Quotes

“Once we have a firm practice of compassion our state of mind becomes stronger which leads to inner peace, giving rise to self-confidence, which reduces fear. This makes for constructive members of the community. Self-centredness on the other hand leads to distance, suspicion, mistrust and loneliness, with unhappiness as the result.” – Dalai Lama

“A compassionate community will not be achieved only through prayer; I pray myself, but I accept its limitations. We need to take action to develop compassion, to create inner peace within ourselves and to share that inner peace with our family and friends. Peace and warm-heartedness can then spread through the community just as ripples radiate out across the water when you drop a pebble into a pond.” – Dalai Lama

“Kindness and a good heart are the foundation for success in this life, progress on the spiritual path, and the fulfillment of our aspirations. Our need for them is not limited to any specific time, place, society, or culture.” – Dalai Lama

“Show kindness whenever possible. Show it to the people in front of you, the people coming up behind you, and the people with whom you are running neck and neck. It will vastly improve the quality of your own life, the lives of others, and the state of the world.” – Ann Patchett

“Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit, things that are easy, things that are free, things that you can do every day. Civility, respect, kindness, character.” – Aaron Sorkin

“Forgiveness is a form of gratitude. When we forgive others, we show them the mercy that we have often received and been thankful for.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

“We’re the creators of our own experience – remembering this, and living our lives from this perspective empowers us.” – Mike Robbins

“Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.” – Ray Bradbury

“This moment is your life. It is the process of living, the journey, that is life itself, and we often wish away our lives by focusing only on what tomorrow could, should, would bring.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

‎“Peace has a great deal to do with warm-heartedness and respect for the lives of others, avoiding doing them harm and regarding their lives as being as precious as our own. If, on that basis, we can also be of help to others, so much the better.” – Dalai Lama

“To have a loving heart, you need a little less calculating head.” – Osho

“‎In today’s materialistic world there is a risk of people becoming slaves to money, as though they were simply cogs in a huge money-making machine. This does nothing for human dignity, freedom, and genuine well-being. Wealth should serve humanity, and not the other way around.” – Dalai Lama

“Patanjali says, ‘Have full faith in yourself. Trust yourself and your efforts. Be confident. Apply your efforts totally, with full physical, moral, mental, intellectual and spiritual strength.’ “- B.K.S. Iyengar, in “Light on Ashtanga Yoga”

“Don’t expect to get anything back, don’t expect recognition for your efforts, don’t expect your genius to be discovered or your love to be understood. Act because you need to act.” – Paulo Coelho

“When each of us learns to appreciate the critical importance of ethics and makes inner values like compassion and patience an integral part of our basic outlook on life, the effects will be far-reaching.” – Dali Lama

“If you have a great deal of knowledge, but you’re governed by negative emotions, then you tend to use your knowledge in negative ways. Therefore, while you are learning, don’t forget the importance of warmheartedness.” – Dalai Lama

“The practice of yoga has a tremendous effect on character and makes one morally and mentally strong. The approach to life becomes more positive and tolerant. Pride and egoism are eradicated and humbleness and humility set in. One becomes more thoughtful and discriminating and acquires intellectual clarity.” -Geeta Iyengar, excerpted from “Yoga, A Gem For Women”

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am Wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi

“If we can manage to refrain from harming others in our everyday actions and words, we can start to give more serious attention to actively doing good, and this can be a source of great joy and inner confidence. We can benefit others through our actions by being warm and generous toward them, by being charitable, and by helping those in need.” – Dalai Lama