Human beings by nature want happiness and do not want suffering. With that feeling everyone tries to achieve happiness and tries to get rid of suffering, and everyone has the basic right to do this. In this way, all here are the same, whether rich or poor, educated or uneducated, Easterner or Westerner, believer or nonbeliever, and within believers whether Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and so on. Basically, from the viewpoint of real human value we are all the same.

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:

• Same human potential
• The importance of human life
• How things appear and how they actually exist
• Kindness
• Actions are irreversible
• Right effort
• One’s best teacher
• Leading A Good Life
• 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