The basic orientation of our hearts needs to be altruistic. The peace of mind that results from this brings us physical comfort too. We have better health and sounder sleep, and we can make the best use of our inner resources.
As soon as I wake every morning, I remind myself that all human beings are the same as me—we all want to be happy. I resolve to use my life to ensure that other beings are happy. It’s compassion that brings about peace of mind, not anger and hatred.
It is important to avoid doing harm to sentient beings, helping them can be a source of great satisfaction. All of us, animals as well, have basic rights that we need to protect.
We are all here on this planet, as tourists, as it were. None of us can live here forever. The longest we might live is a hundred years. So while we are here we should try to have a good heart and to make something positive and useful of our lives.
Despite different cultures and different political and economic systems, we’re all basically the same. The more people I meet, the stronger my conviction becomes that the oneness of humanity, founded on understanding and respect, is a realistic and viable basis for our conduct.
I offer my sincere congratulations to the winners of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize: Mr. Ales Bialiatski from Belarus; Memorial, a human rights advocacy group in Russia; and the Center for Civil Liberties, also a human rights advocacy group in Ukraine.
I am very pleased to learn that this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to three scientists, Alain Aspect, John Clauser and my friend, Anton Zeilinger for their work in laying the foundation for a new era of quantum technology.
How we live from day to day affects our future. Warm-heartedness is the key factor. I think about it always because it’s warm-heartedness that brings us peace of mind.
Love can be defined as a wish that others be happy; compassion is the wish that they be free from suffering. If you cultivate love and compassion within yourself, it will ensure happiness, good health and peace of mind.
, illustrated by Rafael Lopez, shows young readers how they can thrive and find joy, and why sharing joy with others makes it grow. Now available: https://bit.ly/littlebookofjoy
As we come to recognize the oneness of humanity, our motivation to find peace will grow stronger. Sisters and brothers must share each other’s suffering. Mutual respect, trust, and concern for one another’s welfare is our best hope for lasting world peace. #PeaceDayChallenge
Scientists have found evidence that those who cultivate love and compassion have greater peace of mind, while constant anger and fear make us uneasy and are bad for health. Common sense too tells us that people who are moved by love and compassion are peaceful and happy.
On the occasion of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's seventy-second birthday I have written to him to offer my warmest good wishes and prayers for his continued good health.
We must educate our young children in the practice of compassion on a worldwide scale. Teachers and parents can instill in children real, warmhearted human values to tremendous benefit. We need a transformation in commitment to the universal values of compassion and love.
It is with deep sadness that I have learned this morning that Queen Elizabeth II, has passed away. I pray for her and offer heartfelt condolences to His Majesty Charles III, the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom.
All 7 billion human beings have a common experience—we all appreciate love. We all have a seed of love and affection within us and the potential to cultivate greater love and compassion. If we want to create peace in the world it has to start with the heart, with inner peace.
Compassion brings strength to our minds by lessening fear, increasing confidence and so on. Doubts and irrational thinking decline. As a result, in the company of others the mind is relaxed, there are feelings of closeness, and we have a feeling that life has meaning and purpose.
If our mind is not peaceful and tamed, no matter how marvelous the external circumstances are, we will be burdened by frights, hopes, and fears. With a tamed mind, we will enjoy wealth or poverty, health or sickness; we can even die happily.
No one can afford to disregard compassion, affection, and so on. Why? Because kindness and compassion are the main qualities necessary in life. A good mind, enriched by love and compassion, is essential for human beings.
We need to think of each other as true sisters and brothers, and to be concerned with each other’s welfare. Rather than working solely to acquire wealth, we need to do something meaningful, something seriously directed toward the welfare of humanity as a whole.
We need to think of each other as sisters and brothers, and to be concerned with each other’s welfare. We must seek to lessen the suffering of others. Rather than working to acquire wealth, we need to do something meaningful, directed toward the welfare of humanity as a whole.
HHDL looking out at the view in the early morning from his residence in the remote Himalayan village of Lingshed, Ladakh, UT, India on August 11, 2022. (Photo by Tenzin Choejor)
The past is past; nothing can change it. But the future depends on the present; we still have the opportunity to shape it. This is not a matter of employing technology or spending more money, it's a question of developing a sense of concern for others' well-being
If you practice compassion, whether you believe in a religion or not, you will come to realize the value of compassion for your own peace of mind. Even a small act of compassion grants meaning and purpose to our lives.
HHDL speaking to a crowd of over 50,000 on the second day of his three day teaching at the Shewatsel Teaching Ground in Leh, Ladakh, UT, India on July 29, 2022. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
When you have a peaceful and tamed mind, life is more pleasant for your friends, spouse, parents, children, and acquaintances; your home is quiet, and all who live there enjoy an excellent sense of relaxation. Upon entering your house, others feel a sense of happiness.
A sense of universal responsibility has the power to negate adverse traits such as selfishness, deceiving others, abuse, and so on. There will be no need to be afraid. Life becomes meaningful, and households, communities, and nations, large and small, become happier.
Of course, we are driven by self-interest, it's necessary to survive. But we need wise self-interest that is generous and co-operative, taking others' interests into account. Co-operation comes from friendship, friendship comes from trust, and trust comes from kind-heartedness
Compassion naturally gives rise to tolerance and forgiveness. It allows us to appreciate that even someone we think of as an enemy is a human being with a right to be happy. Your enemy can be your best teacher because he or she teaches the possibility of unconditional compassion.
If we look at the buildings we live and work in, the roads we travel, the clothes we wear, or the food we eat, we must acknowledge that all are provided by others. None would exist for us to enjoy and make use of were it not for the kindness of so many people unknown to us.
Always having feelings of closeness to others and maintaining a loving mind is the sole foundation for building everything we wish for. Focusing on small differences in outer appearances to divide and discriminate is nothing but ignorance.
We are all basically the same. We all have the same human mind. It is true that external influences—one’s surroundings and so forth—are important, but ultimately the nature of mind itself is more important. Each and every one of us has the same potential, the same mental quality.
The only way to effectively deal with negative emotions, the only way to really reduce them, is through the mind, through the application of counteractive mental states that oppose the negative emotions affecting us. That’s the only real, long-term way to reduce them.
HHDL speaking on the fist day of his two day teaching on the occasion of Buddha Shakyamuni's Birth, Enlightenment and Parinirvana Day at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on June 13, 2022. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
If we take a sense of universal altruism seriously, where is there room to have enemies? Our real enemies and the enemies of humanity are negative emotions like anger and hatred. Indeed, people who are dominated by powerful negative emotions should be objects of our compassion.
Satisfaction is characterized by inner peace. It arises from generosity, honesty and what I call ethical conduct, a way of behaving that respects others’ right to be happy.