DALAI LAMA the XIV: Life, Teachings, and Quotes

Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet (born in 1935)

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"The fact that there is always a positive side to life is the one thing that gives me a lot of happiness. This world is not perfect. There are problems. But things like happiness and unhappiness are relative. Realizing this gives you hope."

– Dalai Lama

Selected Quotes

Happiness

Happiness can be achieved through training the mind.

The fact that there is always a positive side to life is the one thing that gives me a lot of happiness.

The Tao of Happiness

Beliefs and Values

The need of the day is a warm heart and some sense of humanity.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Unlike science, the religious tradition teaches the concept of forgiveness, tolerance and compassion. Scientists cannot help you change your emotion, only religion can.

Knowledge, Learning

I learn as much from a turtle as from a religious text.

You might consider things like old age and death as negative, unwanted, and simply try to forget about them. But eventually those things will come anyway.

The Wheel of Life in Buddhism

Relationships

The need for simple human-to-human relationships is becoming increasingly urgent ... Today the world is smaller and more interdependent. One nation's problems can no longer be solved by itself completely. Thus, without a sense of universal responsibility, our very survival becomes threatened. Basically, universal responsibility is feeling for other people's suffering just as we feel our own. It is the realization that even our enemy is entirely motivated by the quest for happiness. We must recognize that all beings want the same thing that we want. This is the way to achieve a true understanding, unfettered by artificial consideration.

About Dalai Lama

Source: Les Prix Nobel, 1989

His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.

He was born in a small village called Takster in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshin Norbu, the Wish-fulfilling Gem, or simply, Kundun, meaning The Presence.

Dalai Lama has resided in exile in Dharamsala, India, since 1959. His tireless efforts on behalf of world peace and human rights have brought him international recognition, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

Dalai Lama began his education at the age of six and completed the Geshe Lharampa Degree (Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy) when he was 25. Unlike his predecessors, His Holiness has met and talked with many Westerners and has visited the United States, Canada, Western Europe, the United Kingdom, Russia, Mongolia, Greece, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Nepal, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Vatican, China and Australia. He has met with religious leaders from all these countries. Since his first visit to the West in the early 1970s,

His Holiness' reputation as a scholar and man of peace has grown steadily. In recent years, a number of western universities and institutions have conferred Peace Awards and honorary Doctorate Degrees upon His Holiness in recognition of his distinguished writings in Buddhist philosophy and of his distinguished leadership in the service of freedom and peace.

During his travels abroad, His Holiness has spoken strongly for better understanding and respect among the different faiths of the world. Towards this end, His Holiness has made numerous appearances in interfaith services, imparting the message of universal responsibility, love, compassion and kindness. "

Howard C. Cutler about Dalai Lama¹

"When I initially conceived of this book¹, I envisioned a conventional self-help format in which the Dalai Lama would present a clear and simple solutions to all life's problems. By the end of our series of meetings I had given up on that idea. I found that his approach encompassed a much broader and more complex paradigm, incorporating all the nuance, richness, and complexity that life has to offer."

Gradually, however, I began to hear the single note he constantly sounded. It is one of hope. His hope is based on the belief that while attaining genuine and lasting happiness is not easy, it nevertheless can be done.

Underlying all the Dalai Lama's methods there is a set of basic beliefs that act as a substrate for all his actions: a belief in the fundamental gentleness and goodness of all human beings, a belief in the value of compassion, a belief in a policy of kindness, and a sense of commonality among all living creatures."¹

Dalai Lama About

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Happiness

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The Dalai Lama's Worlds of Wisdom for the New Millennium

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The Tibetan Personality Test

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