Dalai Lama XIV Quotes

Enjoy the top 427 famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Dalai Lama XIV.

“Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually.”
— Dalai Lama XIV —

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“Hard times build determination and inner strength. Through them we can also come to appreciate the uselessness of anger. Instead of getting angry nurture a deep caring and respect for troublemakers because by creating such trying circumstances they provide us with invaluable opportunities to practice tolerance and patience.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“If we think only of ourselves, forget about other people, then our minds occupy very small area. Inside that small area, even tiny problem appears very big. But the moment you develop a sense of concern for others, you realize that, just like ourselves, they also want happiness; they also want satisfaction. When you have this sense of concern, your mind automatically widens. At this point, your own problems, even big problems, will not be so significant. The result? Big increase in peace of mind. So, if you think only of yourself, only your own happiness, the result is actually less happiness. You get more anxiety, more fear.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“If there is no solution to the problem then don't waste time worrying about it. If there is a solution to the problem then don't waste time worrying about it.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“The very purpose of our life is to seek happiness.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

If a problem can be solved it will be. If it can not be solved there is no use worrying about it.

— Dalai Lama XIV

“I always tell my Western friends that it is best to keep your own tradition. Changing religion is not easy and sometimes causes confusion. You must value your tradition and honor your own religion.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

Compassion is the wish to see others free from suffering.

— Dalai Lama XIV

“In general, if we carefully examine any given situation in a very unbiased and honest way, we will realize that to a large extent we are also responsible for the unfolding of events.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“We must recognize that the suffering of one person or one nation is the suffering of humanity.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

Everybody wants a happy life and a peaceful mind, but we have to produce peace of mind through our own practice.

— Dalai Lama XIV

“We may now have reached a point where this gap in our make-up has become unsustainable; partly because what in the past would have counted as material plenty has become the norm for the majority in much of the world; and partly because the slow retreat of religion that coincided with the spread of a capitalist economy has left a gaping hole in millions of people's lives. (Geoff Mulgan)”

— Dalai Lama XIV

I will not propose to you that my way is best. The decision is up to you. If you find some point which may be suitable to you, then you can carry out experiments for yourself. If you find that it is of no use, then you can discard it.

— Dalai Lama XIV

Cultivate the understanding that the self is not really an independently existing entity, and begin to view self instead in terms of it's dependent relation to others. Although it is difficult to say that merely reflecting on this will produce a profound spiritual realization, it will at least have some effect. Your mind will be more open. Something will begin to change within you. Therefore, even in the immediate term there is definitely a positive and beneficial effect in reversing these two attitudes and moving from self-centeredness to other-centeredness, from belief in self existence to belief in dependent origination.

— Dalai Lama XIV

Be the change you wish to be

— Dalai Lama XIV

“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.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“So long as people give priority to material values, then injustice, inequity, intolerance, and greed - all the outward manifestations of neglect of our inner values - will persist.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

Happiness. For example, good

— Dalai Lama XIV

“More dangerous than guns or bombs are hatred, lack of compassion, and lack of respect for the rights of others. As long as hatred dwells in the human mind, real peace is impossible.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“If a person shows anger to you, and you show anger in return, the result is disaster. If you nurse hatred, you will never be happy, even in the lap of luxury. By contrast, if you control your anger and show its opposite - love, compassion, tolerance, and patience - then not only do you remain in peace, but gradually the anger of others also will diminish.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“If the situation or problem is such that it can be remedied, then there is no need to worry about it. In other words, if there is a solution or a way out of the difficulty, then one needn't be overwhelmed by it. The appropriate action is to seek its solution. It is more sensible to spend the energy focusing on the solution rather than worrying about the problem. Alternatively, if there is no way out, no solution, no Possibility of resolution, then there is also no point in being worried about it, because you can't do anything about it anyway. In that case, the sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be on you. This formula, of course, implies directly confronting the problem. Otherwise you won't be able to find out whether or not there is a resolution to the problem.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“It is clear that something is seriously lacking in the way we humans are going about things. But what is it that we lack? The fundamental problem, I believe, is that at every level we are giving too much attention to the external, material aspects of life while neglecting moral ethics and inner values. By inner values, I mean the qualities that we all appreciate in others, and toward which we all have a natural instinct, bequeathed by our biological nature as animals that survive and thrive only in an environment of concern, affection, and warm-heartedness-or in a single word, compassion. The essence of compassion is a desire to alleviate the suffering of others and to promote their well-being. This is the spiritual principle from which all other positive inner value emerge.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“When our minds are clouded by hatred, selfishness, jealousy, and anger, we lose not only control but also our judgment.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“Happiness arises as a result of different causes and conditions. If you harm someone out of anger, you may feel some superficial satisfaction, but deep down you know it was wrong. Your confidence will be undermined. However, if you have an altruistic attitude, you'll feel comfortable and confident in the presence of others.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

Motivated by compassion for all sentient beings, Buddha Shakyamuni observed all these problems, and he reflected on the nature of his own existence. He found that all human beings undergo suffering, and he saw that we experience this unhappiness because of our undisciplined state of mind.

— Dalai Lama XIV

“The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have, because there's no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“What we need today is an approach to ethics which makes no recourse to religion and can be equally acceptable to those with faith and those without: a secular ethics.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“Peace. Profound happiness, unlike fleeting pleasures, is spiritual by nature. It depends on the happiness of others, and it is based on love and tenderness. We”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“No matter how bad things become, they will eventually get better. In the end, the innate desire of all people for truth, justice and human understanding must triumph over ignorance and despair. So if the Chinese oppressed us, it could only strengthen us”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“Bhagavan-in Tibetan, "One who has destroyed the four Maras,"2 which are death, distraction, pride, and the emotional obscurations. The”

— Dalai Lama XIV

Analyze. Think, think, think. When you do, you will recognize that our ordinary way of life is almost meaningless.

— Dalai Lama XIV

In an age when news travels so fast around the world, our sense of community and our concern for those far away from us have grown enormously. In the early twentieth century, feelings of nationalism were very strong, while awareness of our entire humanity was quite weak. In those days people were less aware of what was happening in other regions or other continents. But now, with global media transmitting news at such speed, we have a deeper awareness of the interconnectedness of people everywhere. Together with this, people's concern for humanity as a whole, and their recognition of the value of basic human rights, seem to be deepening as well. To me, this trend is a source of great optimism about the future.

— Dalai Lama XIV

“Eating, working, and making money are meaningless in themselves. However, even a small act of compassion grants meaning and purpose to our lives. P”

— Dalai Lama XIV

When I meet people in different parts of the world, I am always reminded that we are all basically alike. We are all human beings. Maybe we have different clothes, our skin is of a different color or we speak different languages. That is on the surface. But basically, we are the same human beings. That is what binds us to each other. That is what makes it possible for us to understand each other and to develop friendship and closeness.

— Dalai Lama XIV

Once you realize things are always changing, if you are passing through a difficult period you can find comfort in knowing that the situation will not remain that way forever.

— Dalai Lama XIV

We all share an existence marked by suffering and impermanence. Once we recognize how much we have in common, we see that there is no sense in being belligerent with one another.

— Dalai Lama XIV

“Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“I find that because of modern technological evolution and our global economy, and as a result of the great increase in population, our world has greatly changed: it has become much smaller. However, our perceptions have not evolved at the same pace; we continue to cling to old national demarcations and the old feelings of "us" and "them.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“The present is that elusive moment between what no longer exists and what has not yet happened. These notions that we take as "reality" are pure intellectual fabrications that do not involve an independent reality, existent in itself. According”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“If your mind is scattered, it is quite powerless. Distraction here and there opens the way for counterproductive emotions, leading to many kinds of trouble.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“Our future is in our hands.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

“What marks the transition from non-sentient to sentient beings? A model of increasing complexity based on evolution through natural selection is simply a descriptive hypothesis, a kind of euphemism for "mystery," and not a satisfactory explanation.”