Personally, I have lost my country and, worse still, in my country there has been a lot of destruction, suffering and unhappiness. I have spent not only the majority of my life but also the best part of my life outside Tibet. If you think of this from that angle alone, there is hardly anything that is positive. But from another angle, you can see that because of these unfortunate things I have had another type of freedom, such as the opportunity of meeting different people from different traditions and also of meeting scientists from different fields. From those experiences my life has been enriched and I have learned many valuable things. So my tragic experiences have also had some valuable aspects.

14th Dalai Lama

from the book The Heart of the Buddha's Path

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Further quotes from the book The Heart of the Buddha's Path:

• Examine all aspects of an event
• Awareness of death
• Change is possible if you want
• Self-confidence
• The ultimate source of happiness
• Except my own anger