Top 127 Dalai Quotes & Sayings

Dalai Lama is taking a subtle and nuanced view of politics and he is thinking in terms of events well beyond our lifetime.

People have crossed the Himalayas in flip-flops seeking a blessing from the Dalai Lama.

I also saw the Dalai Lama a few times.

I think Dalai Lama is always careful about stressing that people be led into the practice by somebody who knows what's going on.

A female Dalai Lama must be very attractive, otherwise not much use.

I felt we must separate political responsibility. The Dalai Lama should not carry that burden. So that is my selfish reason - to protect the old Dalai Lama tradition. It is safer without political involvement.

When one questions [Dalai Lama's] political actions, it is worth remembering that he's the single most experienced politician on the planet at this moment.

I became the Dalai Lama not on a volunteer basis.

The Dalai Lama said that he thinks mother's love is the best symbol for love and compassion, because it is totally disinterested.

Maybe the Dalai Lama is the only person who is totally honest, and even with him, he's skillful not to hurt anybody. He's skillful.

[The Dalai Lama ] says Western traditions can teach Tibetans a lot about social action, and he thinks some Christians are very good at that.

I've got a letter from the Dalai Lama at home.

The Dalai Lama should not be partisan either, should remain above.

If some people have the belief or view that the Dalai Lama has some miracle power, that's totally nonsense. I am just one human being.

Since 2009, 140 Tibetans have immolated themselves to protest Chinese policies that limit their freedom of movement, speech and religion, especially their right to venerate the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama has been extremely interested in science since his childhood.

If some people have the belief or view that the Dalai Lama has some miracle power, that's totally nonsense.

Hundreds of political prisoners still suffer in Tibetan prisons. Freedom of speech is not allowed in any sense. It is illegal to possess a photo of the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama's entire being is about peace and harmony, forgiveness and self-discipline. Those are qualities to be admired. I am really looking forward to meeting His Holiness.

I think Dalai Lama efforts have been heroic.

Spiritual practice should not be confused with grim duty. It is the laughter of the Dalai Lama and the wonder born with every child.

The Dalai Lama says don't pray for peace, don't wait for peace, don't talk about peace - do it right now.

I never dreamt, in my dream, I'm Dalai Lama.

A friend told me of visiting the Dalai Lama in India and asking him for a succinct definition of compassion. She prefaced her question by describing how heart-stricken she'd felt when, earlier that day, she'd seen a man in the street beating a mangy stray dog with a stick. "Compassion," the Dalai Lama told her, "is when you feel as sorry for the man as you do for the dog."

Dalai Lama's got nothing on me.

I would hesitate to give advice to the Dalai Lama and his people because they are suffering. The Dalai Lama suffered from exile and the people in Tibet suffer from oppression.

The Dalai Lama can claim the sanction of the Buddha, who is said to have altered his teachings in order to reach a diverse audience.

A lot of people believe that when you are Buddhist, you are the Dalai Lama. I'm certainly not.

You don't have to be the Dalai Lama to tell people that life's about change.

Gandhi or Bishop Tutu or the Dalai Lama. I think they're really embodiments of what we aspire to and, by keeping them in our heads, we're reminding ourselves of who we could be. That's what we're hoping to climb up towards.

If the Dalai Lama joins one party, then that makes it hard for the system to work.

The Tibetan people will need to determine who the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is.

I don't like the antagonism that most religions have for science, and freedom and, frankly, individuality. I do like the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama challenged me - he said, 'Why can't you use technological tools to study kindness and compassion?

Performing for the Dalai Lama - those are words I never imagined coming out of my mouth.

With the war in Iraq, he [Dalai Lama] feels that the causes of that lie maybe hundreds of years ago, and he says, "What we do now may have consequences far into the future that we will never see."

One thing is that [Tibetans] should not give up hope. That's - even [if] it lasts a century. My discussions with the Dalai Lama always were about that.

People are surprised at how down-to-earth I am. I like to stay home on Friday nights and listen to 'The Art of Happiness' by the Dalai Lama.

In my downtime, you'll mostly find me curled up with a book. I love reading biographies. My favourites are those of Dalai Lama, Osama Bin Laden, and Einstein.

Yet [Dalai Lama] has said very strongly that basic freedoms of thought and speech have to be respected in Tibet and they're not at the moment. Tolerance doesn't mean accepting what's unfair.

As the spiritual leader of six million people, the Dalai Lama can be credited with a significant renunciation of the authority of tradition - of the conventional politics of national self-interest as well as of religion.

The book is a dialogue between The Dalai Lama and a group of scientists about how we can better handle our destructive emotions and how to overcome them.

The Dalai Lama has taught me that the best way to live life is to try and avoid desire. Desire is really the basic source of unhappiness.

I meditate, and when I do, Prince Harry appears in my subconscious and meditates with me. It's a little strange but I don't think there's anything I can do about it. Sometimes he's not the only one; the other day it was me, Prince Harry, the Dalai Lama, Mr. Rogers, Coco the gorilla, and George Clooney. We were all floating above the earth looking down at the continents as they passed. George Clooney suggested I visit Providence, Rhode Island. The Dalai Lama sighed deeply and said he'd like to visit Tibet. Poor Dalai Lama.

I give great thanks to God that he has created a Dalai Lama. Do you really think, as some have argued, that God will be saying: 'You know, that guy, the Dalai Lama, is not bad. What a pity he's not a Christian'? I don't think that is the case - because, you see, God is not a Christian.

I'm human here, people. I'm not the Dalai Lama. But I'm trying.

I asked Dalai Lama the most important question that I think you could ask - if he had ever seen Caddyshack.

Dalai Lama is very interested in learning from and sharing tips with people in other traditions, but he always stresses that we shouldn't underestimate the important differences between them.

The person I love most is the Dalai Lama. China destroyed his country, yet he says that it's imperative we show love for the Chinese.

I believe that Willy Nelson is the hillbilly Dalai Lama.

I think of the Dalai Lama as a doctor of the mind offering medicine and specific counsel and cures in the way a great doctor would.

Are there any celebs I'd like to meet? I'd love to meet the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama would say that meditation is something that can help everyone. But he's aware that it can be misused or things can go wrong.

I would say that by virtue of transforming politics, [Dalai Lama] is in fact easily underestimated.

When China was only Communist, everyone received the Dalai Lama, but now that China is hyper-capitalist, he gets blacked out.

I do not respect the Dalai Lama. He's a political power broker. The Dalai Lama is not honorable to me.

The Dalai Lama is just a temporal leader of Tibet.

The Dalai Lama was once asked for his favorite chant, and he said it was better not to have a favorite anything, which I think is a great thought.

I heard about the Dalai Lama, you know and I thought to myself, why not me?

Walking down the street with a portrait of the Dalai Lama will get one immediately arrested in most parts of China. Tiny medallions are routinely confiscated and destroyed.