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


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

• How things appear and how they actually exist
• Kindness
• Actions are irreversible
• Right effort
• Same human potential
• The importance of human life
• We are all the same
• 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