Quotes by the Dalai Lama

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness -- the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

Peace in the world relies on individuals finding inner peace.

Love and compassion are the pillars of world peace.

Compassion is one of the principal things that make our lives meaningful. It is the source of all lasting happiness and joy.

All beings want to live in peace and happiness, undisturbed. Therefore the concept of human rights is universal.

If you are showing love to your fellow human beings, you are showing love to your God.

Scientists are discovering that while anger and hatred eat into our immune system, warm-heartedness and compassion are good for our health.

Everyday, 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.

World peace must develop from inner peace.

Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals the secret of some hidden treasure.

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.

Happiness is the highest form of health.

We share the earth not only with our fellow human beings, but with all the other creatures.

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

Love is the absence of judgment.

When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

If you have a particular faith or religion, that is good. But you can survive without it.

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

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.

Some scientists believe climate change is the cause of unprecedented melting of the North Pole, and that effects these very uncertain weather patterns. I think we should listen to those scientists and experts.

Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future.

In order to become prosperous, a person must initially work very hard, so he or she has to sacrifice a lot of leisure time.

The important thing is that men should have a purpose in life. It should be something useful, something good.

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

Home is where you feel at home and are treated well.

In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

Someone else's action should not determine your response.

Without changing one's self, without peace in one's self, world peace is not possible.

The root of happiness is altruism - the wish to be of service to others.

Altruism is the best source of happiness. There is no doubt about that.

If you harbor hatred or ill feelings toward a person, the feeling does not hurt the enemy. It only harms your own peace of mind and eventually your own health.

Dangerous consequences will follow when politicians and rulers forget moral principles.

Remember that sometimes, not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

Meet hostility and suspicion with kindness. Helping others out of love is always the best option.

Fundamentally, the basis on which you can build a sense of caring for others is the capacity to love yourself.

Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital.

The basic condition of human life is happiness.

An enemy is indeed a precious teacher.

Killing animals for sport, for pleasure, for adventures, and for hides and furs is a phenomenon which is at once disgusting and distressing. There is no justification in indulging in such acts of brutality.

How we fare in any given situation depends on the conduct of our body, speech, and mind. Since mind is the chief, a disciplined mind is essential.

We live very close together. So, our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

Developing concern for others, thinking of them as part of us, brings self-confidence, reduces our sense of suspicion and mistrust, and enables us to develop a calm mind.

If we are in a good mood when we get up in the morning, if there is a warm-hearted feeling within, automatically our inner door is opened for that day.

Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us.

If your mind is scattered, it is quite powerless.

A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health.

The only way to fail is to quit.

To a large extent, whether you suffer depends on how you respond to a given situation.

The 20th century was the century of war and blood. The 21st century is the century of dialogue.

Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned.

I think the person who has had more experience of hardships can stand more firmly in the face of problems than the person who has never experienced suffering. From this angle then, some suffering can be a good lesson for life.

The most important benefit of patience consists in the way it acts as a powerful antidote to the affliction of anger.

The antidote to hatred in the heart, the source of violence, is tolerance.

Computers make me totally blank out.

Happiness is a state of mind. With physical comforts if your mind is still in a state of confusion and agitation, it is not happiness. Happiness means calmness of mind.

Everybody loves to talk about calmness and peace, whether in a family, national, or international context, but without inner peace how can we make real peace? World peace through hatred and force is impossible.

Don't use Buddhism to become a Buddhist. Use Buddhism to become better at whatever else in your life you are doing already.

A balanced and skillful approach to life, taking care to avoid extremes, becomes a very important factor in conducting one's everyday existence.

As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all Beings.

As far as mental development is concerned, we should never be complacent. We can develop our minds infinitely -- there is no limitation.

Constructiveness is the human way.

The world has also learned that economic growth, by itself, cannot close the gap between rich and poor.

Contemplating the suffering which is unbearable to us, and is unbearable to others, too, can produce awake mind, which arises from the compassion that wishes to free all living beings from suffering.

Inner disarmament, external disarmament; these must go together, you see. Peace is not just mere absence of violence -- genuine peace must start in each individual heart.

We have global communication and yet confrontation is more common than dialogue.

Try to improve. Don't expect too much, but don't feel discouraged either; keep up your enthusiasm; you will make progress.

It seems that for some people the idea of compassion entails a complete disregard for or even a sacrifice of their own interests. This is not the case. In fact, you first of all have to have a wish to be happy yourself -- if you don't love yourself like that, how can you love others?

We must conduct research and then accept the results. If they don't stand up to experimentation, Buddha's own words must be rejected.

Limitless like the ocean are your excellent qualities.

If I had not been a monk, I would have become an engineer.

Since form is emptiness and emptiness is form, then instead of a hand grasping at nothing, it is better to grasp at someone's nose because this is closer to reality.

Genuine harmony must come from the heart. It cannot come from the barrel of a gun.

The real test of compassion is not what we say in abstract discussions but how we conduct ourselves in daily life.

Unlike physical progress, which is subject to natural restrictions, the qualities of the mind can be developed limitlessly.

Many of the earth's habitats, animals, plants, insects and even micro-organisms that we know to be rare may not be known at all by future generations. We have the capability and the responsibility to act; we must do so before it is too late.

Individuality is very important for a full human life.

Provided that societies stay mindful of the challenges that capitalism creates and never forget the paramount importance of inclusion and equal opportunity, we can and should celebrate the miracle of free enterprise-and the billions of souls it has helped free from desperate poverty.

Too strong a media emphasis on death and violence can lead to despair.

I do not judge the universe.

The highest happiness is when one reaches the stage of liberation, at which there is no more suffering.

The person who received maximum affection from mother, that person also sort of cultivated the potential showing affection to others.

When we are motivated by compassion and wisdom, the results of our actions benefit everyone, not just our individual selves.

When ever Buddhism has taken root in a new land, there has been a certain variation in the style in which it is observed. The Buddha himself taught differently according to the place, the occasion and the situation of those who were listening to him.

The source of peace is within us; so also the source of war. And the real enemy is within us, and not outside. The source of war is not the existence of nuclear weapons or other arms. It is the minds of human beings who decide to push the button and to use those arms out of hatred, anger or greed.