly By Force. But This Success Is Often At The Expense Of The Rights And Welfare Of Others. Although One Problem Has Been Solved, The Seed Of Another Has Been Planted.

Those Who Like Myself, Consider Themselves To Be Followers Of Buddha, Should Practice As Much As We Can. To Followers Of Other Religious Traditions, I Would Like To Say, 'please Practice Your Own Religion Seriously And Sincerely.' And To Non-believers, I Request You To Try To Be Warm-hearted. I Ask This Of You Because These Mental Attitudes Actually Bring Us Happiness.

When We Think Carefully, We See That The Brief Elation We Experience When Appeasing Sensual Impulses May Not Be Very Different From What The Drug Addict Feels When Indulging His Or Her Habit. Temporary Relief Is Soon Followed By A Craving For More. And In Just The Same Way That Taking Drugs In The End Only Causes Trouble, So, Too, Does Much Of What We Undertake To Fulfill Our Immediate Sensory Desires.

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

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.

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

So Our Future Is In Our Own Hands. What Greater Free Will Do We Need?

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

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

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

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

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

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.

An Affectionate Disposition Not Only Makes The Mind More Peaceful And Calm, But It Affects Our Body In A Positive Way Too.

Physically You Are A Human Being, But Mentally You Are Incomplete. Given That We Have This Physical Human Form, We Must Safeguard Our Mental Capacity For Judgment. For That, We Cannot Take Out Insurance; The Insurance Company Is Within: Self-discipline, Self-awareness, And A Clear Realization Of The Disadvantages Of Anger And The Positive Effects Of Kindness.

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.

The Ultimate Source Of Happiness Is Not Money And Power, But Warm-heartedness

The Greatest Antidote To Insecurity & Sense Of Fear Is Compassion. It Brings One Back To The Basis Of One's Inner Strength.

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

Without Freedom, Creativity Cannot Flourish. The Right To Freedom Is Crucial To Progress In Any Society; And The Context Is Having A Sense Of Global Responsibility.

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

Many Tibetans Sacrifice Their 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.

I Believe Deeply That We Must Find A New Spirituality... In Such A Way That All People Of Good Will Could Adhere To It... We Ought To Promote This Concept With The Help Of Scientists... It Could Lead Us To What We Are Looking For.

Without Your Own Effort It Is Impossible For Blessings To Come.

All Living Beings Have Experience Of Pleasure And Pain, And We Are Among Them. What Makes Human Beings Different Is That We Have A Powerful Intelligence And A Much Greater Ability To Achieve Happiness And Avoid Suffering. Real Happiness And Friendship Come Not From Money Or Even Knowledge, But From Warm-heartednes S. Once We Recognize This We Will Be More Inclined To Cultivate It.

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.

We Are Social Animals. Others' Suffering Is Ultimately Your Suffering; Their Happiness Is Ultimately Your Happiness.

Nonviolence Is The Only Way. Even If You Achieve Your Goal By Violent Means There Are Always Side Effects, And These Can Be Worse Than The Problem. Violence Is Against Human Nature.

I Have Always Had This View About The Modern Education System: We Pay Attention To Brain Development, But The Development Of Warmheartedness We Take For Granted.

Since Form Is Emptiness And Emptiness Is Form, Then Instead Of A Hand Grasping At Nothing, It Is Better To Grasp At Someone's Nose Because This Is Closer To Reality.

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

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.

Tolerance And Patience Should Not Be Read As Signs Of Weakness. They Are Signs Of Strength.

If You Shift Your Focus From Oneself To Others, And Think More About Others' Well-being And Welfare, It Has An Immediate Liberating Effect.

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.

Anger And Hatred Cannot Bring Harmony. The Noble Task Of Arms Control And Disarmament Cannot Be Accomplished By Confrontation And Condemnation. Hostile Attitudes Only Serve To Heat Up The Situation, Whereas A True Sense Of Respect Gradually Cools Down What Otherwise Could Become Explosive. We Must Recognize The Frequent Contradictions Between Short-term Benefit And Long-term Harm.

We All Need Basic Human Values Rooted In Trust And Affection.

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.

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

The Very Purpose Of Religion Is To Control Yourself, Not To Criticise Others.

Compassion Automatically Brings Happiness And Calmness. Then, Even If You Receive Disturbing News, It Will Be Easier To Take, As Your Mind Is Still.

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

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

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?'

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.

If We Have No Inner Peace, We Deceive Ourselves Into Thinking That Comfort And Prosperity Will Bring Happiness.

Through Meditative Techniques, One Can Free The Mind Of Delusions And Attain What We Call Enlightenment.

If Some People Have The Belief Or View That The Dalai Lama Has Some Miracle Power, That's Totally Nonsense.

The Whole Purpose Of Religion Is To Facilitate Love And Compassion, Patience, Tolerance, Humility, And Forgiveness.

Basically, The Buddhist Attitude Is That You Should Not Accept Certain Things Through Sheer Faith. And For That You Need A Skeptical Attitude. Buddha Himself Made This Clear To His Followers. He Said You Should Not Accept Those Things I Taught Out Of Respect For Me, But Rather Through Investigation By Yourself.

Furthermore, I Shall Explain The Nature Of Dharmata: Such A Nature As This Cannot Be Determined To Be Any One Thing. So However You Label It, That Is How It Appears.

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

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

Service To Others

Lack Of Understanding Of The True Nature Of Happiness, It Seems To Me, Is The Principal Reason Why People Inflict Sufferings On Others. They Think Either That The Other's Pain May Somehow Be A Cause Of Happiness For Themselves Or That Their Own Happiness Is More Important, Regardless Of What Pain It May Cause. But This Is Shortsighted. No One Truly Benefits From Causing Harm To Another Sentient Being. . . . . In The Long Run Causing Others Misery And Infringing Their Rights To Peace And Happiness Result In Anxiety, Fear, And Suspicion Within Oneself.

If You Make Your Best Effort To Be Kinder, Nurture Compassion, Make The World A Better Place, Then You Can Say 'at Least I've Done My Best.

Individuality Is Very Important For A Full Human Life.

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.

Our World And Our Lives Have Become Increasingly Interdependent, So When Our Neighbour Is Harmed, It Affects Us Too. Therefore We Have To Abandon Outdated Notions Of 'them' And 'us' And Think Of Our World Much More In Terms Of A Great 'us', A Greater Human Family.

Look At South Africa, The Former Soviet Union, And The Middle East. They Still Have Many Problems, Setbacks As Well As Breakthroughs, But Basically Changes Have Happened That Were Considered Unthinkable A Decade Ago.

On Occasions When U Feel Most Hopeless, U Must Take Powerful Effort. We Must Persist In Face Of Failure.

Our Greatest Duty And Our Main Responsibility Is To Help Others. But Please, If You Can't Help Them, Would You Please Not Hurt Them.

Today, More Than Ever Before, Life Must Be Characterized By A Sense Of Universal Responsibility, Not Only Nation To Nation And Human To Human, But Also Human To Other Forms Of Life.

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

Self Confidence

When You Talk You Are Only Repeating Something You Already Know. But, If You Listen You May Learn Something New.

A Good Motivation Is What Is Needed: Compassion Without Dogmatism, Without Complicated Philosophy; Just Understanding That Others Are Human Brothers And Sisters And Respecting Their Human Rights And Dignities. That We Humans Can Help Each Other Is One Of Our Unique Human Capacities.

So, The Tendency Of Our Childish Nature Is To Take Small Things Too Seriously And Get Easily Offended, Whereas When We Are Confronted With Situations Which Have Long-term Consequences, We Tend To Take Things Less Seriously

If You Have Only Education And Knowledge And A Lack Of The Other Side, Then You May Not Be A Happy Person, But A Person Of Mental Unrest, Of Frustration. Not Only That, But If You Combine These Two, Your Whole Life Will Be A Constructive And Happy Life. And Certainly You Can Make Immense Benefit For Society And The Betterment Of Humanity. That Is One Of My Fundamental Beliefs: That A Good Heart, A Warm Heart, A Compassionate Heart, Is Still Teachable.

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

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

Concern For Others

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

The 20th Century Was The Century Of War And Blood. The 21st Century Is The Century Of Dialogue.

Forgiveness Doesn't Mean Forget What Happened. If Something Is Serious And It Is Necessary To Take Counter-measures, You Have To Take Counter-measures.

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.

If We Develop Concern For Other People's Welfare, Share Other People's Suffering, And Help Them, Ultimately We Will Benefit. If We Think Only Of Ourselves And Forget About Others, Ultimately We Will Lose. The More We Care For The Happiness Of Others, The Greater Our Own Sense Of Well-being Becomes.

Concern For Others

Great Changes Start With Individuals; The Basis Of World Peace Is Inner Peace In The Hearts Of Individuals.

When You Are Warm-hearted, There Is No Room For Anger, Jealousy Or Insecurity.

When You Are Discontent, You Always Want More, More, More. Your Desire Can Never Be Satisfied. But When You Practice Contentment, You Can Say To Yourself, 'oh Yes - I Already Have Everything That I Really Need.'

Americans Are Interested Because They Are Open-minded. They Have An Education System That Teaches Them To Find Out For Themselves Why Things Are The Way They Are. Open-minded People Tend To Be Interested In Buddhism Because Buddha Urged People To Investigate Things - He Didn't Just Command Them To Believe.

Anger, Hatred, Fear, Is Very Bad For Our Health

All Suffering Is Caused By Ignorance. People Inflict Pain On Others In The Selfish Pursuit Of Their Happiness Or Satisfaction.

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

Meet Hostility And Suspicion With Kindness. Helping Others Out Of Love Is Always The Best Option.

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

The Key To Human Happiness Lies Within Our Own State Of Mind, And So Too Do The Primary Obstacles To That Happiness.

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

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

Self Confidence

Compassion Suits Our Physical Condition, Whereas Anger, Fear And Distrust Are Harmful To Our Well-being. Therefore, Just As We Learn The Importance Of Physical Hygiene To Physical Health, To Ensure Healthy Minds, We Need To Learn Some Kind Of Emotional Hygiene.

You Have To Start Giving First And Expect Absolutely Nothing.

Absolutely Nothing

Happiness Is The Highest Form Of Health.

Whether You Believe In God Or Not Does Not Matter So Much, Whether You Believe In Buddha Or Not Does Not Matter So Much; As A Buddhist, Whether You Believe In Reincarnation Or Not Does Not Matter So Much. You Must Lead A Good Life. And A Good Life Does Not Mean Just Good Food, Good Clothes, Good Shelter. These Are Not Sufficient. A Good Motivation Is What Is Needed: Compassion, Without Dogmatism, Without Complicated Philosophy; Just Understanding That Others Are Human Brothers And Sisters And Respecting Their Rights And Human Dignity.

For Change To Happen In Any Community, The Initiative Must Come From The Individual.

A Loving Atmosphere In Your Home Is The Foundation For Your Life.

I Believe That To Meet The Challenge Of Our Times, Human Beings Will Have To Develop A Greater Sense Of Universal Responsibility. We Must All Learn To Work Not Just For Our Own Self, Family, Or Nation But For The Benefit Of All Humankind. Universal Responsibility Is The Key To Human Survival. It Is The Best Foundation For World Peace, The Equitable Use Of Natural Resources, And Through Concern For Future Generations, The Proper Care Of The Environment.

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

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

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

I Feel That A Genuine, Affectionate Smile Is Very Important In Our Day-to-day Lives. How One Creates That Smile Largely Depends On One's Own Attitude. It Is Illogical To Expect Smiles From Others If One Does Not Smile Oneself. Therefore, One Can See That Many Things Depend On One's Own Behaviour.

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.

Our Purpose In Life Is To Be Happy. From The Very Core Of Our Being, We Simply Desire Contentment.

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

It Is... Very Helpful To Think Of Adversity Not So Much As A Threat To Our Peace Of Mind But Rather As The Very Means By Which Patience Is Attained.

My Aim Is To Create A Happy Society With Genuine Friendship. Friendship Between Tibetan And Chinese Peoples Is Very Essential.

Genuine Friends

I Became The Dalai Lama Not On A Volunteer Basis.

As A Human Being, Anger Is A Part Of Our Mind. Irritation Also Part Of Our Mind. But You Can Do - Anger Come, Go. Never Keep In Your Sort Of - Your Inner World, Then Create A Lot Of Suspicion, A Lot Of Distrust, A Lot Of Negative Things, More Worry.

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

Good Human Being

Out Of 6 Billion Humans, The Troublemakers Are Just A Handful.

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

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

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

I Am Like A Wounded Animal In A Remote Isolated Place - How Wonderful! - How Happy!

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

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

You Make Me Happy

There Is No Denying That Consideration Of Others Is Worthwhile And That Our Happiness Is Inextricably Bound Up With The Happiness Of Others. There Is No Denying That If Society Suffers, We Ourselves Suffer, And The More Our Hearts And Minds Are Afflicted With Ill-will, The More Miserable We Become. We Can Reject Religion, Ideology, Received Wisdom, But We Cannot Escape The Need For Love And Compassion.

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Jeffrey Eugenides

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