The Dalai Lama Quotes

A mind committed to compassion is like an overflowing reservoir - a constant source of energy, determination, and kindness.

Even a small act of compassion grants meaning and purpose to our lives.

A sense of contentment is crucial to being happy. Physical health, material wealth and friends contribute to this, but contentment governs our relations with them all.

Use your human intelligence in the best way you can; transform your emotions in a positive way.

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.

It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance.

You are the people who are shaping a better world. One of the secrets of inner peace is the practice of compassion.

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.

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.

Every human action, whether it has become positive or negative, must depend on motivation.

Whether or not we follow any particular spiritual tradition, the benefits of love and kindness are obvious to anyone.

We need material development, but we need to understand that by itself it doesn't bring peace of mind.

If we have no inner peace, we deceive ourselves into thinking that comfort and prosperity will bring happiness.

I often tease young people about their concern for how they look; more important is inner beauty - compassion, affection and respect.

Gratitude is something you show in relation to others.

The more contact we have with one another and the more we come to understand each other's values, the greater will be our mutual respect.

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.

When you engage in fulfilling the needs of others, your own needs are fulfilled as a by-product.

Once a year go somewhere you have never been before.

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.

Too strong a media emphasis on death and violence can lead to despair.

Conversion is not my intention. Changing religion is not easy. You may develop some kind of confusion or difficulties.

Wherever I go meeting the public... spreading a message of human values, spreading a message of harmony, is the most important thing.

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.

Conservation is not merely a question of morality, but a question of our own survival.

I always believe the rule by king or official leader is outdated. Now we must catch up with the modern world.

To a large extent, whether you suffer depends on how you respond to a given situation.

So the first step in seeking happiness is learning. We first have to learn how negative emotions and behaviors are harmful to us and how positive emotions are helpful.

Your friend, your enemy, your neutral all are equal. Genuine compassion is unbiased.

Human potential is the same for all. If you have will power, then you can change anything.

One can overcome the forces of negative emotions, like anger and hatred, by cultivating their counter-forces, like love and compassion.

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.

I really do not want to carry some kind of party function.

My own share making contribution [to the the well-being of humanity]. So I never feel I am something special.

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.

Maybe, just maybe, I would like to become a real spiritual teacher, a working lama!

Black Power If the motive is good, and there are no other possibilities, then seen most deeply it [violence] is nonviolence, because its aim is to help others.

One who is caught in thought loses one's original nature. All he knows are words and descriptions. When he sees the actual thing, he fails to perceive it.

A lot of problems we are facing, essentially, man made problem. Own creation. Not due to lack of intelligence.

I am a steadfast follower of the doctrine of non-violence which was first preached by Lord Buddha, whose divine wisdom is absolute.

Ultimately, the human being is in the mercy of nature.

Anger, jealousy, impatience, and hatred are the real troublemakers, with them problems cannot be solved.

Anger, pride and competence are our real enemies.

War is out of date, obsolete.

I learn as much from a turtle as from a religious text.

How can we eliminate the deepest source of all unsatisfactory experience? Only by cultivating certain qualities within our mindstream.

Individuality is very important for a full human life.

In order to meditate correctly, you must have knowledge.

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.

A human being isn't meant to be some kind of machine designed only for production. No. Human life isn't just for work.