Today I had the privilege of hearing the Dalai Lama speak. He is such an insightful man and it was a pleasure to hear some of the wise things he had to say. One thing that stuck out to me most was when he explained that egocentrism and having a self-centered attitude leads to destruction of the self and I couldn’t agree more. I have seen this happen to some of the smartest,wisest, good-hearted, beautiful people that I know (or should I say knew). I realized that when someone puts themselves before others they shut themselves out from the people around them. That is why I say that I knew these people instead of know these people; I have decided to remove myself from their presence because they only bring negative energy toward me. I know for a fact that when a person’s ego becomes bigger than everything else in their life, their life begins to fall apart.
In general, he was very insightful and captivating. He even cracked a joke or two and wore a Loyola baseball type of cap throughout the talk.
- Dalai Lama quotes (quotes to life by)
- 1- Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.
- 2- If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.
- 3- If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
- 4- My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
- 5- Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
- 6- The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.
- 7- We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.
- 8- We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
- 9- Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
- 10- 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.
- 11- If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not able of developing compassion for others.
- 12- 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.
- 13- We must recognize that the suffering of one person or one nation is the suffering of humanity. That the happiness of one person or nation is the happiness of humanity.
- 14- Through violence, you may ‘solve’ one problem, but you sow the seeds for another.
- 15- As people alive today, we must consider future generations: a clean environment is a human right like any other. It is therefore part of our responsibility toward others to ensure that the world we pass on is as healthy, if not healthier, than we found it.
- 16- To conquer oneself is a greater victory than to conquer thousands in a battle.
- 17- 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. - 18- 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.
- 19- A spoon cannot taste of the food it carries. Likewise, a foolish man cannot understand the wise man´s wisdom even if he associates with a sage.
- 20- In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.
.Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.
“Love yourself before you love others…It’s worth the time and effort to love yourself before you love others because only then can you really give them the best version of you” -Angie Venetos
