Dalai Lama: Helping Others is 'Wise-Selfish' Since all are Connected

DECATUR, Georgia – The Dalai Lama, appearing in his role as presidential distinguished professor of Emory University, where he helped to found the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, anchored a day of discussion about ethics, science and creating a more peaceful world today, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013.

Some of the Dalai Lama's teachings Tuesday were surprising: Meditation can double the body’s ability to fight infections. With more education, religion might disappear in the next 1,000 years. Selfishness is good – if it is wise selfishness. Looking to the secular ethics that undergird all of the major religions is one path of uniting humanity. Compassion can be taught – and women have a special responsibility to promote affection.

The Dalai Lama, considered the reincarnation of the founding teacher-saint of Tibet, Gedun Drub, and also an emanation of the compassion of the Buddha, has dedicated his life to promoting the way of compassion and peace. His rambling talks Tuesday, in a public event at the Gwinnett Center attended by more than 8,000 people, were frequently interrupted by his laughter. He pointed to the possibility of teaching compassion and promoting peace by untangling ethics from religion and emphasizing the common sense of secular ethics.

“Destruction of neighbor is destruction of yourself – everything is interdependent,” The Dalai Lama said.

The Dalai Lama’s secular ethics, outlined in his 2011 book, “Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World,” points to the basis of ethical behavior as stemming from three factors: common experiences of human beings; common sense that good relationships are based on friendship, trust, respect and honesty; and scientific findings.

In the last 20 years, the Dalai Lama has also led discussions about the intersection of science and religion. At his initiative the Drepung Loseling Monastery schools have modernized the teaching of science. With the help of Emory professors, new science textbooks have been produced, replacing ancient texts that taught that the world was flat.

Healthy mind, healthy body

The Dalai Lama has also reminded the scientists that building a healthy body is dependent upon building a healthy mind.

“It is a scientific finding that fear, anger, hatred is actually eating the human begin,” the Dalai Lama said.

“In order to build a healthy body, we must pay more attention to a healthy mind. An education system oriented around material value is inadequate.”

Human beings may naturally be selfish, but they are also naturally compassionate, science shows. Helping someone else does make a person feel good – but that is a wise kind of selfish, the Dalai Lama said.

“By nature, every human being loves oneself,” the Dalai Lama said. “But by helping another, you are building your own happy future. We should be wise-selfish rather than foolish-selfish (like someone who takes drugs).”

The Dalai Lama himself attributes his earliest lessons about love and compassion to his mother. He remembers riding on her back and tugging at her ears like she was a horse to get her to go the way he wanted.

“No one ever saw my mother’s angry face; they saw my mother’s gentleness,” the Dalai Lama said. “My mother was so kind.”

While he said one can’t always generalize, he himself generalized to say that women have a special role in promoting human affection.

The afternoon’s presentations were made by researchers at the Mind and Life Institute, the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory, and the Department of Religion at Emory University.

Research is showing that the incidence of cooperation, compassion, helping and empathy among animals, particularly mammals, offers a corrective to the simplistic generalization that evolution progresses through the survival of the fittest.

Animals are demonstrating a sense of fairness and empathy, the Mind and Life Institute is developing a curriculum to teach secular ethics, and mindfulness meditation can significantly affect the ability of the brain to recover from trauma and of the body to fight diseases.

Presence of peace

But perhaps the most enduring impression of the day is just the power of the lovingness of the Dalai’s personality.

“Is there a better ambassador of peace?” asked Augusta Kantra of Mobile, Ala., as she and some friends waited in the line that wrapped around the immense Gwinnett Center, inching through security. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, to be able to see someone who has had that influence over so many people. We want to be in the presence of a man who’s spreading peace.”

Bhavani Kakani, the founder and director of AshaKiran, a non-profit in Huntsville, Ala., that seeks to strengthen families and to fight domestic violence, particularly in the Southeast Asian immigrant community, traveled with friends for the event. She admired how the Dalai Lama was interested in science and would ask questions, not taking results at face value just because they supported his teachings.

Kakani said coming now was particularly appropriate since Huntsville has just become, by resolution of the City Council, the first city in Alabama to begin the process of becoming certified as a Compassionate City with the International Campaign for Compassionate Cities, and Birmingham is fifth on a list of compassionate U.S. cities released by Forbes last week.

For Kakani, the Dalai Lama’s message that changing the world begins with one’s self, not with government systems or large organizations, resonated.

“If we have empathy and compassion in our heart, we become that,” said Kakani, who is Hindu. “The Buddha teaches: What we think, we become – and what we become, the world becomes.”

Original link to story with photos: http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/10/dalai_lama_helping_others_is_w.html

Dalai Lama's Familiar Message Still Delights

Spiritual leader brings words of peace and tolerance to Maryland students.

The Dalai Lama urges peace, compassion and dialogue — all of which seem in short supply in Tibet, the land he fled in 1959 and now is roiled by tensions between its Chinese rulers and nationalists yearning for their spiritual leader's return.

He never mentioned Tibet's troubles Tuesday in a lecture at the University of Maryland. But he decried violence to solve political problems. "The worst thing about it, it is always unpredictable," he said. "It may create unexpected consequences."

The 14th Dalai Lama's American visit follows by two weeks the deaths of three more Tibetans by self-immolation. Since 2011, more than 100 Tibetans have died after setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese policies and call for the Dalai Lama's return from exile.

For the past half-century, he has been based in northern India, site of Tibet's government in exile. He retired as head of it two years ago.

In his unscripted talk to about 15,000 people at the university basketball arena, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner did mention other disputes — between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the Middle East and between Muslims and Buddhists in India.

He called on people to "respect even your enemy — talk, shake hands, make clear your differences."

There wasn't much new in his remarks. As he admitted, "Wherever I go, I always talk about this. … My brain becomes almost like a machine."

Few in the audience seemed to mind. It was less a lecture than a love fest, starting with the standing ovation when he walked on stage. "He's got such an awesome spirit. You want to listen to him," said Jamal Scott, 18, of Baltimore.

The Dalai Lama opposes self-immolation as a political tactic, saying it offends the sacredness of life. But the Chinese government says the campaign is inspired by him or his followers to create a separate Tibetan state.

Dressed in maroon monk's robes and sporting a buzz cut, the 77-year-old alternately challenged and charmed his audience.

He told its younger members that this is their century and "you have the opportunity and the responsibility to create a new world, a happier world ... on the basis of the oneness of humanity."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/07/dalai-lama-tibet/2140787/

Dalai Lama on Freedom

When you are free, you understand freedom.  When you are not free, you  might understand it more.

I have often experienced up-close situations where people are not free.

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama explains, “Today, the values of democracy, open society, respect for human rights, and equality are becoming recognized all over the world as universal values.

To my mind there is an intimate connection between democratic values and the fundamental values of human goodness.

Where there is democracy there is a greater possibility for the citizens of the country to express their basic human qualities, and where these basic human qualities prevail, there is also a greater scope for strengthening democracy. Most importantly, democracy is also the most effective basis for ensuring world peace.”

I spent time in Warsaw, Poland during the Solidarity Movement when the country was occupied by Russian communists and a state of war—martial law—was enforced. Curfews restricted movement, shops ran out of food and basics.

Luxury items such as coffee were non-existent.  The people I interviewed supported the Solidarity workers who were trying to re-gain control of their country. They wanted freedom.

I did not know how difficult my situation would be, until I arrived.  But strangers eased my distress.

According to His Holiness, “We also need to focus on cultivating good human relations, for, regardless of differences in nationality, religious faith, race, or whether people are rich or poor, educated or not, we are all human beings.

When we are facing difficulties, we invariably meet someone, who may be a stranger, who immediately offers us help. We all depend on each other in difficult circumstances, and we do so unconditionally. We do not ask who people are before we offer them help. We help because they are human beings like us.”

When the Russian KGB (State Security Committee) detained me and took me in for questioning, I was terrified.

However, the interrogating officer ended up helping me.  He had a fern plant on his tiny window sill. It was struggling to stay alive in the cold and lack of light.  I commented on the plant and we struck up a conversation about keeping ferns healthy in the deep of winter.

He was impressed by my Polish which I had learned as a child from my Polish grandmother and soon I was released.

He urged me to take the first available flight out of Poland when air travel resumed. And when he handed back my passport we smiled at each other with loving kindness and respect.

“Peace starts within each one of us,” The Embodiment of the compassion of Avalokiteshvara assures us.

“When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities and so on. When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.”

Today Poland is a free country.

By Terry Reis Kennedy, Dec 10, 2012, Deccan Herald

The Dalai Lama on Happiness

He is one of the most peaceful and serene people in the world today with his own kind of Dalai Lama happiness, His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people.

Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama. In 1950, at 16, His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power as Head of State and Government when Tibet was threatened by the might of China. In 1959 he was forced into exile in India after the Chinese military occupation of Tibet and has presided over the Tibetan Government-in-Exile since then. In 1989 His Holiness was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because he has consistently has opposed the use of violence in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people and has come forward with constructive and forward-looking proposals for the solution of international conflicts, human rights issues, and global environmental problems.

Dalai Lama Quotes on Happiness and Peace

The purpose of our life needs to be positive. We weren't born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop basic good human qualities- warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life becomes more meaningful and more peaceful-- happier.
When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.

Although I personally believe that our human nature is fundamentally gentle and compassionate, I feel it is not enough that this is our underlying nature; we must also develop an appreciation and awareness of that fact.

Dalai Lama Quotes on Finding Happiness

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

Consider the following. We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.

Happiness is determined more by the state of one's mind than by one's external conditions, circumstances or events--at least once one's basic survival needs are met.

Happiness can be achieved through the systematic training of our hearts and minds, through reshaping our attitudes and outlook.

As long as there is a lack of the inner discipline that brings calmness of mind, no matter what external facilities or conditions you have, they will never give you the feeling of joy and happiness that you are seeking. On the other hand, if you possess this inner quality, a calmness of mind, a degree of stability within, then even if you lack various external facilities that you would normally consider necessary for happiness, it is still possible to live a happy and joyful life.

Dalai Lama Quotes on Compassion and Happiness

If you wish to overcome that feeling of isolation and loneliness, I think your underlying attitude makes a tremendous difference. And approaching others with the thought of compassion in your mind is the best way to do this.

My basic belief is that you first need to understand the usefulness of compassion. That's the key factor. Once you realize the usefulness of compassion, you immediately develop an attraction towards it, a willingness to cultivate it.

Within all beings there is a seed of perfection. However, compassion is required to activate that seed which is in our hearts and minds.

Despite the fact that the process of relating to others might involve hardship, quarrels, and cursing, we have to maintain an attitude of friendship and warmth in order to lead a way of life in which there is enough interaction with people to enjoy a happy life.

Dalai Lama Quotes on Suffering and Happiness

The reason why reflection of suffering is so important is because there is a possibility of a way out. There is a possibility of freedom from suffering. According to Buddhist thought, the root causes of suffering are ignorance, craving and hatred. By generating insight into the true nature of reality and eliminating afflictive states of mind such as craving and hatred, one can achieve a completely purified state of mind, free from suffering.

We often add to our pain and suffering by being overly sensitive, over-reacting to minor things and sometimes taking things too personally.

I think to a large extent whether you suffer depends on how you respond to a given situation.

There may be a variety of ways that one might deal with the feeling that one's suffering is unfair. I've already spoken of the importance of accepting suffering as a natural fact of human existence.  In general, if we carefully examine any given situation in a very unbiased and honest way, we will realize that to a large extent we are also responsible to the unfolding of events.

Dalai Lama happiness is characterized by peace, compassion, and loving kindness, and still it is strong enough to stand firmly against hatred and intolerance.

Thanks to http://www.happylifeu.com/DalaiLamaHappiness.html for this inspiring article.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Reflects on Working Toward Peace

Today's world requires us to accept the oneness of humanity. In the past, isolated communities could afford to think of one another as fundamentally separate. Some could even exist in total isolation. But nowadays, whatever happens in one region eventually affects many other areas. Within the context of our new interdependence, self-interest clearly lies in considering the interest of others.

Many of the world's problems and conflicts arise because we have lost sight of the basic humanity that binds us all together as a human family. We tend to forget that despite the diversity of race, religion, ideology, and so forth, people are equal in their basic wish for peace and happiness.

Nearly all of us receive our first lessons in peaceful living from our mothers, because the need for love lies at the very foundation of human existence. From the earliest stages of our growth, we are completely dependent upon our mother's care and it is very important for us that she express her love. If children do not receive proper affection, in later life they will often find it hard to love others. Peaceful living is about trusting those on whom we depend and caring for those who depend on us. Most of us receive our first experience of both these qualities as children.

I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.

Actions and events depend heavily on motivation. From my Buddhist viewpoint all things originate in the mind. If we develop a good heart, then whether the field of our occupation is science, agriculture, or politics, since the motivation is so very important, the result will be more beneficial. With proper motivation these activities can help humanity; without it they go the other way. This is why the compassionate mind is so very important for humankind. Although it is difficult to bring about the inner change that gives rise to it, it is absolutely worthwhile to try.

When you recognize that all beings are equal and like yourself in both their desire for happiness and their right to obtain it, you automatically feel empathy and closeness for them. You develop a feeling of responsibility for others: the wish to help them actively overcome their problems. True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Therefore, a truly compassionate attitude towards others does not change even if they behave negatively.

I believe that we must consciously develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. We must learn to work not just for our own individual self, family, or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the best foundation both for our personal happiness and for world peace, the equitable use of our natural resources, and, through a concern for future generations, the proper care for the environment. . . .

A new way of thinking has become the necessary condition for responsible living and acting. If we maintain obsolete values and beliefs, a fragmented consciousness, and a self-centered spirit, we will continue to hold to outdated goals and behaviors. Such an attitude by a large number of people would block the entire transition to an interdependent yet peaceful and cooperative global society.

If we look back at the development in the twentieth century, the most devastating cause of human suffering, of deprivation of human dignity, freedom, and peace has been the culture of violence in resolving differences and conflicts. In some ways the twentieth century can be called the century of war and bloodshed. The challenge before us, therefore, is to make our new century a century of dialogue and of peaceful coexistence.

In human societies there will always be differences of views and interests. But the reality today is that we are all interdependent and have to coexist on this small planet. Therefore, the only sensible and intelligent way of resolving differences and clashes of interests, whether between individuals or nations, is through dialogue. The promotion of a culture of dialogue and nonviolence for the future of humankind is thus an important task of the international community. It is not enough for governments to endorse the principle of nonviolence or hold it high without any appropriate action to promote it.

It is also natural that we should face obstacles in pursuit of our goals. But if we remain passive, making no effort to solve the problems we meet, conflicts will arise and hindrances will grow. Transforming these obstacles into opportunities for positive growth is a challenge to our human ingenuity. To achieve this requires patience, compassion, and the use of our intelligence.

Resources for Teachers & Students © 2008 Markkula Center for Applied Ethics; Essays, Santa Clara, CA

Original article link: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/architects-of-peace/Dalai-Lama/essay.html