101 Dalai Lama Quotes on Peace & Kindness – The Art of Happiness
Dalai Lama Quotes: The current Dalai Lama is the 14th Dalai Lama & also the longest-lived Dalai Lama in the position. The Dalai Lama is the head of the monks in Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama always delivers a lot of practical life learnings in his speeches and interviews.
The Dalai Lama has become one of the most beloved and great spiritual leaders in this recent century.
Dalai Lama Quotes On Peace & Kindness
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”
“Love is the absence of judgment.”
“Happiness is determined more by one’s state of mind than by external events.”
“Be the change you wish to be”
“The ultimate source of comfort and peace is within ourselves.”
“joy is in fact our birthright and even more fundamental than happiness. “Joy,”
“There is more to human existence and to reality itself than current science can ever give us access to.”
“Live so when your children think of fairness and integrity they think of you.”
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy”
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”
“If you want others to be happy practice compassion; and if you want yourself to be happy practice compassion.”
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”
“There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.”
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”
“The topic of compassion is not at all religious business; it is important to know it is human business, it is a question of human survival.”
“Generosity is the most natural outward expression of an inner attitude of compassion and loving-kindness.”
“Do not try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are.”
“There are going to be frustrations in life. The question is not: How do I escape? It is: How can I use this as something positive?”
“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, The Art of Happiness
“Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.”
“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”
“With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.”
“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
“Our ancient experience confirms at every point that everything is linked together, everything is inseparable.”
“Silence is sometimes the best answer”
“Human use, population, and technology have reached that certain stage where mother Earth no longer accepts our presence with silence.”
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”
“If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.”
“Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.”
“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.”
“It is not enough to be compassionate, we must act.”
“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.”
“People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.”
“This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.”
“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.”
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
“When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways–either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.”
“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”
“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”
“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.”
“I defeat my enemies when I make them my friends.”
“If you can cultivate the right attitude, your enemies are your best spiritual teachers because their presence provides you with the opportunity to enhance and develop tolerance, patience, and understanding.”
“Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.”
“World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just the mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.”
“Look at children. Of course, they may quarrel, but generally speaking, they do not harbor ill feelings as much or as long as adults do. Most adults have the advantage of education over children, but what is the use of an education if they show a big smile while hiding negative feelings deep inside? Children dont usually act in such a manner. If they feel angry with someone, they express it, and then it is finished. They can still play with that person the following day.”
“Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.”
“There is only one important point you must keep in your mind and let it be your guide. No matter what people call you, you are just who you are. Keep to this truth. You must ask yourself how is it you want to live your life. We live and we die, this is the truth that we can only face alone. No one can help us, not even the Buddha. So consider carefully, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life?”
“I believe compassion to be one of the few things we can practice that will bring immediate and long-term happiness to our lives. I’m not talking about the short-term gratification of pleasures like sex, drugs or gambling (though I’m not knocking them), but something that will bring true and lasting happiness. The kind that sticks.”
“All suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their own happiness or satisfaction”
“A truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change even if they behave negatively or hurt you.”
“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.”
“We need to learn how to want what we have NOT to have what we want in order to get steady and stable Happiness”
“Someone else’s action should not determine your response.”
“An eye for an eye….we are all blind”
“Marriages, even the best ones—perhaps especially the best ones—are an ongoing process of spoken and unspoken forgiveness. •”
“The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness”
“A genuine, affectionate smile is very important in our day-to-day lives.”
“Because we all share an identical need for love, it is possible to feel that anybody we meet, in whatever circumstances, is a brother or sister.”
“Open your arms to change but don’t let go of your values.”
“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.”
“When we are motivated by compassion and wisdom, the results of our actions benefit everyone, not just our individual selves or some immediate convenience. When we are able to recognize and forgive ignorant actions of the past, we gain strength to constructively solve the problems of the present.”
“Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.”
“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.”
“Instead of wondering WHY this is happening to you, consider why this is happening to YOU.”
“It is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live.”
“Seek to be an oasis of caring and concern as you live your life.”
“You are so anxious about the future that you do not enjoy the present. You, therefore, do not live in the present or the future. You live as if you are never going to die, and then die having never really lived.”
“Dangerous consequences will follow when politicians and rulers forget moral principles. Whether we believe in God or karma, ethics is the foundation of every religion.”
“Irrespective of whether we are believers or agnostics, whether we believe in God or karma, moral ethics is a code which everyone is able to pursue.”
“I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.”
“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.”
“Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.”
“We discover that all human beings are just like us, so we are able to relate to them more easily. That generates a spirit of friendship in which there is less need to hide what we feel or what we are doing.”
“By mobilizing our thoughts and practicing new ways of thinking, we can reshape our nerve cells and change the way our brains work.”
“The foundation of the Buddha’s teachings lies in compassion, and the reason for practicing the teachings is to wipe out the persistence of ego, the number-one enemy of compassion.”
“Everybody wants a happy life and a peaceful mind, but we have to produce peace of mind through our own practice.”
“The most important quality to have toward your day is gratitude for what you have experienced, even for what was hard and what allowed you to learn and grow.”
“You are made for perfection, but you are not yet perfect. You are a masterpiece in the making.”
“Historically, the East was more concerned with understanding the mind and the West was more involved in the understanding matter.”
“My earnest request is that you practice love and kindness whether you believe in a religion or not.”
“The purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others.”
“The true essence of humankind is kindness. There are other qualities which come from education or knowledge, but it is essential if one wishes to be a genuine human being and impart satisfying meaning to one’s existence, to have a good heart.”
“He said, “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live.”
“As the great Indian scholar, Shantideva has said: ‘If there is a way to overcome the suffering, then there is no need to worry; if there is no way to overcome the suffering, then there is no use in worrying.”
“If something can be done about the situation, what need is there for dejection? And if nothing can be done about it, what use is there for being dejected?”
“Change is part of the world. Until the last moment, Anything is possible.”
“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.”
“if you can, serve other people, other sentient beings. If not, at least refrain from harming them. I think that is the whole basis of my philosophy.”
“A happy mind is a healthy mind, and a healthy mind is good for the body.”
“If as spiritual practitioners we ignore the discoveries of science, our practice is also impoverished, as this mindset can lead to fundamentalism.”
“When our minds are clouded by hatred, selfishness, jealousy, and anger, we lose not only control but also our judgment.”
“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.”
“Every day, think as you wake up, ‘I am fortunate to be alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it,”
“Compassion naturally creates a positive atmosphere, and as a result, you feel peaceful and content.”
“I consider non-violence to be compassion in action. It doesn’t mean weakness, cowering in fear, or simply doing nothing. It is to act without violence, motivated by compassion, recognizing the rights of others.”
“As an old Tibetan proverb puts it, The next life or tomorrow—we can never be certain which will come first.”
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy-Dalai Lama”
“If your mental health is sound, then when disturbances come, you will have some distress but quickly recover.”
“if we lose our human values by having everything mechanized, then machines will dictate our lives.”
“The mind is compared to a wild horse, and the practice of ethics is compared to the reins by which this wild horse is tamed.”