Dalai Lama Quotes About Suffering

• We often add to our pain and suffering by being overly sensitive, over-reacting to minor things, and sometimes taking things too personally.

  Dalai Lama

  Pain, Positivity, Suffering

  Dalai Lama (2009). “The Art of Happiness, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Handbook for Living”, p.112, Penguin

• When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.

  Dalai Lama

  Fear, Real, Fall

  Interview with Robert Thurman, www.motherjones.com. November 1997.

• Whether one is rich or poor, educated or illiterate, religious or nonbelieving, man or woman, black, white, or brown, we are all the same. Physically, emotionally, and mentally, we are all equal. We all share basic needs for food, shelter, safety, and love. We all aspire to happiness and we all shun suffering. Each of us has hopes, worries, fears, and dreams. Each of us wants the best for our family and loved ones. We all experience pain when we suffer loss and joy when we achieve what we seek. On this fundamental level, religion, ethnicity, culture, and language make no difference.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Dream, Religious

• We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

  Dalai Lama

  Motivational, Spiritual, Peace

• When you think everything is someone else's fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Spring, Yoga

• The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

  Dalai Lama

  Pain, Cancer, Grief

  His Holiness The Dalai Lama (2013). “Kindness, Clarity, and Insight”, p.19, Shambhala Publications

• If there is love, there is hope that one may have real families, real brotherhood, real equanimity, real peace. If the love within your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and confusion will ensue.

  Dalai Lama

  Life, Real, Confusion

  "The Little Book of Buddhism". Book by Dalai Lama, 2000.

• 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

  Inspirational, Helping Others, Compassion

• Everyone wants a happy life without difficulties or suffering. We create many of the problems we face. No one intentionally creates problems, but we tend to be slaves to powerful emotions like anger, hatred and attachment that are based on misconceived projections about people and things. We need to find ways of reducing these emotions by eliminating the ignorance that underlies them and applying opposing forces.

  Dalai Lama

  Powerful, Ignorance, Happy Life

• You must not hate those who do wrong or harmful things; but with compassion, you must do what you can to stop them — for they are harming themselves, as well as those who suffer from their actions.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Hate, Compassion

• Encountering sufferings will definitely contribute to the elevation of your spiritual practice, provided you are able to transform calamity and misfortune into the path.

  Dalai Lama

  Spiritual, Buddhist, Practice

  His Holiness The Dalai Lama (1998). “Path To Tranquility”, p.164, Penguin Books India

• I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion and elimination of ignorance, selfishness and greed.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Peace, Pain

  The 14th Dalai Lama's Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, www.nobelprize.org. December 10, 1989.

• We must recognize that the suffering of one person or one nation is the suffering of humanity.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Humanity, Suffering

• All suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction.

  Dalai Lama

  Life, Spiritual, Pain

  The 14th Dalai Lama's Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, www.nobelprize.org. December 10, 1989.

• To be kind, honest and have positive thoughts; to forgive those who harm us and treat everyone as a friend; to help those who are suffering and never to consider ourselves superior to anyone else: even if this advice seems rather simplistic, make the effort of seeing whether by following it you can find greater happiness.

  Dalai Lama

  Positive, Happiness, Forgiveness

• Compassion is the wish to see others free from suffering.

  Dalai Lama

  Compassion, Suffering, Wish

  Dalai Lama, Paul Ekman, Ph.D. (2008). “Emotional Awareness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Psychological Balance and Compassion”, p.163, Macmillan

• In dealing with those who are undergoing great suffering, if you feel "burnout" setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective.

  Dalai Lama

  Caring, Long, Perspective

• I pray for a more friendly, more caring, and more understanding human family on this planet. To all who dislike suffering, who cherish lasting happiness, this is my heartfelt appeal.

  Dalai Lama

  Caring, Lasting Happiness, Understanding

• At a fundamental level, as human beings, we are all the same; each one of us aspires to happiness and each one of us does not wish to suffer. This is why, whenever I have the opportunity, I try to draw people's attention to what as members of the human family we have in common and the deeply interconnected nature of our existence and welfare.

  Dalai Lama

  Wisdom, Opportunity, People

• When you think everything is someone else's fault, you will suffer a lot.

  Dalai Lama

  Monday, Morning, Thinking

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

  Dalai Lama

  Spiritual, Love Is, Compassion

  Dalai Lama (2012). “The Compassionate Life”, p.18, Simon and Schuster

• I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspiring, Believe, Ignorance

  The 14th Dalai Lama's Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, www.nobelprize.org. December 10, 1989.

• Human beings by nature want happiness and do not want suffering. With that
  feeling everyone tries to achieve happiness and tries to get rid of suffering, and everyone has the basic right to do this. In this way, all here are the same, whether rich or poor, educated or uneducated, Easterner or Westerner, believer or non-believer, and within believers whether Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and so on. Basically, from the viewpoint of real human value we are all the same.

  Dalai Lama

  Christian, Buddhist, Real

• If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Life, Pain

  His Holiness The Dalai Lama (2013). “Kindness, Clarity, and Insight”, p.95, Shambhala Publications

• It is felt that a disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering, and in fact it is said that bringing about discipline within one's mind is the essence of the Buddha's teaching.

  Dalai Lama

  Teaching, Essence, Discipline

  Dalai Lama (2009). “The Art of Happiness, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Handbook for Living”, p.48, Penguin

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