Tenzin Gyatso (b.1935,) the 14th Dalai Lama, originallly Lhamo Dhondup, is the most prominent spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhist community. He is the secular leader of the Tibetan people and the leader of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. a global figure he is recognized for his advocacy of Buddhism and of the rights of the people of Tibet.
The 14th Dalai Lama lives in exile in Dharamshala, India, ever since the Chinese occupied Tibet in 1959. As one of the most respected men of our times, the Dalai Lama is a champion of the fundamental human values of compassion, love, altruism, and nonviolence.
The Dalai Lama is the 1989 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his adherence to the Buddhist principle of nonviolence in the Tibetan struggle, and for advocating for peace amid the Chinese government’s oppression of Tibet. The Nobel committee praised “his consistent resistance to the use of violence in his people’s struggle to regain their liberty” and stated that his award was “in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi.”
The Dalai Lama’s autobiographies include My Land and My People (1962) and Freedom in Exile (1990.) His books on Buddhist teachings include The Art of Happiness (1998) and The Book of Joy (2016; with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.) Essayist Pico Iyer’s The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (2008) is an intimate portrait.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by The 14th Dalai Lama
Reason well from the beginning and then there will never be any need to look back with confusion and doubt.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
We can never obtain peace in the world if we neglect the inner world and don’t make peace with ourselves. World peace must develop out of inner peace.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Love, Buddhism, Peace
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
—The 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.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Harmony among the major faiths has become an essential ingredient of peaceful coexistence in our world. It matters for the welfare of humanity as a whole.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
To seek solitude like a wild animal. That is my only ambition.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Solitude
The moment you think only of yourself, the focus of your whole reality narrows, and because of this narrow focus, uncomfortable things can appear huge and bring you fear and discomfort and a sense of feeling overwhelmed by misery. The moment you think of others with a sense of caring, however, your view widens. Within that wider perspective, your own problems appear to be of little significance, and this makes a big difference.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Selfishness
I have observed that religious practice is not a precondition either of ethical conduct or of happiness itself. I have also suggested that, whether a person practices religion or not, the spiritual qualities of love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, humility and so on are indispensable
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Compassion
Whenever possible, it is always good to act in kindness. It is always possible.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Finding common ground among faiths can help us bridge needless divides at a time when unified action is more crucial than ever.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
The creatures that inhabit this earth—be they human beings or animals—are here to contribute, each in its own particular way, to the beauty and prosperity of the world.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Kindness, Religion
Just as you have the instinctive natural desire to be happy and overcome suffering, so do all sentient beings; just as you have the right to fulfill this innate aspiration, so do all sentient beings. So on what exact grounds do you discriminate?
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Aspirations
Discrimination against persons of different races, against women, and against weaker sections of society may be traditional in some regions, but if they are inconsistent with universally recognized human rights, these forms of behavior should change. The universal principle of the equality of all human beings must take precedence.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Religion, Meditation, Friendship, Affection, Love
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Now you are on the Buddhist way. Keep up your meditation, as there is no instant illumination. The mind moves slowly into this. Do not become attached to your method. When, in the course of your meditation, your consciousness will have expanded and been transformed, you will then recognize that all the ways are valid ways.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Meditation, Mind, Buddhism
Another kind of love and compassion is not based on something appearing beautiful or nice, but based on the fact that the other person, just like oneself, wants happiness and does not want suffering and indeed has every right to be happy and to overcome suffering. On such a basis, we feel a sense of responsibility, a sense of closeness toward that being. That is true compassion. This is because the compassion is based on reason, not just on emotional feeling. As a consequence, it does not matter what the other’s attitude is, whether negative, or positive. What matters is that it is a human being, a sentient being that has the experience of pain and pleasure. There is no reason not to feel compassion so long as it is a sentient being.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Love
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.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
To be aware of a single shortcoming in oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in someone else.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Awareness
Every human action, whether it has become positive or negative, must depend on motivation.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Motivation
If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Tolerance, Compassion
All major religions, when understood properly, have the same potential for good.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Through money or power you cannot solve all problems. The problem in the human heart must be solved first.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Problems
Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Ignorance
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Learning
Human happiness and human satisfaction must ultimately come from within oneself. It is wrong to expect some final satisfaction to come from money or from a computer.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Computers
Compassion automatically brings happiness and calmness. Then, even if you receive disturbing news, it will be easier to take, as your mind is still.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Compassion
For those who may not find happiness to exercise religious faith, it’s okay to remain a radical atheist, it’s absolutely an individual right, but the important thing is with a compassionate heart—then no problem.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Faith, Compassion
I truly believe that compassion provides the basis of human survival.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Compassion
Every human should have the idea of taking care of the environment, of nature, of water. So using too much or wasting water should have some kind of feeling or sense of concern. Some sort of responsibility and with that, a sense of discipline
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Water
Because we all share this small planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
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.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Purpose, Happiness
Although it is difficult to pinpoint the physical base or location of awareness, it is perhaps the most precious thing concealed within our brains. And it is something that the individual alone can feel and experience. Each of us cherishes it highly, yet it is private
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Awareness, Science
I would like to explain the meaning of compassion, which is often misunderstood. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the rights of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for his or her problem. This is genuine compassion. Usually when we are concerned about a close friend, we call this compassion. This is not compassion; it is attachment. Even in marriage, those marriages that last only a short time do so because of attachment—although it is generally present—but because there is also compassion. Marriages that last only a short time do so because of a lack of compassion; there is only emotional attachment based on projection and expectation. When the only bond between close friends is attachment, then even a minor issue may cause one’s projections to change. As soon as our projections change, the attachment disappears—because that attachment was based solely on projection and expectation. It is possible to have compassion without attachment—and similarly, to have anger without hatred. Therefore we need to clarify the distinctions between compassion and attachment, and between anger and hatred. Such clarity is useful in our daily life and in our efforts towards world peace. I consider these to be basic spiritual values for the happiness of all human beings, regardless of whether one is a believer or a nonbeliever.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Passion, Spirit, General, Believe, Life, Attachment, Values, Effort, Happiness, War, Peace, Buddhism, Spiritual, Suffering, Friend, Change
The question is not to know the meaning of life, but what meaning I can give to my life.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.
—The 14th Dalai Lama
Topics: Authority
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