In my experience, we look down on what is ordinary and simple and are not content with it. We have the constant expectation that things should be better and more fancy, and we make things more complicated. However, in actual reality what makes us happy is simple and ordinary, in my view. For example, it […]
We need to get to know our emotions. Right now, they are strangers to us. When we come across them, sometimes we react as if we were being confronted by a bandit. Instead, we should make their acquaintance, and then gradually make friends with them or create a wholesome relationship with them. In the end, […]
We tend to think of the Buddha as someone with great powers – a kind of Superman with superpowers who will come to protect us and save us when something terrible happens. But who is the real superhero? You are. Superman is not the Buddha. You are. Who is your protector? You are. What is […]
At the bottom of my heart, I always think that my strength comes from others – from people like you – because you give me great hope and aspiration. Even though I may face many challenges, your hope and trust are what has allowed me to survive and carry on, and have made me stronger […]
How do you decide whether or not to do something? Ask yourself how much benefit the activity is likely to bring. 17th Karmapa
In my life, I have had some mixed experiences when it comes to placing my trust in others. On various occasions, the kind of treatment or behavior that I expected from others was not forthcoming, and this has led me to think a good deal about what trust means to me. What I have come […]
Try to serve the common interest. Whatever happens, think about what is best for the group rather than acting for yourself alone. The benefit of many is more important than that of each individual. If you cannot tell the difference, there is no way you can serve the public. What’s more, your own interests will […]
My own way of thinking is that when we are meeting with angry or stubborn people, we should bring even greater understanding to bear. The more closed-minded or hardheaded someone seems, the more reason there is for us to be open-minded and gentle when interacting with them. We can recognize how difficult and painful it […]
Freedom does not start from the outside. Although external conditions have a part to play, that is not where freedom originates. This might sound backward, but authentic freedom arises initially from inner conditions. Its deepest roots are within us. Most often when we speak of freedom, what we actually have in mind are freedom’s outer […]
When you feel authentic love toward others, you will be deeply moved to act. You will not rest until you have found ways to secure the happiness of all those you are able to include in your feelings of love. As you learn to love more and more widely, your love will motivate you to […]
Who knows what you will see, hear, or experience in these chaotic and turbulent times? Try to protect yourself from becoming too overwhelmed by pain and suffering. Lighten up! Don’t take things so seriously. With a broad and accommodating mind, you can keep a sense of perspective. 17th Karmapa
Freedom is a powerful idea. But I am not sure we are always very clear what we have in mind when we speak of it. Does freedom mean doing whatever we feel like in any given moment? Does it mean having the power and liberty to exercise our will with no obstruction? Does it evoke […]
The Buddha taught that ultimately, the only true and lasting happiness in this world comes from changing our focus from ourselves to others. When we sincerely wish and work for the happiness and benefit of others, we create our own happiness and make our lives truly meaningful. Shantideva expressed this very well in the Way […]
When we seek happiness, it should not be just for ourselves. The self that wishes only for its own happiness is mistaken. From the Buddhist point of view, that self does not even exist in the way we think it does. Seeing ourselves as the centre of the universe is like being trapped inside a […]
Whatever is good or bad for you is likely to be so for others. If you want to get along with people, apply your own experience and give others what they need. Use your common sense to live more harmoniously with others. 17th Karmapa
It is true that our cultural environment can affect our eating habits. Yet, we have the freedom to decide to change. We have complete freedom to eat meat or not. Tibetans live on an arid plateau where herding livestock and eating meat have been central to our culture for millennia. If Tibetans can stop eating […]
We actively nurture our love by working wholeheartedly on ourselves. This is the way our own spiritual practice can become a condition that helps love to last. Spiritual practice means transforming ourselves. It means changing. We cannot hope to just find love and keep it on a shelf – as if I have given you […]
We can overcome our difficulties by working on them indirectly. There are two aspects to the hardships we go through. There are the outer circumstances of the hardship and there is a reaction we have to the hardship in our minds. So it is not the case that there is a only an unfortunate or […]
We need to let the heart lead. Compassion is indispensable; it is the single most important factor we need if we are going to have any real success in protecting the environment, in creating a just society, or simply in living wholesome, happy lives. 17th Karmapa
We can color our whole life with kindness, transforming our everyday activities and suffusing our everyday ways of being with human warmth. This can happen. Our life can be translated into love. 17th Karmapa
