Dalai Lama Quote of the Week from Snow Lion Publications:

...particularly in Buddhism while we practice we must use the brain as well as the heart. On the ethical side, we must practice the quality of a good and warm heart; also, since Buddhism is very much involved in reasoning and logic--the wisdom side--intelligence is important. Thus, a combination of mind and heart is needed. Without knowledge, without fully utilized intelligence, you cannot reach the depths of the Buddhist doctrine; it is difficult to achieve concrete or fully qualified wisdom. There may be exceptions, but this is the general rule.

It is necessary to have a combination of hearing, thinking, and meditating. The Kadampa teacher Dromton ('brom ston pa, 1004-1064) said, "When I engage in hearing, I also make effort at thinking and meditating. When I engage in thinking, I also search out more hearing and engage in meditation. And when I meditate, I don't give up hearing and don't give up thinking." He said, "I am a balanced Kadampa," meaning that he maintained a balance of hearing, thinking, and meditating.

~ From Kindness, Clarity, and Insight 25th Anniversary Edition by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, edited and translated by Jeffrey Hopkins, co-edited by Elizabeth Napper, published by Snow Lion Publications.

White Lotus, thank you for sharing another quote from  His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

Each quote is eloquent.  They nourish  the soul.

I have a great deal of respect for His Holiness.  My son was facing the dark side in his teens, and I was overwhelmed by the task of trying to guide him.  Because at that time, I too had demons to contend with.

The Dalai Lama answered my prayers.  A lama was sent to B.C. to train my son.  After years of practice my son is now a  buddhist philosopher.  He had the honor of meeting His Holiness during his last visit to Canada.

News reports indicated that His Holiness was under tight security.  I asked my son if the guards tried to stop him from appoaching the Dalai Lama.   He said they moved to the side and allowed my son to greet him.  That meeting changed my sons life forever.

Peace & Love

Virginia

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Dalai Lama Quote of the Week

Actually, we are all part of the community of humanity. If humanity is happy, has a successful life, a happy future, automatically, I will benefit. If humanity suffers, I too will suffer. Humanity is like one body, and we are part of that body. Once you realize this, once you cultivate this kind of attitude, you can bring about a change in your way of thinking. A sense of caring, commitment, discipline, oneness with humanity--these are very relevant in today's world. I call this secular ethics, and this is the first level to counter negative emotions.

The second level in this connection is taught by all major religious traditions, whether Christian or Muslim or Jewish or Hindu. They all carry the message of love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment, and discipline. These are countermeasures for negative emotions. When anger is about to surface, when hatred is about to flare up, think of tolerance. It is important to stop any mental dissatisfaction when we feel it because it leads to anger and hatred.

Patience is the countermeasure for mental dissatisfaction. Greed and its self-centeredness bring unhappiness, and also destruction of the environment, exploitation of others, and increases the gap between the rich and the poor. The countermeasure is contentment. So practicing contentment is useful in our daily lives.

...All religious traditions talk about methods of compassion and forgiveness. If we accept religion, we should take the religious methods seriously and sincerely and use them in our daily lives. Then, a meaningful life can develop.

--from Many Ways to Nirvana: Reflections and Advice on Right Living by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, edited by Renuka Singh

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Generally speaking, there are two forms of meditation on emptiness. One is the space-like meditation on emptiness, which is characterised by the total absence or negation of inherent existence. The other is called the illusion-like meditation on emptiness. The space-like meditation must come first, because without the realisation of the total absence of inherent existence, the illusion-like perception or understanding will not occur.

For the illusion-like understanding of all phenomena to occur, there needs to be a composite of both the perception or appearance and the negation, so that when we perceive the world and engage with it we can view all things and events as resembling illusions. We will recognise that although things appear to us, they are devoid of objective, independent, intrinsic existence. This is how the illusion-like understanding arises. The author of the "Eight Verses for Training the Mind" indicates the experiential result when he writes: "May I, recognising all things as illusion, devoid of clinging, be released from bondage."

When we speak of cultivating the illusion-like understanding of the nature of reality, we need to bear in mind the different interpretations of the term 'illusion-like'.... For example, the Buddhist realist schools explain the nature of reality to be illusion-like in the sense that, although we tend to perceive things as having permanence, in reality they are changing moment by moment and it is this that gives them an illusion-like character.

--from Lighting the Way by the Dalai Lama, translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, published by Snow Lion Publications

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Sometimes we face certain situations where, although we have done something good for others, we may not be able to reap the consequences within this lifetime. When we are talking about the law of causality, we are not limiting its operation to the confines of this life alone, but rather are taking into account both this lifetime and the future. Occasionally people who do not have a proper knowledge of karmic law say that such and such a person is very kind and religious and so forth, but he always has problems, whereas so and so is very deceptive and negative, frequently indulging in negative actions, but always seems very successful. Such people may think that there is no karmic law at all. There are others who go to the other extreme and become superstitious, thinking that when someone experiences illness, it is all due to harmful spirits.... It is also possible for very negative people to experience their positive karma ripening immaturely due to the very strong force of negative actions, and thus to exhaust the potentials of their virtuous actions. They experience a relative success in this life, while others who are very serious practitioners, as a result of the force of their practices, bring upon this lifetime the consequences of karmic actions which might have otherwise thrown them into rebirth in lower realms of existence in the future. As a result, they experience more problems and illnesses in this life.

Just resolving not to indulge in a negative action is not enough. It should be accompanied by the understanding that it is for your own benefit and sake that you must live with awareness of the law of karma: if you have accumulated the causes, you will have to face the consequences; if you desire a particular effect, you can work to produce its causes; and if you do not desire a certain consequence, you can avoid engaging in actions that will bring it about. You should reflect upon the law of causality as follows: that there is a definite relation between causes and effects; that actions not committed will never produce an effect; and that once committed, actions will never lose their potentiality simply through the passage of time. So, if you wish to enjoy desirable fruits, you should work for the accumulation of the appropriate causes, and if you want to avoid undesirable consequences, you should not accumulate their causes.... [Karma] is a natural law like any other natural law.

--from Path to Bliss: A Practical Guide to Stages of Meditation by H.H. the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, translated by Geshe Thubten Jinpa, edited by Christine Cox, published by Snow Lion Publications

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...particularly in Buddhism while we practice we must use the brain as well as the heart. On the ethical side, we must practice the quality of a good and warm heart; also, since Buddhism is very much involved in reasoning and logic--the wisdom side--intelligence is important. Thus, a combination of mind and heart is needed. Without knowledge, without fully utilized intelligence, you cannot reach the depths of the Buddhist doctrine; it is difficult to achieve concrete or fully qualified wisdom. There may be exceptions, but this is the general rule.

It is necessary to have a combination of hearing, thinking, and meditating. The Kadampa teacher Dromton ('brom ston pa, 1004-1064) said, "When I engage in hearing, I also make effort at thinking and meditating. When I engage in thinking, I also search out more hearing and engage in meditation. And when I meditate, I don't give up hearing and don't give up thinking." He said, "I am a balanced Kadampa," meaning that he maintained a balance of hearing, thinking, and meditating.

--from Kindness, Clarity, and Insight 25th Anniversary Edition by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, edited and translated by Jeffrey Hopkins, co-edited by Elizabeth Napper, published by Snow Lion Publications

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Dalai Lama Quote of the Week

Many places have been totally changed through the use of police force and the power of guns--the Soviet Union, China, Burma, the Philippines, many communist countries, countries in Africa and South America. But eventually, you see, the power of guns and the power of the will of ordinary human beings will change places. I am always telling people that our century is very important historically for the planet. There is a big competition between world peace and world war, between the force of mind and the force of materialism, between democracy and totalitarianism. And now within this century, the force of peace is gaining the upper hand. Still, of course, the material force is very strong, but there is a kind of dissatisfaction about materialism and a realization or feeling that something is missing.

...entering the twenty-first century, I think the basic concerns are human values and the value of truth. These things have more value, more weight now.

--from The Dalai Lama, A Policy of Kindness: An Anthology of Writings By and About the Dalai Lama compiled and edited by Sidney Piburn

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Dalai Lama Quote of the Week

Compassion without attachment is possible. Therefore, we need to clarify the distinctions between compassion and attachment. True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Because of this firm foundation, a truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change even if they behave negatively. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the needs of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for their problem. This is genuine compassion. For a Buddhist practitioner, the goal is to develop this genuine compassion, this genuine wish for the well-being of another, in fact for every living being throughout the universe.

--from The Compassionate Life by Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

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Dalai Lama Quote of the Week

...an understanding of the doctrine of emptiness is fundamental to tantric practice. Every sadhana begins with, is structured around, and ends with meditation upon emptiness. To practice Vajrayana without the wisdom of emptiness can be very dangerous. For example, a main tantric technique is the cultivation of a subtle divine pride, a confidence that one is an enlightened tantric deity, the Lord of the Mandala. One's mind is the Wisdom Body of a Buddha, one's speech is the Beatific Body, one's form is the Perfect Emanation Body, and the world and its inhabitants are seen as a mandala inhabited by the various forms of tantric deities. Thus we have to utterly change our sense of "I." To do so involves the subject of emptiness. To practice the yoga of divine pride without an understanding of emptiness will not only be useless, but could lead to identity problems and other undesirable psychological effects. Therefore it is said that although the Vajrayana is a quick path when correctly practiced on the proper spiritual basis, it is dangerous for the spiritually immature. This type of danger area is one of the reasons why the Vajrayana must be practiced under the supervision of a qualified vajra acharya.

--from The Path to Enlightenment by H.H. the Dalai Lama, edited and translated by Glenn H. Mullin, published by Snow Lion Publications

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THE COMPASSIONATE LIFE
by H.H. the Dalai Lama
more...

War, sadly, has remained a part of human history up to the present, but I think the time has come to change the concepts that lead to war. Some people consider war to be something glorious; they think that through war they can become heroes. This attitude toward war is very wrong. Recently an interviewer remarked to me, "Westerners have a great fear of death, but Easterners seem to have very little fear of death."

To that I half-jokingly responded, "It seems to me that, to the Western mind, war and the military establishment are extremely important. War means death--by killing, not by natural causes. So it seems that, in fact, you are the ones who do not fear death, because you are so fond of war. We Easterners, particularly Tibetans, cannot even begin to consider war; we cannot conceive of fighting, because the inevitable result of war is disaster: death, injuries, and misery. Therefore, the concept of war, in our minds, is extremely negative. That would seem to mean we actually have more fear of death than you. Don't you think?"

--from The Compassionate Life by Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

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Thank you Patt, I appreciate the great effort you have given in sharing these very insightful quotes from His Holiness.

Love to you,

Ael xo

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How then does the mistaken idea, that things exist from their own side, operate? Whatever appears to the mind appears as if it existed truly from its own side. ...Now if the object existed as it appears to you, then, when you searched for it, you could actually find a real [object]. So, we must ask ourselves whether or not this object, when searched for, is to be found or not. If the object is not found when it is searched for, we must conclude that it does not exist from its own side, that when the label is applied to its basis, it is not so labeled because the basis somehow bears within it something which is the object. At this point, one must conclude that the object does not exist as it appears to, but then, one may wonder whether it exists at all.

Things, however, are not utterly non-existent. They do exist nominally. So things do exist, but they do not exist from the side of the basis of the label. And hence, though they do exist, because they do not exist within the object itself, they must exist only as they are labeled by the subject (the conceptual mind, for example). There is no other way for the object to exist apart from the way it is posited by conceptual thought. This is then what we mean when we say that all phenomena are merely labeled by conceptual thought. However, things do not appear to us as if they were mere conceptually labeled entities. Instead, they appear as if they existed from their own side. Therefore, it is a mistake to think that things exist as they appear.

--from Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists by The Dalai Lama, edited by Jose Ignacio Cabezon, published by Snow Lion Publications

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The Sevenfold Cause-and-Effect Method

If we have been reborn time after time, it is evident that we have needed many mothers to give birth to us. ...the first cause bringing about bodhicitta is the recognition that all beings have been our mother.

The love and kindness shown us by our mother in this life would be difficult to repay. She endured many sleepless nights to care for us when we were helpless infants. She fed us and would have willingly sacrificed everything, including her own life, to spare ours. As we contemplate her example of devoted love, we should consider that each and every being throughout existence has treated us this way. Each dog, cat, fish, fly, and human being has at some point in the beginningless past been our mother and shown us overwhelming love and kindness. Such a thought should bring about our appreciation. This is the second cause of bodhicitta.

As we envision the present condition of all these beings, we begin to develop the desire to help them change their lot. This is the third cause, and out of it comes the fourth, a feeling of love cherishing all beings. This is an attraction toward all beings, similar to what a child feels upon seeing his or her mother. This leads us to compassion, which is the fifth cause of bodhicitta. Compassion is a wish to separate these suffering beings, our mothers of the past, from their miserable situation. At this point we also experience loving-kindness, a wish that all beings find happiness. As we progress through these stages of responsibility, we go from wishing that all sentient beings find happiness and freedom from suffering to personally assuming responsibility for helping them enter this state beyond misery. This is the final cause. As we scrutinize how best to help others, we are drawn to achieving the fully enlightened and omniscient state of Buddhahood.

--from An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life by The Dalai Lama, edited by Nicholas Vreeland

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...it is extremely important to look inward and try to promote the right kind of attitude, which is based on awareness of reality. A sense of caring for others is crucial. And it is actually the best way of caring for oneself. ...the moment you think of others, this automatically opens our inner door--you can communicate with other people easily, without any difficulties. The moment you think just of yourself and disregard others, then because of your own attitude, you also get the feeling that other people also have a similar attitude toward you. That brings suspicion, fear. Result? You yourself lose inner calmness. Therefore, I usually say that although a certain kind of selfishness is basically right--self and the happiness of that self are our original right, and we have every right to overcome suffering--but selfishness that leads to no hesitation to harm another, to exploit another, that kind of selfishness is blind. Therefore, I sometimes jokingly describe it this way: if we are going to be selfish, we should be wisely selfish rather than foolishly selfish.

I feel that the moment you adopt a sense of caring for others, that brings inner strength. Inner strength brings us inner tranquility, more self-confidence. Through these attitudes, even though your surroundings may not be friendly or may not be positive, still you can sustain peace of mind.

--from The Art of Peace: Nobel Peace Laureates Discuss Human Rights, Conflict and Reconciliation by the Dalai Lama and other Nobel Laureates, edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Snow Lion Publications

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Now, as [in the past], the concept of a transcendent god as creator has a powerful and inspiring impact on the lives of those who believe in it. The sense that their entire destiny lies in the hands of an all-powerful, omniscient and compassionate being leads them to try to understand the workings and key message of this transcendent being. Then, when they come to realise that this transcendent being embodies love and infinite compassion, they try to cultivate love and compassion towards their fellow beings as the qualities through which to express love for their creator. They also gain confidence and inspiration through a sense of intimacy or connectedness to this loving, transcendent being.

Although, metaphysically speaking, Buddhists reject any notion of a transcendent creator or god, some individual Buddhists do relate to certain higher beings, such as the goddess Tara, as an independent and real being with power over their destiny. For these practitioners Tara is their sole refuge, their greatest object of veneration and their trusted guardian and protector. What this suggests is that the inclination to seek refuge in an external source is something deeply natural for us as human beings.

But it is also clear that for other people the metaphysical concept of a transcendent being is unacceptable. Questions form in their minds, such as: who created the creator--in other words--where does the transcendent being come from? And how can we posit a true beginning? People with this type of mental disposition look elsewhere for explanations.

--from Lighting the Way by The Dalai Lama, translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, published by Snow Lion Publications

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     If things did in fact exist the way they appear - if things did exist so concretely - then when one looked into and investigated them, this inherent existence should become even clearer, more obvious. However, when you seek for the object designated, you cannot find it under analysis.

...[That] which gives rise to the appearance of I is mind and body, but when you divide this into mind and body and look for the I, you cannot find it. Also the whole, body, is designated in dependence upon the collection of parts of the body; if you divide this into its parts and look for the body, you cannot find it either. Even the most subtle particles in the body have sides and hence parts. Were there something partless, it might be independent, but there is nothing that is partless. Rather, everything exists in dependence on its parts... There is no whole which is separate from its parts.

...No matter what the phenomenon is, internal or external, whether it be one's own body or any other type of phenomenon, when we search to discover what this phenomenon is that is designated, we cannot find anything that is it.

...However, these things appear to us as if they do exist objectively and in their own right, and thus there is a difference between the way things appear to our minds and the way they actually exist... Since phenomena appear to us in a way that is different from what we discover when analysing, this proves that their concrete appearance is due to a fault of our minds.

-- by The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, co-edited by Elizabeth Napper, from Kindness, Clarity, and Insight published by Snow Lion Publications

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Killing and eating meat are interrelated, so do we have to give up eating animal products? I myself once tried to give it up, but health problems arose and two years later my doctors advised me to again use meat in my diet. If there are people who can give up eating meat, we can only rejoice in their noble efforts. In any case, at least we should try to lessen our intake of meat and not eat it anywhere where it is in scarce supply and our consumption of it would cause added slaughter.

-- His Holiness the Dalai Lama from The Path to Enlightenment, published by Snow Lion Publications

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Techniques for Improvement

     All of us have attained a human life; we are, in a sense, incomparable among the various types of sentient beings, as we are able to think about many topics with a subtler mind and are endowed with vaster capabilities. Dogs, birds, and so forth do communicate, but only humans can settle and ascertain deep topics on the basis of words; it is obvious that there are no other sentient beings capable of as many thoughts and techniques. Nowadays, humans are engaging in many activities that were not even objects of thought a century or two ago. The metaphors of the poets of the past, such as 'the wonderful house of the moon', are becoming actualities.

...People have made great effort right up to this century, thinking to become free from suffering, but we cannot point to even one person in the world, no matter how rich he or she is, who has no worry -- except for those who have the inner happiness of renouncing the material way of life. Without internal renunciation it is difficult to achieve happiness and comfort.

-- by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsong-ka-pa and Jeffrey Hopkins from Deity Yoga, published by Snow Lion Publications

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