Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama - Life Quotes

43 Sourced Quotes

View all Tenzin Gyatso Quotes
The various features and aspects of human life, such as longevity, good health, success, happiness, and so forth, which we consider desirable, are all dependent on kindness and a good heart.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Without love we could not survive. Human beings are social creatures,
and a concern for each other is the very basis of our life together.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Life does not wait: Whether we spend our lives meaningfully or not, the time will be used up moment by moment.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
I think the person who has had more experience of hardships can stand more firmly in the face of problems than the person who has never experienced suffering. From this angle then, some suffering can be a good lesson for life.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
A balanced and skillful approach to life, taking care to avoid extremes, becomes a very important factor in conducting one's everyday existence.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The training of the mind is an art. If this can be considered art, one's life is art.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The greater the level of calmness of our mind, the greater our peace of mind, the greater our ability to enjoy a happy and joyful life.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
We must each lead a way of life with self-awareness and compassion, to do as much as we can. Then, whatever happens we will have no regrets.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
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.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Each of you should feel that you have great potential and that, with self-confidence and a little more effort, change really is possible if you want it. If you feel that your present way of life is unpleasant or has some difficulties, then don't look at these negative things. See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The first beneficiary of compassion is always oneself. When compassion, or warmheartedness, arises in us and our focus shifts away from our own narrow self-interest, it is as if we open an inner door. It reduces fear, boosts confidence and brings us inner strength. By reducing distrust, it opens us to others and brings us a sense of connection to others, and sense of purpose and meaning in life.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Self-discipline, although difficult, and not always easy while combating
negative emotions, should be a defensive measure. At least we will be able to prevent the advent of negative conduct dominated by negative emotion. That is 'shila', or moral ethics. Once we develop this by familiarizing ourselves with it, along with mindfulness and conscientiousness, eventually that pattern and way of life will become a part of our own life.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Bodhicitta is the medicine which revives and gives life to every sentient being who even hears of it. When you engage in fulfilling the needs of others, your own needs are fulfilled as a by-product.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The most important thing is practice in daily life; then you can
know gradually the true value of religion. Doctrine is not meant for
mere knowledge, but for the improvement of our minds. In order to do
that, it must be part of our life. If you put religious doctrine in
a building and when you leave the building depart from the practices,
you cannot gain its value.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The most important thing in life is human affection.
Without it one cannot achieve genuine happiness.
And if we want a happier life, a happier family, happier neighbours
or a happier nation, the key is inner quality.
Even if the five billion human beings that inhabit the earth become
millionaires, without inner development there cannot be peace
or any lasting 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
In our daily life a certain way of thinking makes us happy, and a certain way of thinking makes us unhappy. In other words, there are certain states of mind which bring us problems, and they can be removed...

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Whether you believe in God or not does not matter 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.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Peace and the survival of life on earth as we know it are threatened by human activities which lack a commitment to humanitarian values. Destruction of nature and nature's resources result from ignorance, greed and lack of respect for the earth's living things.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
I don't know whether the universe, with its countless galaxies, stars and planets, has a deeper meaning or not, but at the very least, it is clear that we humans who live on this earth face the task of making a happy life for ourselves. Therefore, it is important to discover what will bring about the greatest degree of happiness.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
To study Buddhism and then use it as a weapon in order to criticize others' theories or ideologies is wrong. The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others. Rather, we must criticize ourselves. How much am I doing about my anger? About my attachment, about my hatred, about my pride, my jealousy? These are the things which we must check in daily life with the knowledge of the Buddhist teachings.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
We are visitors on this planet. We are here for one hundred years at the very most. During that period we must try to do something good, something useful, with our lives. if you contribute to other people's happiness, you will find the true meaning of life.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
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.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility. In that state of mind you can deal with situations with calmness and reason, while keeping your inner happiness. That is very important. Without this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life is materially, you may still be worried, disturbed or unhappy because of circumstances.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents, and then later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other's kindness, how can it be in the middle that we would neglect kindness towards others?

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The real test of compassion is not what we say in abstract discussions but how we conduct ourselves in daily life.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Unless we possess high spiritual qualifications, there is no doubt that the events life throws upon us will give rise to frustration, emotional turmoil, and other distorted states of consciousness. These imperfect states of mind in turn give rise to imperfect activities, and the seeds of suffering are ever planted in a steady flow.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
If one's life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama