Dalai Lama quotes

Love

• Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.

• If the love within your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and confusion will ensue.

• Today the human soul asks the question: What can I do to preserve the beauty and the wonder of our world and to eliminate the anger and hatred? Please seek to answer to that question today, with all the magnificence that is You. Others are waiting for you now. They are looking to you for guidance, for help, for courage, for strength, for understanding, and for assurance at this hour. Most of all, they are looking to you for love. His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Truth

• In Buddhism we have relative truth and absolute truth.

• In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.

Future

• I think that we can say, that, because of the lessons we have begun to learn, the next century will be friendlier, more harmonious, and less harmful. Compassion, the seed of peace, will be able to flourish. I am very hopeful. At the same time, I believe that every individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction. Good wishes are not enough; we have to assume responsibility. Tenzin Gyatso, 14. Dalai Lama, The Global Community And the Need for Universal Responsibility, 1992

Dualism (US:THEM) versus Unity (WE)

• Actually the [deeply ingrained] concept of WE and [against] THEM is no longer there – according to the new reality. [...] Therefore treat others as a part of yourself. The entire world should be part of WE. Here we need the concept of oneness of humanity [...] and we need a sense of global responsibility. [...] The reality is no longer separate, this I feel. Video panel dialogue with Dalai Lama and Global Elder Mary Robinson, on Wisdom and Compassion for Challenging Times, part 6, presented by The Tibet Fund, moderated by Pico Iyer, Town Hall, New York City, USA, 3. May 2009, YouTube film, minute 2:38, 8:38 minutes duration, posted 19. May 2009

Money grants no peace

• Even billionaires who have plenty of money and are therefore quite influential are very unhappy persons. I also have met some of them. Deep inside those powerful leaders have much anxiety, much fear, much distress. H.H. Dalai Lama, Peace Summit, clip 2 of 4 last section, minute 14:53-17:59, Vancouver, Sunday 27. September 2009

Women

• The world will be saved by the western woman. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, proclamation, Vancouver Peace Summit, 27.-29. September 2009

• 1. Money or wealth failed to bring inner peace.
  2. Modern education [science] failed to bring inner peace.
  3. Technology also failed to bring inner peace.
  ..................................................................................................
  4. In the 21st century we need to promote human values, ethics, compassion and affection.
  Women are more sensitive to pain or suffering of others. […]
  Therefore, [women of the Western world] please take a more active role.
  H.H. Dalai Lama, Peace Summit, clip 2 of 4 last section, minute 14:53-17:59, Vancouver, Sunday 27. September 2009

Women's leadership

• I have a belief for which some people may call me a feminist. Millions of years ago there was no idea of leadership in the human society. Everybody was equal. People worked together and whatever they had they shared with each other. Eventually the population increased. Some mischievous people then started with the concept of leadership.
  The main quality of leadership is the physical status. I believe, the male dominance [= pride culture] started from that. Then eventually education took an important role. That created more equality between men and women. H.H. Dalai Lama, Peace Summit, clip 2 of 4 last section, minute 14:53-17:59, Vancouver, Sunday 27. September 2009

• Warfare has traditionally been carried out primarily by men, since they seem better physically equipped for aggressive behavior. Women, on the other hand, tend to be more caring and more sensitive to others’ discomfort and pain. Although men and women have the same potentials for aggression and warm-heartedness, they differ in which of the two more easily manifests. Thus, if the majority of world leaders were women, perhaps there would be less danger of war and more cooperation on the basis of global concern – although, of course, some women can be difficult! I sympathize with feminists, but they must not merely shout. They must exert efforts to make positive contributions to society. H.H. Dalai Lama, 2007 International Congress on the Women's Role in the Sangha: Bhikshuni Vinaya and Ordination Lineages, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, 18.-20. July 2007, transcripted by Alexander Berzin, August 2007

War – Peace Dialogs

• In the twenty-first century, the concept of war is out of date. Instead, we need dialogue to settle disputes and, for that, intelligence is not enough. We also need warm-heartedness and serious interest in the welfare of others. Compassion is more important for sincere dialogue. Women, because of the biological factor, have more sensitivity to the suffering of others than men have. For example, not many women are slaughterers or butchers. Therefore, for international negotiations, women are needed very much and need to take a larger role. H.H. Dalai Lama, 2007 International Congress on the Women's Role in the Sangha: Bhikshuni Vinaya and Ordination Lineages, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, 18.-20. July 2007, transcripted by Alexander Berzin, August 2007

Pride Culture (secondary)

• On the secondary level there are a lot of divisions and barriers. On the secondary level there are different nationalities, different races, different colors, different religions. Within the communities there are the richer, the poorer, the educated, the uneducated, the more respected because of their highly esteemed professions, some are looked down because of their work.
  Many man-made problems, I believe, are due to too much emphasis on the secondary level of differences. We are forgetting the basic oneness of human beings. H.H. Dalai Lama, Peace Summit, clip 2 of 4 at 2/3rd section, minute 50:13-55:00, Vancouver, Sunday 27. September 2009

Caring Dignity Culture (fundamental)

• On the fundamental level there are no differences between all human beings. Mentally, emotionally, physically we are the same. On that level there is hardly any reason to fight. H.H. Dalai Lama, Peace Summit, clip 2 of 4 at 2/3rd section, minute 50:13-55:00, Vancouver, Sunday 27. September 2009

The benefit of investigative intelligence

• The lives of 6.8 billion human beings from different continents are very much interdependent, interconnected. All parts of the world are part of me. My own happy future, my success, my peaceful life depend on the rest of the world. That kind of conclusion can develop out of investigation, not just out of mere compassion. H.H. Dalai Lama, Peace Summit, clip 2 of 4 at 2/3rd section, minute 50:13-55:00, Vancouver, Sunday 27. September 2009

The benefit of human affection

• At the time of our birth and within the following few weeks or months the main factor of our survival is affection, the mother's affection which also runs from the child towards the mother. It has no idea who that is but biologically it totally depends on its mother. So a the bond of affection is a very crucial feeling. Our lives start that way. In our blood we firstly appreciate the affection of others. Even those who kill millions of people without hesitation appreciate the affection of others. They also have the potential to show affection to others. H.H. Dalai Lama, Peace Summit, clip 2 of 4 at 2/3rd section, minute 50:13-55:00, Vancouver, Sunday 27. September 2009

Compassionate human nature

• From the viewpoint of our basic nature I believe that human beings are basically more gentle, more compassionate. H.H. Dalai Lama, Peace Summit, clip 2 of 4 at 2/3rd section, minute 50:13-55:00, Vancouver, Sunday 27. September 2009

• All the positive states of mind such as love, compassion, insight and so on, have the quality that you can enhance their capacity and increase their potential to a limitless degree, if you regularly practice them through training and by developing constant familiarity with them. H.H. 14th Dalai Lama, Facebook comment, 14. February 2011

Kindness

• The simple recognition that everyone else wants to be happy and not to suffer, just as I do, serves as a constant reminder against selfishness and partiality. It reminds us there is little to be gained from being kind and generous while hoping to win something in return. Actions motivated by a desire to earn a good name for ourselves are still selfish, even if they appear to be acts of kindness. H.H. 14th Dalai Lama, Facebook comment, 22. August 2010

Demut

• It is important to distinguish between genuine humility, which is a type of modesty, and a lack of confidence. They are not the same thing at all, although many confuse them. This may explain, in part, why today humility is often thought of as a weakness, rather than as an indication of inner strength, especially in the context of business and professional life. H.H. 14th Dalai Lama, Facebook comment, 29. October 2010

Friendship

• Genuine friendship emerges on the basis of trust. [...] In order to develop trust youmust first extend (open) your heart. Be open, transferring, honest, truthful, treat others and animals kindly and warm-heartely, then trust will come. H.H. 14th Dalai Lama, The Quest for Happiness in Challenging Times, RealPlayer Video, sponsored by University of Miami, Miami, FLA, USA, minute 20:00, 98:48 minutes duration, aired 26. October 2010

Religion

• We can't say that all religions are the same. Different religions have different views and fundamental differences. But it does not matter, as all religions are meant to help in bringing about a better world with better and happier human beings. On this level, I think that through different philosophical explanations and approaches, all religions have the same goal and the same potential. H.H. 14th Dalai Lama, Facebook comment, 22. August 2010

• It is very important to value all religious systems. Although they may have great philosophical differences, they all have precepts for cultivating a good attitude toward others and helping them. They all counsel the practice of love, compassion, patience, contentment, and observing society’s rules. Since all religions share these goals, it is important to respect them and to value the contribution they can make. H.H. 14th Dalai Lama, Facebook comment, 21. January 2011

Dignity

• As long as we observe love for others and respect for their rights and dignity in our daily lives, then whether we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in the Buddha or God, follow some religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy. H.H. 14th Dalai Lama, Facebook comment, 20. September 2010