Happy 80th Birthday, Dalai Lama!

17 Wise Quotes To Change The Way You Think

by Allie White, MBG Editorial Team, July 6 2015

A very happy 80th birthday to the Dalai Lama! The spiritual leader of his people and religion for 65 years (he assumed the role when he was 15), he's an author, philosopher, Nobel Peace prize winner and prolific speaker.

To honor his wisdom and years of knowledge, we've compiled 17 of his quotes that speak to love, compassion, peace, humanity, humility, violence and the environment. We hope they make your day a little brighter and bring new perspective to your life.

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."

"It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come."

"The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others."

The mind is like a parachute. It works best when it’s open.

"I feel that the essence of spiritual practice is your attitude toward others. When you have a pure, sincere motivation, then you have right attitude toward others based on kindness, compassion, love and respect. Practice brings the clear realisation of the oneness of all human beings and the importance of others benefiting by your actions."

"Human happiness and human satisfaction must ultimately come from within oneself. It is wrong to expect some final satisfaction to come from money or from a computer."

"If there is love, there is hope that one may have real families, real brotherhood, real equanimity, real peace. If the love within your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and confusion will ensue"

"I call myself a feminist. Isn't that what you call someone who fights for women's rights?"

"Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength."

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."

"I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion and elimination of ignorance, selfishness and greed."

"Everyday, 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.”

"When I meet people in different parts of the world, I am always reminded that we are all basically alike: we are all human beings. Maybe we have different clothes, our skin is of a different colour, or we speak different languages. That is on the surface. But basically, we are the same human beings. That is what binds us to each other. That is what makes it possible for us to understand each other and to develop friendship and closeness."

"Because we all share this 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."

"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions."
"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck."

"If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not capable of developing compassion for others."

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