The Dalai Lama is one of the most revered spiritual leaders of our time, known for his wisdom, compassion, and teachings on inner peace and happiness. Born as Tenzin Gyatso in Tibet in 1935, he became the 14th Dalai Lama at the age of 15 and has since dedicated his life to promoting human values, interfaith harmony, and nonviolence. His words of wisdom have inspired millions of people around the world, regardless of their religion or culture.
Today, we’ve gathered 91 of the most insightful and inspiring Dalai Lama quotes that can help you cultivate a more meaningful and fulfilling life. Whether you’re seeking guidance on love, compassion, mindfulness, or purpose, these quotes offer practical and profound insights that can transform your perspective and enrich your soul.
As we delve into the collection of Dalai Lama quotes, we will discover the power of simplicity, humility, and kindness. These quotes encapsulate profound teachings rooted in Tibetan Buddhism and reflect the Dalai Lama’s unwavering commitment to peace, harmony, and the well-being of all living things. Whether you seek solace in times of turmoil, guidance for personal growth, or simply a source of inspiration, the Dalai Lama’s quotes offer a wealth of wisdom to ponder and apply to our own lives.
So, let us embark on this transformative journey, where the words of the Dalai Lama will serve as guiding lights on our path to wisdom and enlightenment.
I hope you enjoy these Dalai Lama quotes…
1) “I accept everyone as a friend. In truth, we already know one another, profoundly, as human beings who share the same basic goals: We all seek happiness and do not want suffering.” – Dalai Lama
2) “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.” – Dalai Lama
3) “Although you may not always be able to avoid difficult situations, you can modify the extent to which you can suffer by how you choose to respond to the situation.” – Dalai Lama
4) “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
5) “Happiness doesn’t always come from a pursuit. Sometimes it comes when we least expect it.” – Dalai Lama
6) “An open heart is an open mind.” – Dalai Lama
7) “Love and compassion are the true religions to me. But to develop this, we do not need to believe in any religion.” – Dalai Lama
8) “Anger and hatred are signs of weakness, while compassion is a sure sign of strength.” – Dalai Lama
9) “As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all beings.” – Dalai Lama
Always be kind…
10) “If at the beginning and end of our lives we depend upon the kindness of others, why in the middle of our lives should we not act kindly toward them? It is the pragmatic choice.” – Dalai Lama
11) “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama
12) “Because we all share the small planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity.” – Dalai Lama
13) “I believe compassion to be one of the few things we can practice that will bring immediate and long-term happiness to our lives. I’m not talking about the short-term gratification of pleasures like sex, drugs or gambling (though I’m not knocking them), but something that will bring true and lasting happiness. The kind that sticks.” – Dalai Lama
14) “We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.” – Dalai Lama
15) “Carefully consider, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life?” – Dalai Lama
16) “Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.” – Dalai Lama
17) “To conquer oneself is a greater victory than to conquer thousands in a battle.” – Dalai Lama
18) “Compassion is by nature gentle, peaceful, and soft, but it is very powerful.” – Dalai Lama
19) “If you can cultivate the right attitude, your enemies are your best spiritual teachers because their presence provides you with the opportunity to enhance and develop tolerance, patience and understanding.” – Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama Quotes on Ethics
20) “Dangerous consequences will follow when politicians and rulers forget moral principles. Whether we believe in God or karma, ethics is the foundation of every religion.” – Dalai Lama
21) “I defeat my enemies when I make them my friends.” – Dalai Lama
22) “We can deny everything, except that we have the possibility of being better.” – Dalai Lama
23) “Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” – Dalai Lama
24) “The enemy is the necessary condition for practicing patience.” – Dalai Lama
25) “Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” – Dalai Lama
26) “An eye for an eye…we are all blind.” – Dalai Lama
27) “I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.” – Dalai Lama
28) “Sometimes when I meet old friends, it reminds me how quickly time passes. And it makes me wonder if we’ve utilized our time properly or not. Proper utilization of time is so important. While we have this body, and especially this amazing human brain, I think every minute is something precious.” – Dalai Lama
29) “Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay.” – Dalai Lama
Be the best person you can be…
30) “The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self.” – Dalai Lama
31) “When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.” – Dalai Lama
32) “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
33) “The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.” – Dalai Lama
34) “I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.” – Dalai Lama
35) “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” – Dalai Lama
36) “In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” – Dalai Lama
37) “Love is the absence of judgment.” – Dalai Lama
38) “It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance.” – Dalai Lama
39) “Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.” – Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama Quotes on Rules
40) “Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.” – Dalai Lama
41) “Let us try to recognize the precious nature of each day.” – Dalai Lama
42) “Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.” – Dalai Lama
43) “Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.” – Dalai Lama
44) “When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” – Dalai Lama
45) “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” – Dalai Lama
46) “It is not happiness that makes us grateful, it’s gratefulness that makes us happy.” – Dalai Lama
47) “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.” – Dalai Lama
48) “Merely to call oneself a Buddhist is of little value.” – Dalai Lama
49) “The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have, because there’s no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others.” – Dalai Lama
Live fearless and free…
50) “The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.” – Dalai Lama
51) “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” – Dalai Lama
52) “Compassion naturally creates a positive atmosphere, and as a result, you feel peaceful and content.” – Dalai Lama
53) “Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.” – Dalai Lama
54) “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
55) “Once a year, go somewhere you’ve never been before.” – Dalai Lama
56) “Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.” – Dalai Lama
57) “Optimism doesn’t mean that you are blind to the reality of the situation. It means that you remain motivated to seek a solution to whatever problems arise.” – Dalai Lama
58) “In order to be happy, we must first possess inner contentment and inner contentment doesn’t come from having all we want, but rather from wanting and appreciating all we have.” – Dalai Lama
59) “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
Dalai Lama Quotes on Peace
60) “Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.” – Dalai Lama
61) “People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” – Dalai Lama
62) “In the practice of tolerance, our enemy is the best teacher.” – Dalai Lama
63) “If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.” – Dalai Lama
64) “Compassion is the radicalism of our time.” – Dalai Lama
65) “Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” – Dalai Lama
66) “Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.” – Dalai Lama
67) “Silence is sometimes the best answer.” – Dalai Lama
68) “Sleep is the best meditation.” – Dalai Lama
69) “Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant of an impression by remaining silent.” – Dalai Lama
Understand the wisdom…
70) “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.” – Dalai Lama
71) “Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.” – Dalai Lama
72) “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” – Dalai Lama
73) “There are always problems to face, but it makes a difference if our minds are calm.” – Dalai Lama
74) “When you think everything is someone else’s fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.” – Dalai Lama
75) “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
76) “Through violence, you may ‘solve’ one problem, but you sow the seeds for another.” – Dalai Lama
77) “In order to lead a meaningful life, you need to cherish others, pay attention to human values and try to cultivate inner peace.” – Dalai Lama
78) “The topic of compassion is not at all religious business; it is important to know it is human business, it is a question of human survival.” – Dalai Lama
79) “True change is within; leave the outside as it is.” – Dalai Lama
Never forget the practice of compassion…
80) “I try to treat whoever I meet as an old friend. This gives me a genuine feeling of happiness. It is the practice of compassion.” – Dalai Lama
81) “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama
82) “The way to change other’s minds is with affection and not anger.” – Dalai Lama
83) “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” – Dalai Lama
84) “When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it also helps us to develop inner happiness and peace.” – Dalai Lama
85) “Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.” – Dalai Lama
86) “Whether one is rich or poor, educated or illiterate, religious or non-believing, man or woman, black, white, or brown, we are all the same. Physically, emotionally, and mentally, we are all equal. We all share basic needs for food, shelter, safety, and love. We all aspire to happiness and we all shun suffering. Each of us has hopes, worries, fears, and dreams. Each of us wants the best for our family and loved ones. We all experience pain when we suffer loss and joy when we achieve what we seek. On this fundamental level, religion, ethnicity, culture, and language make no difference.” – Dalai Lama
87) “The whole purpose of religion is to facilitate love and compassion, patience, tolerance, humility, and forgiveness.” – Dalai Lama
88) “Within all beings there is the seed of perfection.” – Dalai Lama
89) “World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.” – Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama Quotes on Love
90) “If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others.” – Dalai Lama
91) “If you feel ‘burn out’ setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself.” – Dalai Lama
Please share these Dalai Lama quotes with your friends and family.
