Whether you believe in God or not does not matter so much, whether you believe in Buddha or not does not matter so much; as a Buddhist, whether you believe in reincarnation or not does not matter so much. You must lead a good life. And a good life does not mean just good food, good clothes, good shelter. These are not sufficient. A good motivation is what is needed: compassion, without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their rights and human dignity.

14th Dalai Lama

from the book Kindness, Clarity, and Insight

translated by Jeffrey Hopkins


Read a random quote or see all quotes by the 14th Dalai Lama.

Further quotes from the book Kindness, Clarity, and Insight:

• Right effort
• Same human potential
• The importance of human life
• We are all the same
• How things appear and how they actually exist
• Kindness
• Actions are irreversible
• One’s best teacher
• Selflessness and no-self
• Realizing emptiness
• A good heart is needed
• The very purpose of religion
• Practice in daily life
• No need to worry
• The importance of a good heart