Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama Quotes

407 Sourced Quotes

The mind is key. If anything should be considered a god, so to speak, it is the mind, not money. A healthy positive mind is the utmost priority. But if we were to reverse the order of these priorities, what would happen? I find it hard to imagine how a person with great wealth, bad health, no friends, and no peace of mind could feel even slightly happy.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
If you practice in accord with your individual capacity, little by little you will find more pleasure and joy in it. As you gain inner strength, your positive actions will gain in profundity and scope.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
For change to happen in any community, the initiative must come from the individual.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
For discovering one's true inner nature, I think one should try to take out some time, with quiet and relaxation, to think more inwardly and to investigate the inner world. That may help.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Just as compassion is the wish that all sentient beings be free of suffering, loving-kindness is the wish that all may enjoy happiness.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
It is not enough simply to wish that love and compassion should increase in us. We need to make a sustained effort, again and again, to cultivate the positive aspects within us - and the key here is constant familiarity. The nature of human thoughts and emotions is such that the more you engage in them, the more you consciously develop them, the more powerful they become.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
According
to my own experience, the highest level of inner calm comes from the
development of love and compassion. The more concerned we are with the
happiness of others, the more we increase our own well-being.
Friendliness and warmth towards others allow us to relax and help us to
dispel any sense of fear or insecurity so we can overcome whatever
obstacles we face.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Where there is a mind, there are feelings such as pain, pleasure, and joy. No sentient being wants pain: all wants happiness instead.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
It is our custom to say that someone is 'lucky' or 'unlucky' if they meet with fortunate or unfortunate circumstances, respectively. It is, however, too simplistic to think in terms of random 'luck.' Even from a scientific point of view, this is not a sufficient explanation.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Compassion can be roughly defined in terms of a state of mind that is nonviolent, nonharming, and nonaggressive. It is a mental attitude based on the wish for others to be free of their suffering and is associated with a sense of commitment, responsibility, and respect towards others.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
A genuine smile touches something fundamental in us: our natural appreciation of kindness.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
When we speak of a calm state of mind or peace of mind, we shouldn't confuse that with an insensitive state of apathy. Having a calm or peaceful state of mind doesn't mean being spaced out or completely empty. Peace of mind or a calm state of mind is rooted in affection and compassion and is sensitive and responsive to others.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Our every action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on others' happiness.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
In the Buddha's life story we see the three stages of practice: Morality comes first, then concentrated meditation, and then wisdom. And we see that the path takes time.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Anger, jealousy, impatience, and hatred are the real troublemakers, with them problems cannot be solved.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Hardship, in forcing us to exercise greater patience and forbearance in daily life, actually makes us stronger and more robust. From the daily experience of hardship comes a greater capacity to accept difficulties without losing our sense of inner calm. Of course, I do not advocate seeking out hardship as a way of life, but merely wish to suggest that, if you relate to it constructively, it can bring greater inner strength and fortitude.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Ultimately, the decision to save the environment must come from the human heart. The key point is a call for a genuine sense of universal responsibility that is based on love, compassion and clear awareness.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Through constant familiarity, we can definitely establish new behavior patterns, using our tendency to form habits to our advantage. If we make a steady effort, I think we can overcome any form of negative conditioning and make positive changes in our lives. But we need to remember that genuine change doesn't happen overnight.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of the most important factors is human compassion and affection: a sense of caring.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Giving material goods is one form of generosity, but one can extend an attitude of generosity into all one's behavior. Being kind, attentive, and honest in dealing with others, offering praise where it is due, giving comfort and advice where they are needed, and simply sharing one's time with someone - all these are forms of generosity, and they do not require any particular level of material wealth.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The more we take the welfare of others to heart and work for their benefit, the more benefit we derive for ourselves. This is a fact that we can see.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
My hope and wish is that one day, formal education will pay attention to what I call 'education of the heart'.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Compassion is one of the principal things that make our lives meaningful. It is the source of all lasting happiness and joy.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Only through kindness and love can peace of mind be achieved.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
I believe in justice and truth, without which there would be no basis for human hope

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
We are all basically the same human beings, who seek happiness and try to avoid suffering. Everybody is my peer group. Your feeling "I am of no value" is wrong. Absolutely wrong.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticise others.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
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.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The only clear thing is that we humans are the only species with the power to destroy the earth as we know it. The birds have no such power, nor do the insects, nor does any mammal. Yet if we have the capacity to destroy the earth, so, too, do we have the capacity to protect it.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama