Dalai Lama
19,247,393 followers
New Thinking 
Victor 
Abdul Noormohamed 
Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh lived a truly meaningful life. I have no doubt the best way we can pay tribute to him is to continue his work to promote peace in the world. bit.ly/35dUncV
We have to make an effort to extend our natural compassion, not just through prayer or coining nice words, but by putting our intelligence to good use. That’s how we’ll become happy ourselves, living in a happy family, a happy community and a happier world.
We can learn from the great achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. to recognize that non-violence is the best long-term approach to redressing injustice. If the twentieth century was a century of violence, let us make the twenty-first a century of dialogue.
One of my commitments is to promote human values based on common sense and scientific findings. What we need is more self-confidence, which comes from concern for others' well-being. The real source of inner strength and self-confidence is warm-heartedness.
Materialistic values cannot give us peace of mind. So we really need to focus on our inner values, our true humanity. Only this way can we find peace of mind—and more peace in our world. A lot of the problems we are facing like war and violence are our own creation.
The ultimate source of happiness is within us. Not money, not power, not status. Some of my friends are billionaires, but they are very unhappy people. Power and money fail to bring inner peace. Outward attainment will not bring real inner joyfulness. We must look inside.
From the moment of birth, every human being wants to discover happiness and avoid suffering. No differences in our culture our education or our religion affect this. From the core of our being, we desire joy & contentment. But so often these feelings are fleeting and hard to find
My favourite prayer says: "For as long as space endures, And for as long as living beings remain, Until then may I too abide, To dispel the misery of the world." And, in trying to fulfil that aspiration, I feel my life has been of some benefit.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama sends his condelences on the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. bit.ly/3EtJvn1
Material development and physical comfort alone don't relieve unhappiness, but if you’re relaxed and have peace of mind, whatever goes on around you won't upset you. It isn't the sophistication of the devices we own that brings us peace of mind, it's love and compassion.
Our lives depend on hope. If you have hope, you'll be able to overcome problems you face. But if you're without hope, your difficulties will increase. Hope is linked to compassion and loving kindness. In my life, I've faced all sorts of difficulties, but I never gave up hope.
The impulse to try to solve problems by use of force is out of date and old-fashioned. Since we are now all so interdependent, the appropriate solution is to engage in dialogue—it’s something to which we can all contribute.
If the education system fostered inner peace, compassion and non-violence, or the idea of doing no harm, students would learn how to achieve peace of mind. This is what is required if we are to fulfil the goal of a genuinely peaceful and demilitarized world.
If we focus too much on ourselves, we’ll not be happy, whereas to concern ourselves with the well-being of others is the gateway to great joy. If we’re really serious about happiness, we need to open our hearts and focus on others as well as ourselves.
Cultivating compassion is not a religious practice focused on ensuring we go to heaven or a good future life. It’s about living a good day-to-day life here and now. It’s about being a happy person. Warm-heartedness is a fundamental good human quality.
Someone may be very rich and powerful but without any trusted friends they will never be happy. Someone else may be poor but if they are surrounded by trusting friends they’ll be happy. Therefore, taking care of others is the best way to fulfil our own interests.
One of my commitments is to promote human values based on common sense and scientific findings. What we need is more self-confidence, which comes from concern for others' well-being. The real source of inner strength and self-confidence is warm-heartedness.
We’re social creatures, we depend on each other, which is why we need a sense of concern for others’ well-being. Compassion is what’s important and you don’t have to be religious to practise it. Practising compassion here and now—living a meaningful life—is what is most important
If we make consistent effort, based on proper education, we can change the world. We are selfish, that’s natural, but we need to be wisely selfish, not foolishly selfish. We have to concern ourselves more with others’ well-being, that’s the way to be wisely selfish.
The only thing that will bring happiness is affection and warmheartedness. When you have a more compassionate mind and cultivate warmheartedness, the whole atmosphere around you becomes more positive and friendlier. You see friends everywhere.
Anger and aggression sometimes seem to be protective because they bring energy to bear on a particular situation, but what needs to be acknowledged is that that energy is blind. It takes a calm mind to be able to consider things from different angles and points of view.
Materialistic values cannot give us peace of mind. So we really need to focus on our inner values, our true humanity. Only this way can we have peace of mind—and more peace in our world.
Please don’t think that compassion, love and tolerance only belong to religion. They belong to human life. From compassion we develop self-confidence; that brings inner strength, allowing us to act with transparency and candour.
In order to develop our mind, we must look at a deeper level. Everyone seeks happiness, joyfulness, but from outside—from money, from power, from big car, from big house. Most people never pay much attention to the ultimate source of a happy life, which is inside, not outside.
On the occasion of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) HHDL speaks on the need to tackle climate change as the future of our planet is in our hands. youtu.be/1i52NqV00Os
These days it’s realistic to work for co-existence on global level. It’s no longer appropriate to thinking only of ‘my country’. We must educate the young in the ways to achieve genuine world peace, taking the entire world, the whole of humanity, into account on a global level.
Everyone wants to live in a peaceful world, but it’s necessary to understand that what destroys peace is anger and hatred. This is why the long term goal is to create inner peace within individuals, so contributing to a more compassionate humanity.
Compassion in Action - HHDL's message to the 8th Parliament of the World's Religions held virtually on October 17-18, 2021. youtu.be/s4ReidV2Zx4
What’s past is past, nothing can change that. But the future can be different if we choose to make it so. We have to cultivate a vision of a happier, more peaceful future and make the effort now to bring it about. This is no time for complacency, hope lies in the action we take.
I don’t like formality. There’s no formality when we’re born and none when we die. In between we should treat each other as brothers and sisters because we all want to live a happy life. This is our common purpose and our right.
The Dalai Lama Global Vision Summit 2021: The Power of Compassion - Discover the transformative power of compassion, as exemplified by the Dalai Lama, with teachings and meditations from 20+ experts in this worldwide free online event October 14-18, bit.ly/3Argc2n
HHDL sends 90th birthday greetings to Archbishop Desmond Tutu followed by a short talk on compassion in his message to the 11th Annual Desmond Tutu Peace Lecture on October 7th, 2021. youtu.be/ejporQKefKM
If you are motivated by a wish to help on the basis of kindness, compassion and respect, then you can do any kind of work, in any field, and function more effectively with less fear or worry, not being afraid of what others think or whether you will ultimately reach your goal.
In my experience, what we need is a calm mind and warm-heartedness provides a basis for that. That's how we make ourselves happy as individuals in families, local communities and nations. If we can train those who are young today in these qualities we’ll create a happier world.
When affectionate relations exist between members of a family, each one is confident of being able to call on the others for support. In a similar way, we must constantly remind ourselves of the oneness of humanity.
Negative emotions like attachment and anger are part of our lives, but there are antidotes to them. We need to reflect not only on the damage anger and fear can do, but also on the benefits to be found in cultivating compassion and non-violence and find a balance between them.
Creating a more peaceful world requires a peaceful mind and a peaceful heart. As human brothers and sisters we must live together with affection and respect. The only way to solve human problems and preserve the peace is to meet, talk and engage in dialogue. #PeaceDayChallenge
HHDL engaged in his morning meditation practice at his residence in Dharamsala, HP, India. (Photo by Tenzin Jamphel)
Everyone wants to live in a peaceful world, but it’s necessary to understand that what destroys peace is anger and hatred. This is why the long term goal is to create inner peace within individuals, so contributing to a more compassionate humanity.
The direction of our lives needs to be positive. We weren’t born to cause trouble or do harm to others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop good human qualities – warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life will become meaningful and more peaceful – happier.
We all have a responsibility to educate our human brothers and sisters. Inner values are the ultimate source of happiness, not money and weapons, whether you’re talking about individuals or the whole of humanity.
Even though our society doesn’t emphasize it, the most crucial use of knowledge and education is to understand the importance of more wholesome action and disciplining the mind—essentially the development of a good heart.
HHDL talks about the need for universal responsibility, for the whole of humanity to learn to live happily together. youtu.be/A3tBCJ_mHIs
The direction of our lives needs to be positive. We weren’t born to cause trouble or do harm to others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop good human qualities – warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life will become meaningful and more peaceful – happier.
It can sometimes seem as if one person will not be very effective. However, change in the world always begins with an individual who shares what he or she has learned and passes it on to others.
As soon as I wake up, I think about altruism. I reflect on the verse that says, "So long as space remains, I will remain in order to serve sentient beings." This gives me inner strength and determination, so there’s no longer any danger of destructive emotions arising.
Helping others brings deep satisfaction. No matter how powerful we may seem to be, our survival depends on the community. Clearly the community is crucial to individual happiness, so if we make others happy, we too derive benefit.
Peace in the world depends on peace within. If we have that we’ll approach problems in a spirit of dialogue, compassion and respect for the rights of others—always a better solution than resorting to a use of weapons and force. External disarmament depends on inner disarmament.
We should show one another love and help each another. It is a mistake to pursue happiness and to seek to the avoid suffering by deceiving and humiliating other people. We must try to achieve happiness and eliminate suffering by being generous and warm-hearted.
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