Topic: Dalai Lama quotes

[erik]

In the frenzy of modern life we lose sight of the real value of humanity. People become the sum total of what they produce. Human beings act like machines whose function is to make money. This is absolutely wrong. The purpose of making money is the happiness of humankind, not the other way around. Humans are not for money, money is for humans. We need enough to live, so money is necessary, but we also need to realize that if there is too much attachment to wealth, it does not help at all. As the saints of India and Tibet tell us, the wealthier one becomes, the more suffering one endures.
   
...Eating, working, and making money are meaningless in themselves. However, even a small act of compassion grants meaning and purpose to our lives.

[erik]

Question: Western religions use the term "God", and Buddhism does not. Could emptiness or nirvana be considered God? If the afflictive obstruction that is the conception of inherent existence is eliminated, does one realize that everything is God?
   
Dalai Lama: If God is interpreted as an ultimate reality or truth, then selflessness may be considered as God and even as a creator in the sense that within the nature of emptiness things appear and disappear. In this sense, emptiness is the basis of everything; because of emptiness, things can change, and things can appear and disappear.* Thus, voidness--emptiness, selflessness--is this kind of basis.

[Firestarter]

The Buddha's advice simply stated was to avoid harming others and if possible to help them. All other beings are just like us in that they want happiness and dislike suffering. By development of a sense of respect for others and a concern for their welfare, we reduce our own selfishness, which is the source of all problems, and enhance our sense of kindness, which is a natural source of goodness.

~~

Converting other people to Buddhism is not my concern. I am interested in how we Buddhist can contribute to human society. The Buddha gave us an example of contentment and tolerance, through servicing others unselfishly. I believe that his teachings and example can still contribute to global peace and individual happiness.

HHDL from The Wisdom and Teachings of the Dalai Lama

[erik]

...when you probe deeply you will find that no matter how high an existence a realm may be, even though it may be the highest state of existence, as long as it is in this cycle of existence the beings there are in the nature of sufferings, because they have the sufferings of pervasive conditioning and are therefore under the influence or command of contaminated actions and delusions. As long as one is not able to be free from such an influence, there is no place for permanent peace or happiness.
     Generally, the experiences that you normally regard as pleasurable and happy, such as having the physical comfort of good facilities and so forth, if they are examined at a deeper level, will be revealed to be changeable and therefore in the nature of suffering. They provide you with temporary satisfaction; because of that temporary satisfaction you regard them as experiences of happiness. But if you keep on pursuing them, they will again lead to the experience of suffering. Most of these pleasurable experiences are not really happiness in the true sense of the word, but only appear as pleasure and happiness in comparison to the obvious sufferings that you have.

[Firestarter]

Everyone says peace, but when things are related to self-interest, nobody bothers about war, killing, stealing...

Under such circumstances, you have to be temperate and practical. We need some long-range policy. I feel deeply that maybe we can find some new type of eductional system for the younger generation, with an emphasis on love, peace, brotherhood, etc. One or two countries cannot do this. It must be a world-wide movement.

[Firestarter]

Compassion is fundamentally a human quality; so its development is not restricted to those who practice religion. Nevertheless, religious traditions have a special role to play in encouraging its development.

[Firestarter]

Material progress alone is not sufficient to achieve an ideal society. Even in countries where great external progress has been made, mental problems have increased, causing additional hardships. No amount of legislation or coercion can accomplish the well-being of society, for this depends upon the internal attitude of the people who compose it.

[Firestarter]

Unless our minds are stable and calm, no matter how comfortable our physical condition may be, they will give us no pleasure. Therefore, the key to a happy life, now and in the future, is to develop a happy mind.

[erik]

The purpose of Buddha's coming to the world was for the sake of sentient beings' attaining the wisdom that he achieved. The paths that he taught are only a means leading to Buddhahood; he does not lead sentient beings with a low vehicle that is not a method leading to Buddhahood. He establishes sentient beings in the powers and so forth that exist in his own state.

"Manjushri, all the doctrines that I teach to sentient beings are for the sake of attaining omniscient wisdom. Flowing into enlightenment and descending into the Mahayana, they are means of achieving omniscience, leading completely to one place. Therefore, I do not create different vehicles."

[erik]

There are many types of meditative stabilisation, but let us explain calm abiding (samatha) here. The nature of calm abiding is the one-pointed abiding on any object without distraction of a mind conjoined with a bliss of physical and mental pliancy. If it is supplemented with taking refuge, it is a Buddhist practice, and if it is supplemented with an aspiration to highest enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, it is a Mahayana practice. Its merits are that, if one has achieved calm abiding, one's mind and body are pervaded by joy and bliss; one can--through the power of its mental and physical pliancy--set the mind on any virtuous object one chooses; and many special qualities such as clairvoyance and emanations are attained.

[erik]

At the heart of Buddhist philosophy is the notion of compassion for others. It should be noted that the compassion encouraged by Mahayana Buddhism is not the usual love one has for friends or family. The love being advocated here is the kind one can have even for another who has done one harm. Developing a kind heart does not always involve any of the sentimental religiosity normally associated with it. It is not just for people who believe in religions; it is for everyone who considers himself or herself to be a member of the human family, and thus sees things in accordingly large terms.

[erik]

In sum, since this human body, which supports your life, is beneficial, was difficult to gain, and easily disintegrates, you should use it for your benefit and that of others. Benefits come from a tamed mind: When your mind is peaceful, relaxed, and happy, external pleasures such as good food, clothing, and conversation make things even better, but their absence does not overpower you. If your mind is not peaceful and tamed, no matter how marvelous the external circumstances are, you will be burdened by frights, hopes, and fears. With a tamed mind, you will enjoy wealth or poverty, health or sickness, you can even die happily. With a tamed mind, having many friends is wonderful, but if you have no friends, it is all right, too. The root of your own happiness and welfare rests with a peaceful and tamed mind.

[Jahn]

In sum, since this human body, which supports your life, is beneficial, was difficult to gain, and easily disintegrates, you should use it for your benefit and that of others. Benefits come from a tamed mind: When your mind is peaceful, relaxed, and happy, external pleasures such as good food, clothing, and conversation make things even better, but their absence does not overpower you. If your mind is not peaceful and tamed, no matter how marvelous the external circumstances are, you will be burdened by frights, hopes, and fears. With a tamed mind, you will enjoy wealth or poverty, health or sickness, you can even die happily. With a tamed mind, having many friends is wonderful, but if you have no friends, it is all right, too. The root of your own happiness and welfare rests with a peaceful and tamed mind.

It seems that good old Dalai Lama is almost as wise as me 

But I think he should cover his other shoulder. If not he may get rheumatic problems with his naked shoulder one day. He is old, he is concerned, he is in a very delicate situation. I admire his clarity and his diplomatic statements. And I know how the lamas found him as a five year old boy. His parents were actually living in China then, across the boarder of Tibet. Wasn't that an omen so say? China, the difficult relation to China, finally became his life task.

   . .

[erik]

False conceptions are exaggerated modes of thought that do not accord with the facts. Even if an object--an event, a person, or any other phenomenon--has a slightly favorable aspect, once the object is mistakenly seen as existing totally from its own side, true and real, mental projection exaggerates its goodness beyond what it actually is, resulting in lust. The same happens with anger and hatred; this time a negative factor is exaggerated, making the object seem to be a hundred percent negative, the result being deep disturbance. Recently, a psychotherapist told me that when we generate anger, ninety percent of the ugliness of the object of our anger is due to our own exaggeration. This is very much in conformity with the Buddhist idea of how afflictive emotions arise.
      At the point when anger and lust are generated, reality is not seen; rather, an unreal mental projection of extreme badness or extreme goodness is seen, evoking twisted, unrealistic actions. All of this can be avoided by seeing the fuller picture revealed by paying attention to the dependent-arising of phenomena, the nexus of causes and conditions from which they arise and in which they exist.
      Looked at this way, the disadvantages of afflictive emotions are obvious. If you want to be able to perceive the actual situation, you have to quit voluntarily submitting to afflictive emotions, because in each and every field, they obstruct perception of the facts.....
      Love and compassion also involve strong feelings that can even make you cry with empathy, but they are induced not by exaggeration but by valid cognition of the plight of sentient beings, and the appropriateness of being concerned for their well-being. These feelings rely on insight into how beings suffer in the round of rebirth called "cyclic existence," and the depth of these feelings is enhanced through insight into impermanence and emptiness.... Though it is possible for love and compassion to be influenced by afflictive emotions, true love and compassion are unbiased and devoid of exaggeration, because they are founded on valid cognition of your relationship to others. The perspective of dependent-arising is supremely helpful in making sure that you appreciate the wider picture.

[Firestarter]

Even if we cannot solve certain problems, we should not regret it. We humans must face death, old age, and disease as well as natural disasters, such as hurricanes, that are beyond our control. We must face them; we cannot avoid them. But these sufferings are quite sufficient for us -- why should we create other problems due to our own ideology, just differing ways of thinking? Useless! It is sad. Thousands upon thousands of people suffer from this. Such a situation is truly silly since we can avoid it by adopting a different attitiude, appreciating the basic humanity which ideologies are supposed to serve.