64 Motivational The Dalai Lama Quotes on Embracing Optimism & Cultivating a Calm Mind
Last updated on March 14th, 2024 at 02:00 pm
His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and holds a revered position worldwide. He was identified as the 14th Dalai Lama at a very young age and has since been recognized for his compassionate and non-violent approach to resolving conflicts and promoting understanding among different religions.
His life story includes his escape to India following the invasion of Tibet by China in 1950, where he has lived in exile ever since. In 1989, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of peaceful solutions, tolerance, and mutual respect to preserve the cultural heritage of his people.
His inspiring quotes remind us to let go of anger and negative thoughts, embracing a life of mindfulness and compassion, thus fostering a world of harmony and understanding.
The Dalai Lama Sayings on Overcoming Hatred
Anger and hatred are signs of weakness, while compassion is a sure sign of strength. – 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
Dissatisfaction is the seed of anger. – Dalai Lama
Anger is the ultimate destroyer of your own peace of mind. – Dalai Lama
Appearance is something absolute, but reality is not that way – everything is interdependent, not absolute. So that view is very helpful to maintain a peace of mind because the main destroyer of a peaceful mind is anger. – Dalai Lama
As a human being, anger is a part of our mind. Irritation also part of our mind. But you can do – anger come, go. Never keep in your sort of – your inner world, then create a lot of suspicion, a lot of distrust, a lot of negative things, more worry. – Dalai Lama
Compassion suits our physical condition, whereas anger, fear and distrust are harmful to our well-being. Therefore, just as we learn the importance of physical hygiene to physical health, to ensure healthy minds, we need to learn some kind of emotional hygiene. – Dalai Lama
Generally speaking, if a human being never shows anger, then I think something’s wrong. He’s not right in the brain. – Dalai Lama
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. – Dalai Lama
Hatred expressed as anger will lead to destructive action, compassion expressed as anger leads to positive change. – Dalai Lama
I think that the scientists are right. People who are always laughing have a sense of abandon and ease. They are less likely to have a heart attack than those people who are really serious and who have difficulty connecting with other people. Those serious people are in real danger. – Dalai Lama
Look at one person who annoys you, and use the opportunity to counter your own anger and cultivate compassion. But if the annoyance is too powerful – if you find the person so repulsive that you cannot bear to be in his or her presence – it may be better to look for the exit! – Dalai Lama
More dangerous than guns or bombs are hatred, lack of compassion, and lack of respect for the rights of others. As long as hatred dwells in the human mind, real peace is impossible. – Dalai Lama
Suffering should make us angry. This type of anger moves us towards a wrathful compassion to take action to end suffering. – Dalai Lama
The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred. – Dalai Lama
The ultimate source of my mental happiness is my peace of mind. Nothing can destroy this except my own anger. – Dalai Lama
The way to change other’s minds is with affection and not anger. – Dalai Lama
Violence can only breed more violence and suffering. Our struggle must remain non-violent and free of hatred. – Dalai Lama
When our minds are clouded by hatred, selfishness, jealousy, and anger, we lose not only control but also our judgment. – Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama Quotes on on Cultivating a Healthy Mind
By mobilizing our thoughts and practicing new ways of thinking, we can reshape our nerve cells and change the way our brains work. – Dalai Lama
By saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent. – Dalai Lama
Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day. – Dalai Lama
Most of our troubles stem from attachment to things that we mistakenly see as permanent. – Dalai Lama
Neither a space station nor an enlightened mind can be realized in a day. – Dalai Lama
Symptoms of chronic stress are feelings of fragmentation and of chasing after time—of not being able to be present. What we are looking for is a settled, joyful state of being, and we need to give this state space. – Dalai Lama
The more time you spend thinking about yourself, the more suffering you will experience. – Dalai Lama
When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others. – Dalai Lama
A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity. – Dalai Lama
Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health. – Dalai Lama
Historically, the East was more concerned with understanding the mind and the West was more involved in understanding matter. – Dalai Lama
Human potential is the same for all. Your feeling, I am of no value, is wrong. Absolutely wrong. You are deceiving yourself. We all have the power of thought – so what are you lacking? If you have willpower, then you can change anything. It is usually said that you are your own master. – Dalai Lama
I don’t think generally politician come from democratic country. I think not that thinking. But sometimes little bit short-sighted. They are mainly looking for their next vote. – Dalai Lama
If you feel ‘burn out’ setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. – Dalai Lama
If you shift your focus from yourself to others, extend your concern to others, and cultivate the thought of caring for the well being of others, then this will have the immediate effect of opening up your life and helping you to reach out. – Dalai Lama
If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito. – Dalai Lama
If your mental health is sound, then when disturbances come, you will have some distress but quickly recover. – Dalai Lama
In the process of developing an accurate assessment of who you actually are, you need to appreciate the disparity between how you appear to your own mind and how you indeed exist. – Dalai Lama
Indeed, we find that almost all the mental and emotional suffering which is such a feature of modern living—including the sense of hopelessness, of loneliness, and so on—lessens the moment we begin to engage in actions motivated by concern for others. – Dalai Lama
It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view. – Dalai Lama
Joy, it seemed, was a strange alchemy of mind over matter. The path to joy, like with sadness, did not lead away from suffering and adversity but through it. – Dalai Lama
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. – Dalai Lama
Number of people have said to me, after hearing your thinking, their mind becomes much more happier. – Dalai Lama
Optimism doesn’t mean that you are blind to the reality of the situation. It means that you remain motivated to seek a solution to whatever problems arise. – Dalai Lama
Optimism leads to success; pessimism leads to defeat. – Dalai Lama
Our attitude towards suffering becomes very important because it can affect how we cope with suffering when it arises. – Dalai Lama
People must first accomplish internal disarmament before aiming for external disarmament. – Dalai Lama
Proper utilization of time is so important. While we have this body, and especially this amazing human brain, I think every minute is something precious. – Dalai Lama
Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent. – Dalai Lama
Suffering is inevitable, they said, but how we respond to that suffering is our choice. Not even oppression or occupation can take away this freedom to choose our response. – Dalai Lama
The mind is compared to a wild horse, and the practice of ethics is compared to the reins by which this wild horse is tamed. – Dalai Lama
The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have, because there’s no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others. – Dalai Lama
The remedy is to look deeper and recognize that we human beings are physically, mentally, and emotionally the same. – Dalai Lama
The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis. – Dalai Lama
The view that all mental processes are necessarily physical processes is a metaphysical assumption, not a scientific fact. – Dalai Lama
There are always problems to face, but it makes a difference if our minds are calm. – Dalai Lama
To train the mind, you must exercise the patience and determination it takes to shape that steel. – Dalai Lama
We all have the power of thought—so what are you lacking? If you have willpower, then you can change anything. – 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
We must use all opportunities to practice the truth, to improve ourselves, instead of waiting for a time when we think we will be less busy. The activities of this world are like ripples in a pond: When one disappears, another emerges; there is no end to them. – Dalai Lama
What we do and think in our own lives, then, becomes of extreme importance as it effects everything we’re connected to. – Dalai Lama
When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes — I already have everything that I really need. – Dalai Lama
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson. – Dalai Lama
When you open yourself up mentally, you do so only with someone you trust from the bottom of your heart, someone you feel very close to. To open yourself up in this way is an important step in overcoming mental problems. – Dalai Lama
Within all beings there is the seed of perfection. However, compassion is required in order to activate that seed which is inherent in our hearts and minds. – Dalai Lama
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