 |
 Selected Quotes from His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Change in society must come from within the family and within the community. Nonviolence is the only way. Even if you achieve your goal by violent means, there are always side effects, and these can be worse than the problem. Violence is against human nature. Once you get the value of your own tradition, then you can see the value of other traditions more easily. The very purpose of meditation is to disciple the mind and reduce afflictive emotions. Every human being should realize that the future of humanity is dependent on their present actions and thinking. I believe that in the twentieth century humanity has learned from many, many experiences. Some positive and many negative. What misery, what destruction! The greatest number of human beings were killed in the two world wars of this century. But human nature is such that when we face a tremendous critical situation, the human mind can wake up a find some other alternative. That is a human capacity. Change only takes place through action. Frankly speaking, not through prayer or meditation, but through action. We are the same human beings; we have the same experience. As far as human rights are concerned, there are no differences between rich and poor, or educated and uneducated, even the Queen of England and the beggar in the street. Nonviolence is not just the absence of violence, however. Nonviolence is any act that comes out of true compassion. If through practice of insight you develop a sense of ease, then time has no relevance. If you're miserable, time does matter. It's so unbearable, so enormous you want to get out of it as soon as possible. 
|
| Leo
Tolstoy |
| My optimism rests on my belief in the infinite possibilities of the individual to develop nonviolence. The more you develop it in your own being, the more it overwhelms your surroundings and by and by might over sweep the world. |
| M.K.
Gandhi |
| May we meet in harmony. Transcending differences, May we talk in harmony. May we share what we know. May we respect what we feel. By following the path of the Sages, May we find our rightful place, And share the wealth granted us. |
| The
Rig Vega |
| Hatred stirreth up strifes:but love covereth all sins. |
| The
Old Testament Proverb 10:12
|
| All, from biggest stars to the tiniest speck of dust, is pervaded by Truth. But the face of Truth is hidden by the golden disc of worldly charms and temptations. Oh Nourisher and Eternal Guide of my Life, lift this veil so that I can see the Truth in its full glory. |
| Isha
Upanishad
|
| Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time. Footprints, that perhaps another, sailing o'er life's solemn main, a forlorn and shipwrecked brother, seeing, shall take heart again. |
| Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow
|
| Look
solely for happiness, and I doubt you'll find it. Forget about happiness,
seek wisdom and goodness, and probably happiness will find you. Happiness
is usually indirect, a side effect or by-product of something else.
Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, has said, "All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary." It is simply human to be afraid of going into the unknown. Indeed, it is wise. But it is also only from adventures that we learn. If you know exactly where you're going, exactly how you're going to get there, and exactly what you'll see along the way, it's hardly an adventure. It is also not very likely that you'll learn anything from the experience. |
| M.
Scott Peck
|
 |