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Quotes by Tibetan Authors
"If we lose our human values by having everything mechanied, then machines will dictate our lives."
"If you are honest, truthful, and transparent, people trust you. If people trust you, you have no grounds for fear, suspicion or jealousy."
"Can there be a completely different set of laws of physics in a different universe, or do the laws of physics as we understand them hold true in all possible universes? If the answer is that a different set of laws can operate in a different universe system, this would suggest (from a Buddhist perspective) that even the laws of physics are entangled with the karma of the sentient beings that will arise in that universe."
"From the Buddhist point of view, all living beings -- that is, beings with feelings, experiences, and sensations -- are considered equal. Human beings can live without eating meat. As human beings, I think that deep down our nature tends towards vegetarianism and leads us to do everything in our power to prevent harming other species."
"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."
"The secret to my own happiness, my own good future, is within my own hands. I must not miss that opportunity!"
"We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection."
"Love is the absence of judgment."
"The various features and aspects of human life, such as longevity, good health, success, happiness, and so forth, which we consider desirable, are all dependent on kindness and a good heart."
"In the end, the innate desire of all people for truth, justice, and human understanding must triumph over ignorance and despair."
"Like a lamp, dispelling the darkness of ignorance."
"The greater the level of calmness of our mind, the greater our peace of mind, the greater our ability to enjoy a happy and joyful life."
"Contemplating this 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."
"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."
"Open your arms to CHANGEbut don't let go of your VALUES."
"Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it."
"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito."
"The more time you spend thinking about yourself, the more suffering you will experience."
"From my own limited experience, I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. This helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the ultimate source of success in life."
"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."
"The purpose of all the major religious traditions is not to construct big temples on the outside, but to create temples of goodness and compassion inside, in our hearts."
"Our ancient experience confirms at every point that everything is linked together, everything is inseparable."
"It may be doubtful, at first, whether a person is an enemy or friend. Meat, if not properly digested, becomes poison; But poison, if used rightly, may turn medicinal."
"Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life."
"Each one of us is responsible for reducing the negative potential of every situation we have to face."
"Living with the immediacy of death helps you sort out your priorities in life. It helps you to live a less trivial life."
"Those questions which are unexpected and complicated are the ones I appreciate most. They can help me a great deal. as I am compelled to take an interest in something that might not otherwise have occurred to me."
"I found, as every teacher does, that there is nothing like teaching to help one learn."
"If a person shows anger to you, and you show anger in return, the result is disaster. If you nurse hatred, you will never be happy, even in the lap of luxury. By contrast, if you control your anger and show its opposite - love, compassion, tolerance, and patience - then not only do you remain in peace, but gradually the anger of others also will diminish."
"I took note of the Buddha's teaching that in one sense a supposed enemy is more valuable than a friend, for an enemy teaches you things, such as forbearance, that a friend generally does not."
"You must not hate those who do wrong or harmful things; but with compassion, you must do what you can to stop them - for they are harming themselves, as well as those who suffer from their actions."
"Whether you believe in God or not does not matter so much, whether you believe in Buddha or not does not matter so much; as a Buddhist, whether you believe in reincarnation or not does not matter so much. You must lead a good life. And a good life does not mean just good food, good clothes, good shelter. These are not sufficient. A good motivation is what is needed: compassion, without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their rights and human dignity."
"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 don't 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."
"Use your good common sense. Is anger useful? If you get angry at someone, the result is good neither for you nor for the other person. Nothing helpful comes of it. In the end, anger does not harm others; it hurts yourself."
"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive."
"The purpose of our lives is to be happy."
"The highest happiness is when one reaches the stage of Liberation, at which there is no more suffering. That's genuine, lasting happiness. True happiness relates more to the mind and heart. Happiness that depends mainly on physical pleasure is unstable; one day it's there, the next day it may not be."
"When I doubt that I exist, I pinch myself."
"Choose to be optimistic, it feels better."
"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."
"The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred."
"The purpose of religion is tocontrol yourself, not to criticiseothers."
"Meanwhile, spring came, and with it the outpourings of Nature. The hills were soon splashed with wild flowers; the grass became an altogether new and richer shade of green; and the air became scented with fresh and surprising smells -- of jasmine, honeysuckle, and lavender."
"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."
"Many people today agree that we need to reduce violence in oursociety. If we are truly serious about this, we must deal with theroots of violence, particularly those that exist within each of us. Weneed to embrace 'inner disarmament,' reducing our own emotions ofsuspicion, hatred and hostility toward our brothers and sisters."
"Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek."
"Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace."
"In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher."
"Hard times build determination and inner strength. Through them we can also come to appreciate the uselessness of anger. Instead of getting angry nurture a deep caring and respect for troublemakers because by creating such trying circumstances they provide us with invaluable opportunities to practice tolerance and patience."
"We must recognize that the suffering of one person or one nation is the suffering of humanity."
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