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."

Compassion is the wish for another being to be free from suffering; love is wanting them to have happiness.

Cultivating care and concern for others gives rise to a kind of inner strength. No matter what difficulties or problems you face, in this wider context they’ll seem less significant and troubling to you. The inner strength, self-confidence and courage you gain by focussing on others’ needs instead of your own, brings with it a deep, calm sense of satisfaction.

In the present circumstances, no one can afford to assume that someone else _x000D_ will solve their problems. Every individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction. Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged.

Happiness doesn't always come from a pursuit. Sometimes it comes when we least expect it.

There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.

I hope that at this moment you are thinking of yourself as a human being rather than as an American, Asian, European, African, or member of any particular country. These loyalties are secondary.

My hope and wish is that one day, formal education will pay attention to what I call 'education of the heart'.

A wider of more altruistic attitude is very relevant in today's world. If we look at the situation from various angles, such as the complexity and inter-connectedness of the nature of modern existence, then we will gradually notice a change in our outlook, so that when we say 'others' and when we think of others, we will no longer dismiss them as something that is irrelevant to us. We will no longer feel indifferent.

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.

The more we think of others, the happier we are. The more we think of ourselves, the more suffering we feel.

Genuine happiness consists in those spiritual qualities of love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness and so on. For it is these which provide both for our happiness and others happiness.

There is no denying that consideration of others is worthwhile and that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. There is no denying that if society suffers, we ourselves suffer, and the more our hearts and minds are afflicted with ill-will, the more miserable we become. We can reject religion, ideology, received wisdom, but we cannot escape the need for love and compassion.

These days, in our materialistic culture, many people are led to believe that money is the ultimate source of happiness. Consequently, when they don’t have enough of it they feel let down. Therefore, it is important to let people know that they have the source of contentment and happiness within themselves, and that it is related to nurturing our natural inner values.

Happiness does not come about only due to external circumstances; it mainly derives from inner attitudes.

Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.

More compassionate mind, more sense of concern for other's well-being, is source of happiness.

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

Change only takes place through action, not through meditation and prayer.

Every human action, whether it has become positive or negative, must depend on motivation.

It is important to understand that counterproducti ve actions of body, speech and mind do not arise of their own accord, but spring up in dependence on our motivation. Faulty states of mind give rise to faulty actions. To control negative physical and verbal actions, we need to tame our minds.