Dalai Lama Quotes About Ethics

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  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, Nature, Inspiration

  Dalai Lama XIV (1995). “My Tibet”, p.77, Univ of California Press

• All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness, can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I believe the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics that is beyond religion.

  Dalai Lama

  Love, Reality, Thinking

  "Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World". Book by 14th Dalai Lama, www.huffingtonpost.com. December 6, 2011.

• I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.

  Dalai Lama

  Thinking, Way, Ethics

• Dangerous consequences will follow when politicians and rulers forget moral principles. Whether we believe in God or karma, ethics is the foundation of every religion.

  Dalai Lama

  Karma, Believe, Principles

• Self-discipline, although difficult, and not always easy while combating
  negative emotions, should be a defensive measure. At least we will be able to prevent the advent of negative conduct dominated by negative emotion. That is 'shila', or moral ethics. Once we develop this by familiarizing ourselves with it, along with mindfulness and conscientiousness, eventually that pattern and way of life will become a part of our own life.

  Dalai Lama

  Self, Discipline, Patterns

• We need an approach to ethics which makes no recourse to religion and can be equally acceptable to those with faith and those without.

  Dalai Lama

  Philosophy, Needs, Ethics

• 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

  Life, Karma, Spiritual

• ...it becomes clear that, given our diversity, no single religion satisfies all humanity. ... And since the majority does not practice religion, I am concerned to try to find a way to serve all humanity without appealing to religious faith.

  Dalai Lama

  Religious, Practice, Diversity

• We need to employ a secular approach to ethics, secular in the Indian sense of respecting all religious traditions and even the views of non-believers in an unbiased way. Secular ethics rooted in scientific findings, common experience and common sense can easily be introduced into the secular education system. If we can do that there is a real prospect of making this 21st century an era of peace and compassion.

  Dalai Lama

  Religious, Real, Compassion

• What is the relationship between spirituality and ethical practice? Since love and compassion and similar qualities all, by definition, presume some level of concern for others' well-being, they presume ethical restraint. We cannot be loving and compassionate unless at the same time we curb our own harmful impulses and desires.

  Dalai Lama

  Compassion, Practice, Concern For Others

  The Dalai Lama (2012). “The Essence Of Wisdom”, p.10, Hachette UK

• Ethics: The indispensable interface between my desire to be happy and yours.

  Dalai Lama

  Desire, Ethics, Indispensable

• Peace in the world depends on peace in the hearts of individuals; this depends on each of us practising ethics by disciplining our negative thoughts and emotions, and developing basic spiritual qualities.

  Dalai Lama

  Spiritual, Heart, Quality

• It is in everybody's interest to seek those [actions] that lead to happiness and avoid those which lead to suffering. And because our interests are inextricably linked, we are compelled to accept ethics as the indispensable interface between my desire to be happy and yours.

  Dalai Lama

  Happiness, Pain, Joy

  The Dalai Lama, Alexander Norman (2010). “Ancient Wisdom, Modern World: Ethics for the New Millennium”, p.33, Hachette UK

• In our concern for others, we worry less about ourselves. When we worry less about ourselves an experience of our own suffering is less intense. What does this tell us? Firstly, because our every action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on others' happiness, ethics are necessary as a means to ensure that we do not harm others. Secondly, it tells us that 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.

  Dalai Lama

  Happiness, Spiritual, Mean

• My own view, which does not rely solely on religious faith or even on an original idea, but rather on ordinary common sense, is that establishing binding ethical principles is possible when we take as our starting point the observation that we all desire happiness and wish to avoid suffering.

  Dalai Lama

  Religious, Ethical Principles, Views

  The Dalai Lama, Alexander Norman (2010). “Ancient Wisdom, Modern World: Ethics for the New Millennium”, p.22, Hachette UK

• I want to show that there are indeed some universal ethical principles which could help everyone to achieve the happiness we all aspire to.

  Dalai Lama

  Ethical Principles, Want, Ethics

• An ethical act is one which does not harm others' experience or expectation of happiness.

  Dalai Lama

  Expectations, Doe, Ethics

• (Because) the notion of absolute truth is difficult to sustain outside the context of religion, ethical conduct is not something we engage in because it is somehow right in itself but because, like ourselves, all others desire to be happy and to avoid suffering. Given that this is a natural disposition, shared by all, it follows that each individual has a right to pursue this goal. Accordingly, I suggest that one of the things which determines whether an act is ethical or not is its effect on others' experience or expectation of happiness.

  Dalai Lama

  Goal, Expectations, Suffering

• In the past, the respect people had for religion meant that ethical practice was maintained through a majority following one religion or another. But this is no longer the case. We must therefore find some other way of establishing basic ethical principles.

  Dalai Lama

  Past, Ethical Principles, Practice

  The Dalai Lama, Alexander Norman (2010). “Ancient Wisdom, Modern World: Ethics for the New Millennium”, p.5, Hachette UK

• Taking care of our planet is like taking care of our houses. Since we human beings come from Nature, there is no point in our going against nature, which is why I say the environment is not a matter of religion or ethics or morality. These are luxuries, since we can survive without them. But we will not survive if we continue to go against nature.

  Dalai Lama

  Luxury, House, Care

• Firstly, as a Buddhist monk, I hold that violence is not good. Secondly, I am a firm believer in the Gandian ethic of passive resistance. And thirdly, in reality, violence is not our strength.

  Dalai Lama

  Buddhist, Reality, Passive Resistance

• If you have religious faith, very good, you can add on secular ethics, then religious belief, add on it, very good. But even those people who have no interest about religion, okay, it's not religion, but you can train through education.

  Dalai Lama

  Religious, People, Add

  "His Holiness Discusses Compassion, Science, Religion And Sleep (VIDEO)". Intervew with Arianna Huffington, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 14, 2012.

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