92 Quotes From The Dalai Lama That Everyone Should Read

A photo of the Dalai Lama deep in thought.


If you’re searching for a bit of inspiration or a gentle nudge towards a more compassionate and joyful way of living, diving into the wisdom of the Dalai Lama might be just what you need. Known for his uplifting quotes about life and profound insights into human kindness, the Dalai Lama’s words have the power to shift perspectives and bring a sense of peace to those who read them.

This collection of 92 quotes from the Dalai Lama covers a wide range of topics, from the importance of compassion and empathy to the pursuit of happiness and inner peace. Each quote has been carefully selected to offer you a moment of reflection and motivation, encouraging you to live a life filled with kindness and understanding.

Whether you’re looking for guidance during challenging times or simply wish to cultivate a deeper sense of contentment in your daily life, these quotes about kindness and the art of living well are here to support and inspire you. So, take a moment to explore these insights, and allow the timeless wisdom of the Dalai Lama to touch your heart and mind.

  1. “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
  2. “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” – Dalai Lama
  3. “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama
  4. “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” – Dalai Lama
  5. “Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” – Dalai Lama
  6. “The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your action will be.” – Dalai Lama
  7. “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” – Dalai Lama
  8. “In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.” – Dalai Lama
  9. “Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.” – Dalai Lama
  10. “When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.” – Dalai Lama
  11. “A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.” – Dalai Lama
  12. “Silence is sometimes the best answer.” – Dalai Lama
  13. “The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.” – Dalai Lama
  14. “Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well.” – Dalai Lama
  15. “To conquer oneself is a greater victory than to conquer thousands in a battle.” – Dalai Lama
  16. “Let us try to recognize the precious nature of each day.” – Dalai Lama
  17. “The root of happiness is altruism – the wish to be of service to others.” – Dalai Lama
  18. “The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.” – Dalai Lama
  19. “Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.” – Dalai Lama
  20. “Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.” – Dalai Lama
  21. “It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.” – Dalai Lama
  22. “When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways – either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.” – Dalai Lama
  23. “Happiness is not something that comes ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
  24. “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” – Dalai Lama
  25. “A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” – Dalai Lama
  26. “Human potential is the same for all. Your feeling, ‘I am of no value,’ is wrong. Absolutely wrong. You are deceiving yourself. We all have the power of thought – so what are you lacking? If you have willpower, then you can change anything.” – Dalai Lama
  27. “The more you care for the happiness of others, the greater is your own sense of well-being.” – Dalai Lama
  28. “Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.” – Dalai Lama
  29. “Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.” – Dalai Lama
  30. “We need to learn to want what we have, not to have what we want, in order to get stable and steady happiness.” – Dalai Lama
  31. “Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength.” – Dalai Lama
  32. “To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.” – Dalai Lama
  33. “In order to carry a positive action, we must develop here a positive vision.” – Dalai Lama
  34. “Kindness is the key to peace and happiness in family life.” – Dalai Lama
  35. “Sleep is the best meditation.” – Dalai Lama
  36. “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.” – Dalai Lama
  37. “The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.” – Dalai Lama
  38. “When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.” – Dalai Lama
  39. “The true value of existence is revealed through compassion.” – Dalai Lama
  40. “World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.” – Dalai Lama
  41. “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” – Dalai Lama
  42. “True change is within; leave the outside as it is.” – Dalai Lama
  43. “Success and failure depend on your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
  44. “Anger and hatred are signs of weakness, while compassion is a sure sign of strength.” – Dalai Lama
  45. “The essence of all spiritual life is your attitude to others.” – Dalai Lama
  46. “Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay.” – Dalai Lama
  47. “Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.” – Dalai Lama
  48. “When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” – Dalai Lama
  49. “Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who you are.” – Dalai Lama
  50. “The key to happiness is inner peace. The greater the inner peace, the greater our happiness.” – Dalai Lama
  51. “The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds.” – Dalai Lama
  52. “Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.” – Dalai Lama
  53. “If there is no solution to the problem then don’t waste time worrying about it. If there is a solution to the problem then don’t waste time worrying about it.” – Dalai Lama
  54. “Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.” – Dalai Lama
  55. “The whole purpose of religion is to facilitate love and compassion, patience, tolerance, humility, and forgiveness.” – Dalai Lama
  56. “It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view.” – Dalai Lama
  57. “True forgiveness is not an action after the fact, it is an attitude with which you enter each moment.” – Dalai Lama
  58. “One can be deceived by three types of laziness: of indolence, which is the wish to procrastinate; the laziness of inferiority, which is doubting your abilities; and the laziness that is attachment to negative actions, or putting effort into non-virtue.” – Dalai Lama
  59. “The purpose of all the major religious traditions is not to construct big temples on the outside, but to create temples of goodness and compassion inside, in our hearts.” – Dalai Lama
  60. “The ultimate source of comfort and peace is within ourselves.” – Dalai Lama
  61. “We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most. During that period, we must try to do something good, something useful, with our lives.” – Dalai Lama
  62. “When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.” – Dalai Lama
  63. “A genuine, affectionate smile is very important in our day-to-day lives.” – Dalai Lama
  64. “The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.” – Dalai Lama
  65. “We must recognize that the suffering of one person or one nation is the suffering of humanity.” – Dalai Lama
  66. “Education is the proper way to promote compassion and tolerance in society.” – Dalai Lama
  67. “The mind is like a parachute. It works best when it’s open.” – Dalai Lama
  68. “Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures.” – Dalai Lama
  69. “Developing inner values is much like physical exercise. The more we train our abilities, the stronger they become.” – Dalai Lama
  70. “The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.” – Dalai Lama
  71. “To remain indifferent to the challenges we face is indefensible. If the goal is noble, whether or not it is realized within our lifetime is largely irrelevant. What we must do therefore is to strive and persevere and never give up.” – Dalai Lama
  72. “Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.” – Dalai Lama
  73. “The true measure of success is not the accumulation of wealth, but the achievement of true happiness.” – Dalai Lama
  74. “Change in the world always begins with an individual who shares what he or she has learned and passes it on to others.” – Dalai Lama
  75. “Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.” – Dalai Lama
  76. “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” – Dalai Lama
  77. “The greatest challenge in life is to be our own person and accept that being different is a blessing and not a curse.” – Dalai Lama
  78. “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” – Dalai Lama
  79. “A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.” – Dalai Lama
  80. “Forgiveness does not mean we forget the wrong done to us. It means we forgive the person but remember the lesson.” – Dalai Lama
  81. “When reason ends, then anger begins. Therefore, anger is a sign of weakness.” – Dalai Lama
  82. “The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.” – Dalai Lama
  83. “It is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live.” – Dalai Lama
  84. “Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” – Dalai Lama
  85. “We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.” – Dalai Lama
  86. “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
  87. “Every day, 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.” – Dalai Lama
  88. “The best way to resolve any problem in the human world is for all sides to sit down and talk.” – Dalai Lama
  89. “Compassion is the radicalism of our time.” – Dalai Lama
  90. “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” – Dalai Lama
  91. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama
  92. “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” – Dalai Lama

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Seff Bray

Seff Bray is an accomplished author and the passionate founder of seffsaid.com, a website renowned for its uplifting and inspiring content. With a lifelong interest in personal development and growth, Seff has dedicated himself to empowering others through his writing.