A Universe of Compassion | 123 Dalai Lama Quotes

A heir to a 600-year tradition, the 14th Dalai Lama (born Lhamo Thondup in China in 1935) is the spiritual and political leader of Tibetan Buddhism. According to this religion, all the Dalai Lamas are believed to be the reincarnation of a deity, but what sets the 14th Dalai Lama apart is his charisma in public discourse and his effort to spread the message of universal peace and compassion.
Dalai Lama has written a large number of books and, being the effective public speaker that he is, he conducted hundreds of conferences, lectures and workshops at major institutions around the world, discussing engaging in wisdom, compassion and environmental sustainability. His role as a leader of a government-in-exile (he currently lives in India) is absolutely important for Tibetan independence, but his words echo throughout the world when true peace is sought.

Short Dalai Lama quotes

• Be the change you wish to be. Dalai Lama 
• As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all Beings. Dalai Lama 
• If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them. Dalai Lama 
• The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self. Dalai Lama 
• Τhe only way that money can bring happiness is to give it away. Dalai Lama 
• Seek to be an oasis of caring and concern as you live your life. Dalai Lama 
• An open heart is an open mind. Dalai Lama 

• Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality. Dalai Lama 
• You are made for perfection, but you are not yet perfect. You are a masterpiece in the making. Dalai Lama 
• If a problem can be solved it will be. If it cannot be solved there is no use worrying about it. Dalai Lama 
• Instead of wondering WHY this is happening to you, consider why this is happening to YOU. Dalai Lama 
• Live so when your children think of fairness and integrity they think of you. Dalai Lama 
• The more time you spend thinking about yourself, the more suffering you will experience. Dalai Lama 
• True change is within; leave the outside as it is. Dalai Lama 
• I defeat my enemies when I make them my friends. Dalai Lama 
• In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess. Dalai Lama 
• If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito. Dalai Lama 
• A compassionate concern for others’ well-being is the source of happiness. Dalai Lama 
• Acceptance is the opposite of resignation and defeat. Dalai Lama 
• A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering. Dalai Lama 
• Most of our troubles stem from attachment to things that we mistakenly see as permanent. Dalai Lama 
• A happy mind is a healthy mind, and a healthy mind is good for the body. Dalai Lama 
• A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. Dalai Lama 

• Be gentle with the earth. Dalai Lama 
• Compassion is the radicalism of our time. Dalai Lama 
• Change is part of the world. Until the last moment, anything is possible. Dalai Lama 
• Do not try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are. Dalai Lama 
• Generosity is the most natural outward expression of an inner attitude of compassion and loving-kindness. Dalai Lama 
• I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. Dalai Lama 
• The purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others. Dalai Lama 
• In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher. Dalai Lama 
• It is not enough to be compassionate, we must act. Dalai Lama 
• It is important to consider others at least as important as ourselves. This is the essence of spirituality. Dalai Lama 
• The very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. Dalai Lama 
• It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others. Dalai Lama 
• We are all born free of religion, but none of us are born free of the need for compassion. Dalai Lama 
• We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. Dalai Lama 
• Through violence, you may ‘solve’ one problem, but you sow the seeds for another. Dalai Lama 
• It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view. Dalai Lama 
• Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. Dalai Lama 
• Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. Dalai Lama 
• Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively. Dalai Lama 
• Silence is sometimes the best answer. Dalai Lama 
• No matter what people call you, you are just who you are. Keep to this truth. Dalai Lama 
• The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation. Dalai Lama 
• Νo matter what is happening, no matter what is going on around you, never give up. Dalai Lama 
• Οnce a year go some place you’ve never been before. Dalai Lama 
• Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck. Dalai Lama 
• Neither a space station nor an enlightened mind can be realized in a day. Dalai Lama 
• The way to change others’ minds is with affection, and not anger. Dalai Lama 
• Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. Dalai Lama 

Inspirational Dalai Lama quotes 

• The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds. Dalai Lama 
• 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. Dalai Lama 
• Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways. Dalai Lama 
• Irrespective of whether we are believers or agnostics, whether we believe in God or karma, moral ethics is a code which everyone is able to pursue. Dalai Lama 
• It is more important for schools to have classes on ethics than religion. Why? Because it’s more important for humanity’s survival to be aware of our commonalities than to constantly emphasize what divides us. Dalai Lama 
• If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.
  If you wish to know that you are safe, cause another to know that they are safe.
  If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible things, help another to better understand.
  If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or anger of another. Dalai Lama 
• Every day, 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. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can. Dalai Lama 
• Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent. Dalai Lama 
• So long as people give priority to material values, then injustice, corruption, inequity, intolerance, and greed-all the outward manifestations of neglect of inner values-will persist. Dalai Lama 
• Forgiveness does not mean you forget what someone has done, contrary to the saying Forgive and forget. Forgiveness does not mean that you do not seek justice or that the perpetrator is not punished. Dalai Lama 
• 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. Dalai Lama 
• If we analyze or dissect a flower, looking for the flower among its parts, we shall not find it … And yet, we cannot deny the existence of flowers and of their sweet scent. Dalai Lama 
• 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. Dalai Lama 
• Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility…without this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life is materially, you may still be worried, disturbed, or unhappy because of circumstances. Dalai Lama 
• 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. Dalai Lama 
• According to Buddhist thought, the root causes of suffering are ignorance, craving, and hatred. These are called the ‘three poisons of the mind’. Dalai Lama 

Dalai Lama quotes on compassion 

• Compassion is by nature gentle, peaceful, and soft, but it is very powerful. It is those who easily lose their patience who are insecure and unstable. Thus, to me, the arousal of anger is a direct sign of weakness. Dalai Lama 
• Love and compassion open our own inner life, reducing stress, distrust, and loneliness. Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival. Dalai Lama 
• Every single being, even those who are hostile to us, is just as afraid of suffering as we are, and seeks happiness in the same way we do. Every person has the same right as we do to be happy and not to suffer. So let’s take care of others wholeheartedly, of both our friends and our enemies. This is the basis for true compassion. Dalai Lama 
•  I always try to share with others the idea that in order to become compassionate it is not necessary to become religious. Dalai Lama 
• 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 is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life. Dalai Lama 
• The essence of compassion is a desire to alleviate the suffering of others and to promote their well-being. This is the spiritual principle from which all other positive inner value emerge. Dalai Lama 

• World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion. Dalai Lama 
• Ultimately humanity is one, and this small planet is our only home. If we’re to protect this home of ours, each of us needs to experience a vivid sense of universal altruism and compassion. Dalai Lama 
• I consider non-violence to be compassion in action. It doesn’t mean weakness, cowering in fear, or simply doing nothing. It is to act without violence, motivated by compassion, recognizing the rights of others. Dalai Lama 
• Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek. Dalai Lama 

 Dalai Lama quotes on life 

• Man! Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived. Dalai Lama 
• As an old Tibetan proverb puts it, the next life or tomorrow—we can never be certain which will come first. Dalai Lama 
• There are going to be frustrations in life. The question is not: How do I escape? It is: How can I use this as something positive? Dalai Lama 
• Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well. Dalai Lama 
• It is by moving beyond narrow self-interest that we find meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in life. 
• There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live. Dalai Lama 
• You must ask yourself how is it you want to live your life. We live and we die, this is the truth that we can only face alone. No one can help us, not even the Buddha. So consider carefully, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life? Dalai Lama 
• It’s the very struggle of life that makes us who we are. And it is our enemies that test us, provide us with the resistance necessary for growth. Dalai Lama 
• Given the scale of life in the cosmos, one human life is no more than a tiny blip. Each one of us is a just visitor to this planet, a guest, who will only stay for a limited time. What greater folly could there be than to spend this short time alone, unhappy or in conflict with our companions? Far better, surely, to use our short time here in living a meaningful life, enriched by our sense of connection with others and being of service to them. Dalai Lama 
• Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity. Dalai Lama 
• 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. Dalai Lama 
• In order to lead a meaningful life, you need to cherish others, pay attention to human values and try to cultivate inner peace. Dalai Lama 
• Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day. Dalai Lama 
• People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost. Dalai Lama 
• The creatures that inhabit this earth–be they human beings or animals–are here to contribute, each in its own particular way, to the beauty and prosperity of the world. Dalai Lama 
• When things go smoothly, then we can pretend we are something very special. But something happens, something unexpected, then we are forced to act like normal human beings. Dalai Lama
   

 Dalai Lama quotes on love 

• Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay. Dalai Lama 
• Love is the absence of judgment. Dalai Lama 
• Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. Dalai Lama 
• Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. Dalai Lama 
• Marriages, even the best ones—perhaps especially the best ones—are an ongoing process of spoken and unspoken forgiveness. Dalai Lama 
• Wherever you have friends that’s your country, and wherever you receive love, that’s your home. Dalai Lama 
• Because we all share an identical need for love, it is possible to feel that anybody we meet,in whatever circumstances, is a brother or sister. Dalai Lama 
• Love and Compassion are the true religions to me. But to develop this, we do not need to believe in any religion. Dalai Lama 
• Anger or hatred is like a fisherman’s hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it. Dalai Lama 
• People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used. Dalai Lama 
• The more you are motivated by Love, the more Fearless and Free your action will be. Dalai Lama 

Dalai Lama quotes on happiness 

• Everything is linked together, everything is inseparable. It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy. Every moment is a gift. Dalai Lama 
• If one’s life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Dalai Lama 
• As for suffering I do not wish even the slightest; as for happiness I am never satisfied. In this, there is no difference between others and me. Bless me so I may take joy in others’ happiness. Dalai Lama 
• I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Dalai Lama 
• Happiness is determined more by one’s state of mind than by external events. Dalai Lama 

• If I am only happy for myself, many fewer chances for happiness. If I am happy when good things happen to other people, billions more chances to be happy! Dalai Lama 
• Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions. Dalai Lama 
• Happiness doesn’t always come from a pursuit. Sometimes it comes when we least expect it. Dalai Lama 
• Everybody wants a happy life and a peaceful mind, but we have to produce peace of mind through our own practice. Dalai Lama 
• The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness. Dalai Lama 
• We need to learn how to want what we have NOT to have what we want in order to get steady and stable Happiness. Dalai Lama 
• All suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their own happiness or satisfaction. Dalai Lama 
• The consequences of karma are definite: Negative actions always bring about suffering, and positive actions always bring happiness. If you do good, you will have happiness; if you do bad, you yourself suffer. Dalai Lama 

Dalai Lama quotes on kindness

• Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. And be kinder than is necessary. Dalai Lama 
• If at the beginning and end of our lives we depend upon the kindness of others, why in the middle of our lives should we not act kindly toward them? It is the pragmatic choice. Dalai Lama 
• We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us, and make us kinder. You always have the choice. Dalai Lama
• The true essence of humankind is kindness. There are other qualities which come from education or knowledge, but it is essential, if one wishes to be a genuine human being and impart satisfying meaning to one’s existence, to have a good heart. Dalai Lama 
• If with a warm heart and patience we can consider the views of others, and exchange ideas in calm discussion, we will find points of agreement. Dalai Lama
• 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. Dalai Lama 

 
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