Top 88 Quotes & Sayings by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Normally we divide the external world into that which we consider to be good or valuable, bad or worthless, or neither. Most of the time these discriminations are incorrect or have little meaning. For example, our habitual way of categorizing people as friends, enemies, and strangers depending on how they make us feel is both incorrect and a great obstacle to developing impartial love for all living beings. Rather than holding so tightly to our discriminations of the external world, it would be much more beneficial if we learned to discriminate between valuable and worthless states of mind.

We are all interconnected in a web of kindness from which it is impossible to separate ourself.

If we transform our ordinary mind into love and compassion we will naturally act in a positive way.

When a jealous person sees signs of other people's success and good fortune, his heart is pierced with envy. But someone who has learned to rejoice in the good fortune of others experiences only happiness. Seeing another person's beautiful house or attractive partner immediately makes him happy - the fact that they are not his own is irrelevant.

We do not need to become unhappy just because things don't go our way.

Love is the real nuclear bomb that destroys all our enemies, because when we love all living beings, we have no enemies.

Whenever we practise meditation, whether or not our meditation is clear, we are performing a virtuous mental action that is a cause of our future happiness and peace of mind.

In reality, our mind is the creator of all the things we experience.

Happiness and suffering are states of mind, and so their main causes cannot be found outside the mind.

We need modern ideas, but we also need ancient wisdom. If we deny ancient wisdom we are making a big mistake.

The solution to all the problems of daily life is to cherish others.

We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds.

As Shantideva says, suffering has many good qualities because it purifies our negative karma, increases our renunciation and compassion, reduces our pride, and helps us to overcome our bad mental habits. If we think in this way we will feel that difficult circumstances are our best friends. When our mind is balanced in this way it becomes as stable as Mount Meru, and nothing can cause it to shake.

Patient acceptance is often considered a weak and passive response to problems that we do not have the power or courage to solve. In reality, however, being patient is far from being passive. There is nothing strong or courageous in reacting to hardship or insults with anger - all we are doing is being defeated by our delusions.

Whenever we strive to make progress in our meditations, contemplations and so forth we are practicing effort.

We need to keep a constant watch over our mind and learn to distinguish between the beneficial and harmful thoughts that are arising moment by moment. Those who are able to do this are truly wise.

Pure happiness can only be attained through developing our mind.

Many people are very intelligent in accomplishing worldly attainments. This intelligence is not wisdom because worldly attainments such as a high position, reputation, wealth and success in business are deceptive. If we die tomorrow they will disappear tomorrow, and nothing will be left for our future. Wisdom, however, will never deceive us.

Faith is like pure eyes that enable us to see a pure and perfect world beyond the suffering world of samsara.

The path to enlightenment is really very simple - all we need to do is stop cherishing ourself and learn to cherish others. All other spiritual realisations will naturally follow from this.

Patience is a strength, not a weakness; and if by practicing patience we stop retaliating to harm and criticism, people will gradually come to understand that our real nature is very special

When a fully qualified Mahayana disciple relies completely upon a fully qualified Mahayana Spiritual Guide the attainment of enlightenment is easy.

Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible. We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be acheived unless we first establish peace within our own minds. We can send so-called 'peacekeeping forces' into areas of conflict, but peace cannot be oppossed from the outside with guns. Only by creating peace within our own mind and helping others to do the same can we hope to achieve peace in this world.

Patience is a mind that is able to accept fully and happily, whatever occurs. It is much more than just gritting our teeth and putting up with things. Being patient means to welcome wholeheartedly whatever arises, having given up the idea that things should be other than what they are.

Happiness is a state of mind, so the real source of happiness must lie within the mind, not in external conditions.

All the happiness there is in the world arises from wishing others to be happy.

The more we control our mind, the more our inner peace increases and the happier we become

The moment we let go of our obsessive concern for our own welfare, our mind naturally relaxes and becomes lighter.

The cause of happiness and the solution to our problems do not lie in knowledge of material things. Happiness and suffering are states of mind, and so their main causes cannot be found outside the mind. If we want to be truly happy and free from suffering, we must learn how to control our mind.

Love is the great protector, protecting us from anger and jealousy.

If everyone practiced cherishing others, many of the major problems of the world would be solved in a few years.

We need others for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Without others we are nothing. Our sense that we are an island, an independent, self-sufficient individual, bears no relation to reality. It is closer to the truth to picture ourself as a cell in the vast body of life, distinct yet intimately bound up with all living beings. We cannot exist without others, and they in turn are affected by everything we do. The idea that it is possible to secure our own welfare while neglecting the welfare of others, or even at the expense of others, is completely unrealistic.

Since the real purpose of meditation is to increase our capacity to help others, taking time each day to meditate is not selfish. We have to manage our time and energy in such a way that we can be of maximum benefit to others, and to do this we need time alone to recover our strength, collect our thoughts, and see things in perspective

Learning to cherish others is the best solution to our daily problems, and it is the source of all our future happiness and good fortune.

Our mental attitude transforms a situation into either a problem or an opportunity.

If we want to cook food we need to leave the stove on continuously and not keep turning it on and off. If the heat is continuous, no matter whether it is high or low our food will eventually be cooked. Similarly, if we continuously apply effort, even if it is only a small effort, it is certain that we shall eventually experience the fruits of our practice.

Pride is a mental factor causing us to feel higher or superior to others. Even our study of dharma can be the occasion for the delusion of pride to arise if we think our understanding is superior to that of everyone else. Pride is harmful because it prevents us from accepting fresh knowledge from a qualified teacher. Just as a pool of water cannot collect on the tip of a mountain, so too a reservoir of understanding cannot be established in a mind falsely elevated by pride.

Listening is a lamp that dispels the darkness of ignorance.

Buddha's teachings are scientific methods to solve the problems of all living beings permanently.

By meditating on affectionate love and wishing love for just one moment we accumulate greater merit than we would by giving food three times every day to all those who are hungry in the world.

We should understand that our problems do not exist outside of ourself, but are part of our mind that experiences unpleasant feelings.

This impure world that we presently experience exists only in relation to our impure mind.

Everything we now enjoy has been provided through the kindness of other beings, past or present.

Everything we have and everything we enjoy, including our very life, is due to the kindness of others. In fact, every happiness there is in the world arises as a result of others' kindness.

When things go wrong in our life and we encounter difficult situations, we tend to regard the situation itself as our problem, but in reality whatever problems we experience come from the side of the mind. If we were to respond to difficult situations with a positive or peaceful mind they would not be problems for us; indeed, we may even come to regard them as challenges or opportunities for growth and development. Problems arise only if we respond to difficulties with a negative state of mind. Therefore, if we want to be free from problems, we must transform our mind.

Developing compassion and wisdom and helping those in need is the true meaning of life.

It is through our anger and hatred that we transform people into enemies.

Whenever we see anyone in a high or low position, male or female, they differ only in appearance, dress, behavior, and status. In essence they are all equal--they all experience problems in their lives.

Our mind is like a field, and performing actions is like sowing seeds in that field.

Only by creating peace within our own mind and helping others to do the same can we hope to achieve peace in this world.

There is no situation so bad that it cannot be accepted patiently, with an open, accommodating, and peaceful heart.

Since inner peace is the source of all happiness, we can see how important meditation is.

Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.

When we learn to accept difficult circumstances patiently, the real problem disappears.

When we look at external things, we can usually distinguish those that are useful and valuable from those that are not. We must learn to look at our mind in the same way.

When the turbulence of distracting thoughts subside and our mind becomes still, a deep happiness and contentment naturally arises from within.

When we understand clearly that inner peace is the real source of happiness, and how, through spiritual practice, we can experience progressively deeper levels of inner peace, we will develop tremendous enthusiasm to practice

One of the most common ways of not acknowledging our faults is to blame others.

Anger is one of the most common and destructive delusions, and it afflicts our mind almost every day. To solve the problem of anger, we first need to recognize the anger within our mind, acknowledge how it harms both ourself and others, and appreciate the benefits of being patient in the face of difficulties.

The great Tibetan meditator Gungtang Jampelyang once asked 'What is the difference between a wise man and a fool?' The difference lies in their intention. A wise person is someone who has a good intention, not someone who merely possesses knowledge.