Dalai Lama on Compassion & Respect in Today’s Society

Prague, Czech Republic, 14 September 2013 - This morning, after three days in Vilnius, Lithuania, His Holiness the Dalai Lama flew to Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. He was received at the Airport by Karel Schwarzenberg, former Foreign Minister in the Czech government and leader of the TOP 09 party, Tomas Hudecek, Mayor of Prague, and Executive Director of the Forum 2000 Foundation, Jakub Klepal. Arriving at his hotel, Tibetans from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria and Czech supporters of Tibet were gathered to welcome him.

After lunch, he greeted a group of physically challenged Czechs who play music together as he was on his way to the Tipsport Arena, venue for his public talk. His first words from the stage, having greeted the audience of more than 6000, were in tribute to his late friend and founder of Forum 2000, President Vaclav Havel.

“He was a humble, genuinely good human being, who put on no airs. From the first he was honest and truthful. I visited him several times after our initial encounter and was one of the last to visit him before he passed away. Because of my friendship for him and others here, I have a special place in my heart for the Czech people. The day after tomorrow, I hope to visit his office to pay my respects although he is no longer physically with us, just as I once visited the home in Patna of Rajendra Prasad, First President of India after he too passed away. As I told Havel’s widow and those who knew and admired him, the best tribute we can pay him is to carry on his activities in his spirit.

“I have come to participate once more in Forum 2000, which was founded by President Havel and led by Oldrich Cerny, who has also sadly passed away since I was last here. I have just met his widow and was impressed by the warm smile rather than grief with which she greeted me.

“I am very happy to be here, to be able to talk to all of you like members of one family and I thank the organizers of this event for making it possible.”

His Holiness began his public talk in his customary way:

“We are all basically the same, mentally, physically and emotionally. We all want a happy life and have a right to achieve it. We have the same emotions, some are destructive, some are positive. I don’t think of myself as anything special; I think of myself as one of you.”

He elaborated that as human beings we are social animals. Like other creatures, ants and bees, for example, our survival depends on the rest of our community. Today’s reality is that the whole world is interdependent. Problems like climate change affect us all, ignoring boundaries. Because of climate change natural disasters are likely to occur, also, natural resources will become scarce and the gap between rich and poor continues to increase. These are challenges we have to face thinking of humanity as one family and working together as one.

“Where humanity used to work together in ancient times we now rely on technological support and material values to the neglect of our human values.” His Holiness said, “I have participated in several conferences about the crisis in human society. At one, in San Francisco, the conclusion was that our difficulties derive from a general lack of human affection. Unfortunately, our education system is materialistically oriented and the influence of religion that used to be a source of moral values has declined. Many of those who continue to follow religion show little real dedication and are inclined to corruption and exploiting others.

“We need to introduce ethics into our education system, not based on faith but on reason. I meet all kinds of people in different parts of the world and it is clear to me that peace of mind is the key to living a happy life. I meet many who are materially successful, while remaining unhappy inside.”

He remarked that women who beautify themselves with cosmetics remind him that while external beauty is one thing, inner beauty is much more important. When a beautiful face wears an angry expression, the beauty is lost. Meanwhile, peace of mind makes for a happy family and a community will be happier if the families within it are peaceful and compassionate.

Occasionally anger may be positive if the motivation is good. Likewise a courageous person needs a strong sense of self; self-confidence is positive. But an over-emphasis on self and selfish concerns doesn’t help, whereas having a compassionate heart is always helpful.

His Holiness suggested that we need a map of our emotions to understand how our emotions work. No one enjoys anger, but everyone appreciates affection. Because warm-heartedness is positive, we need to develop a sense emotional hygiene. The code of ethics that can lead to this needs to be secular ethics. He clarified that when he uses the word ‘secular’ he does so in an Indian context, meaning respect for all religious traditions without bias. The men who contributed to drafting pluralistic India’s secular constitution after Independence - Gandhi, Dr Ambedkar and Dr Rajendra Prasad for example - were all personally religious men. Secular ethics is what is appropriate for our secular education system.

“Many of our problems are our own creation. They derive from our self-centredness. But once we develop a greater concern for the well-being of others, there is no room for bullying, cheating and exploitation. All destructive human action derives from our destructive emotions. These need to be our target. On the other hand, genuine concern for others’ well-being is implicitly an expression of respect for them. If we can reduce our sense of self-centredness, we can reduce our destructive emotions.”

His Holiness reiterated that the essential teaching of all religions is love and once you develop love and affection, you naturally become respectful of others. The key factor is education; education that involves warm-heartedness and takes account of human values.

“If you find any of what I have said interesting,” His Holiness concluded, “please think about it and discuss it with others. Musicians can sing about warm-heartedness. Film-makers, instead of depicting sex and violence, can educate people about the value of simple warm-heartedness and respect for each other. However, if you find what the Dalai Lama says is stale and unrealistic, please, just forget it.”

Among questions from the audience, the first concerned how we know the decisions we take are correct. His Holiness recommended looking at the question not just from one angle, but from many angles. He also said that the mind should be very clear and that unless you take account of reality, your decision will be unrealistic and will fail to bring a result. To another question about fear he replied that there are two kinds of fear: fear with a practical basis like fear of a mad dog and fear that is largely our mental projection.

Someone asked how to put compassion into action. His Holiness said compassion doesn’t just mean sitting still, it means getting up and doing something. Compassion brings energy and enthusiasm to act, but wisdom lends good judgement. Enthusiasm by itself is blind, but wisdom derived from analysing the situation coupled with an unbiased attitude give it direction.

As His Holiness thanked the audience with folded hands for coming to listen to him, they responded with smiling faces and sustained and warm applause. Tomorrow, he will give an explanation of a traditional Tibetan Buddhist text, the “Eight Verses of Training the Mind.”

original photos and link http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/994-compassion--respect-in-todays-society

Respect Yourself

By Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care
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Did you ever say to yourself, "I respect that person, but I don't like them?" The dictionary says respect is: "to consider worthwhile of high regard." Respect is more valued by many people than being liked. "I don't care if he likes me, as long as he respects me."

Respect is important to us. Mutual respect forms the basis of, to some extent, a good relationship. If someone always does whatever you want you would think the person to be a buffoon, and they are not worthy of respect. Why do you respect one person but not another and can you get someone to respect you? What is it about them that attracts you and what do these people have in common?

In order to get my respect, people have to have some guidelines they follow in a legitimately consistent manner. They have to be sensitive to the needs of other people and not take advantage of others. Besides, they have to be concerned with their spiritual growth and development and the same for others. I will admit I’m a slow learner when you look at my past. Praying for forgiveness, wisdom and discernment are always on my daily prayer journal.

Respect can only be earned and is easily broken and difficult for us to let that individual back in our private life once it is lost. I remember my 21 years in the USAF and in spite of being a Master Sergeant, I was required to salute officers in spite of many that were junior to my age and experience. The salute showed respect to the rank and uniform not necessarily the person in it.

Self-respect is the most important kind of respect and without it; we can become sick in one way or another.

We really should not wonder if we have it or not since we can feel it inside of us. If we have very little self-respect, we probably believe we are not living up to our expectations of ourselves. Sometimes we really deserve self-respect, but we don't have it because we let someone else (parents, spouses, close friends, bosses) convince us we are not worthy of it. When we deserve self-respect but don't have it, we have to change the way we view ourselves. We have to realize that we have accepted someone else's view of ourselves and that their view is wrong. We have to take charge of our own way of looking at ourselves.

It is most likely that your respect for people and for the world in general will increase as you grow and develop spiritually. You will tend more and more to appreciate the universe for what it is and see that beauty, and perfections are more common than you thought. Spiritual growth and development come from the realization that we are not alone in this world and what we think and do affect our lives.

I am sure you have heard “walk the talk, not talk the walk.” What we think within our minds is private, but as soon as we start to “do” something with these thoughts, it becomes our walk. Consider thinking things through before acting. As a Christian, we are held to a higher standard of living. Speaking to a stranger about Jesus is a great talk and walk, but as soon as you leave, get in your car and someone cuts you off…What is your reaction then?

I want to close and leave some thoughts and prayers I have had for quite a long time now, and you know who you are. First, I forgive each of you, which has hurt me, disowned me, gossiped and lied about me. I may have ended the relationship, whether family, friends, co-workers, etc., or they may have ended a relationship with me. Either way I still forgive, and if you look at my personal prayer journal, you will find every single name of those that I know of. I seek peace and harmony in my life, and I want the same for you. God wants it for us both. How can we expect God to Bless us, yet we still carry a grudge?


Is there someone out there that owes me an apology? More importantly to me and God, is there someone out there that I have not apologized to and forgiven them? Be sure to write me. stephenmartyr2@gmail.com †

Dalai Lama: 50 Thoughts for a Better World

On his 78th birthday, the Dalai Lama has highlighted 50 ideas that can help achieve world peace.

Below is an article published by Times of India:

1) If people trust you, you have no grounds for fear, suspicion or jealousy.
2) Despite the superficial differences between us, we need to have a sense that all 7 billion human beings belong to one human family.
3) What we do need to do is to find ways to incorporate advice about warm-heartedness into our education system.
4) When we develop care and concern by thinking of others not as ‘them’ but ‘us’, there is no room for bullying, exploitation or deceit.
5) Genuine peace is based on inner peace, because you cannot build peace on the basis of anger.
6) Our real guide is our own mind, our sense of reason. We naturally have self-interest, but it should be wise rather than foolish self-interest by taking others' needs into account as well as ours.
7) I feel that each of us has the potential to make some contribution, and together, working with a clear aim, we can change our world.
8) Human happiness depends on taking others into account.
9) If we make consistent effort, based on proper education, we can change the world.
10) It is expressions of affection, rather than money and power, that attract real friends.
11) We need to strengthen such inner values as contentment, patience and tolerance, as well as compassion for others.
12) Everybody wants a happy life and a peaceful mind, but we have to produce peace of mind through our own practice.
13) Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.
14) Serving and helping others out of compassion is non-violence in action.
15) Most of our problems are related to the mind, so we have to work to reduce our destructive emotions.
16) If we can refrain from harming others in our everyday actions and words, we can start to give more serious attention to actively doing good.
17) Placing all our hope on material development is clearly mistaken; the ultimate source of happiness is within us.
18) If we can cultivate a concern for others, keeping in mind the oneness of humanity, we can build a more compassionate world.
19) It’s unrealistic to think that the future of humanity can be achieved only on the basis of prayer. What we need is to take action.
20) Concern for others’ well-being reduces fear and suspicion, prompting the openness and transparency that gives rise to trust and friendship.
21) Anger, hatred and jealousy can never solve problems. Only affection, concern and respect can do that.
22) Refraining from harm - not out of fear, but out of concern for others, their well-being and out of respect - is non-violence.
23) Whether we are happy or not depends on our attitude; compassion, for instance, leads to a calmer mind.
24) Education is the way to achieve far-reaching results; it is the proper way to promote compassion and tolerance in society.
25) Healthy, happy families and a healthy peaceful nation are dependent on warm-heartedness.
26) The challenge today is to convince people of the value of truth, honesty, compassion and a concern for others.
27) To make this a century of dialogue, we need to find ways to promote a greater awareness of the oneness of humanity.
28) It is vital that when educating our children’s brains, we do not neglect to educate their hearts by nurturing their compassionate nature.
29) If you are honest, truthful, and transparent, people trust you.
30) Just as we encourage physical hygiene to preserve our health, we also need a sense of emotional or mental hygiene too.
31) We live in a world in which we are dependent on others; we cannot expect to fulfil our goals while disregarding others’ needs.
32) We forget that despite the superficial differences between us, people are equal in their basic wish for peace and happiness.
33) People think of animals as if they were vegetables, and that is not right. We have to change the way people think about animals. I encourage the Tibetan people and all people to move toward a vegetarian diet that doesn’t cause suffering.
34) Sex offers fleeting satisfaction and leads to trouble later, while chastity offers a better life and more independence, more freedom. Problems arising from conjugal life sometimes even lead to suicide or murder...
35) Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
36) Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.
37) 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.
38) 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.
39) Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.
40) All major religious traditions carry basically the same message - love, compassion and forgiveness. The important thing is that they should be part of our daily lives.
41) When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself: Oh yes. I already have everything that I really need.
42) The purpose of our lives is to be happy.
43) In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.
44) We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.
45) When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.
46) The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
47) If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
48) It is important to consider others at least as important as ourselves. This is the essence of spirituality.
49) A number of people have said to me, after hearing my thinking, that their mind becomes much happier, concludes the Dalai Lama. I sure hope fellow seekers feel totally refreshed, like a walk in the rain, after this talk with the adorable and simple spiritual leader.
50) Reflect.

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Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Teachings of Dalai Lama

The teachings of Dalai Lama can guide entrepreneurs in their ventures and help them draw some vital, effective, practical and profound lessons. This is an abridged list.

Responsible business aims at helping people expand their abilities. We usually live for the promise of a good future by selling history. Keeping the basic precepts listed below can aid on the path to reaching the promise of the future while dealing with the most certain uncertainties on the way.

Love what you do, and do it the whole way

This will bring out the best in a venture. To attain the best it is worth the risk to base your work on love and passion. Every venture has different things it will need at different points in its journey. Loving the crucial elements during a particular phase is most important. Even if you do not love them, pretending to love them for a bigger vision will make it easier. Passion and love have a way to get through.

Sacrifice is nobility at its best

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get what you want. What this literally translates into is this; organic growth is better than shortcuts. Delayed gratification and sacrifice often lead to better and more meaningful results. In an entrepreneurs world, after the venture is afloat, if something is worth anything, it will be worth nothing less with time. Overtime, even the most volatile stocks and assets appreciate in value. Remember, that the best relationships are ones in which the core values behind a relationship exceeds individual needs for each other. Sacrifice is indeed nobility at its best.

When you lose, don’t lose the lesson

Adapt, evolve, pivot, scale. Learn the lessons. And don’t repeat the same mistake over and over again. One often repeats the same mistakes if ones emotional life is confined to the space between ones ears. Get over the ego trip and learn. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. Not getting what one wants is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. Learn the lessons, get the experience, wise-up and move on.

Learn the rules so you know how to most effectively use them

This applies to all aspects of a venture. Build your capabilities from ground up and gain a level of competence and effectiveness before moving to something new. Hire the best from among those who gel with your vision for the venture.

Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship

The grand illusion of one’s self and immortality often does more harm than good. Nothing is worth more than keeping good friends, team members, advisors and customers. Time changes constantly. No point in holding on to the past. Learn to see over and beyond little squabbles and benefits. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. Love your loved ones. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past. Nurture relationships and build bridges. Become an enabler.

Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values

One way for an entrepreneur to recognize her value systems is to explore uninhibited by failure and fallouts. Read tons. Seek guidance from folks whose accomplishments and values you admire. Follow inspirational people and events. Create a theme of leadership in your head and water it constantly with reading and leadership reinforcements.  Live a good, honorable life. So that when you look back to your life from the future, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time. Build your life and venture around some core values and beliefs. Let your work and life stand for something bigger and more meaningful.

Follow the three Rs:

Respect yourself: the values and the ideals that drive you. These will reflect on the venture.

Respect others: The golden principle is “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”. Entrepreneurs need to keep this precept very close to their hearts.

Be responsible for all your actions in all aspects of your venture at all stages of the venture.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer

Entrepreneurship is fueled by an expression of your passion. The venture is a vehicle that helps entrepreneurs express. But expression in work and attitude is more important than expression in words. Create a small place in your life where you meet and question yourself often. Then as the next step, connect with the larger life by being silent atleast for five minutes a day. Meditate to bring down the neural activity and calm the frequency distribution of your brain. Spend some time alone every day. Silence is the most elegant form of expression. Give your nervous system, neurons and physiological system a break. As often as possible, go someplace you’ve never been before. Serendipity often comes knocking when least expected and in unfamiliar places.

Share your knowledge

Happy venturing!!

By Bhringu Pankaj Prashar
Forbes magazine, http://www.forbes.com/sites/bhrigupankajprashar/2012/07/05/lessons-entrepreneurs-can-learn-from-teachings-of-dalai-lama/