Top 1506 Quotes & Sayings by Dalai Lama

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a Tibetan leader Dalai Lama.

Last updated on November 3, 2024.

Dalai Lama is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Indian Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives as a refugee in India. The Dalai Lama is also considered to be the successor in a line of tulkus who are believed to be incarnations of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

Tibetan - Leader | Born: July 6, 1935

Source: Wikipedia

The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.

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

Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health.

Dalai Lama

Home is where you feel at home and are treated well.

Dalai Lama

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

Dalai Lama

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.

Dalai Lama

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.

Dalai Lama

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

Dalai Lama

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

We all have to live together, so we might as well live together happily.

Dalai Lama

More compassionate mind, more sense of concern for other's well-being, is source of happiness.

Dalai Lama

Sleep is the best meditation.

Dalai Lama

Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future.

Dalai Lama

Disagreement is something normal.

Dalai Lama

If you have a particular faith or religion, that is good. But you can survive without it.

Dalai Lama

A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.

Dalai Lama

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

Dalai Lama

The important thing is that men should have a purpose in life. It should be something useful, something good.

Dalai Lama

It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily lives. If we find we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them.

Dalai Lama

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.

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

Logically, harmony must come from the heart... Harmony very much based on trust. As soon as use force, creates fear. Fear and trust cannot go together.

Dalai Lama

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

Dalai Lama

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.

Dalai Lama

Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day.

Dalai Lama

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

Dalai Lama

World belongs to humanity, not this leader, that leader or that king or prince or religious leader. World belongs to humanity.

Dalai Lama

In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.

Dalai Lama

If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.

Dalai Lama

I have always had this view about the modern education system: we pay attention to brain development, but the development of warmheartedness we take for granted.

Dalai Lama

It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.

Dalai Lama

Too much self-centered attitude, you see, brings, you see, isolation. Result: loneliness, fear, anger. The extreme self-centered attitude is the source of suffering.

Dalai Lama

I think technology really increased human ability. But technology cannot produce compassion.

Dalai Lama

There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness.

Dalai Lama

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. Thanks to the teachings of Buddha, I have been able to take this second way.

Dalai Lama

Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that's important. Self-discipline with awareness of consequences.

Dalai Lama

In order to become prosperous, a person must initially work very hard, so he or she has to sacrifice a lot of leisure time.

Dalai Lama

We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.

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

All religions try to benefit people, with the same basic message of the need for love and compassion, for justice and honesty, for contentment.

Dalai Lama

My faith helps me overcome such negative emotions and find my equilibrium.

Dalai Lama

Even an animal, if you show genuine affection, gradually trust develops... If you always showing bad face and beating, how can you develop friendship?

Dalai Lama

The Chinese government wants me to say that for many centuries Tibet has been part of China. Even if I make that statement, many people would just laugh. And my statement will not change past history. History is history.

Dalai Lama

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Dalai Lama

In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.

Dalai Lama

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.

Dalai Lama

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

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

Out of 6 billion humans, the troublemakers are just a handful.

Dalai Lama

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Dalai Lama

Even when we have physical hardships, we can be very happy.

Dalai Lama

Death means change our clothes. Clothes become old, then time to come change. So this body become old, and then time come, take young body.

Dalai Lama

With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world.

Dalai Lama

The best way to resolve any problem in the human world is for all sides to sit down and talk.

Dalai Lama

Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion.

Dalai Lama

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Dalai Lama

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

Dalai Lama

I am just one human being.

Dalai Lama

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

Dalai Lama

Open-minded people tend to be interested in Buddhism because Buddha urged people to investigate things - he didn't just command them to believe.

Dalai Lama