The Dalai Lama - Tenzin Gyatso

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Now my life becomes fruitful!
I have succeeded as a human being!
Today I am born in the Buddha family!
I have become a child of Buddha!
From now on may all my actions suit that family tradition!
May I act never to disgrace this family so impeccable and holy!

only a religious matter, but in our day-to-day life it is quite indispensable.
"To remain discouraged is not the way of a human being, we are not birds and animals, so it is not enough for us to simply lament and complain but we should use our intelligence and work hard.
"Years back when I drove along the road to the airport or somewhere else, I never saw chickens in the streets or in the shop fronts of stores or restaurants. Now I see them everywhere. But why these rows of slaughtered chickens? Although it is impossible to be a total vegetarian in Tibet, I find the killing animals repugnant. As far as possible, I eat only vegetables and fruits. The Dalai Lama

"In Buddha's time, there was a king who committed the heinous crime of murdering his father. But he was totally overwhelmed by his crime, and depressed. When Buddha visited him, He made a statement that parents are to be killed, but He didn't mean it literally. Buddha was using parents as a kind of metaphor for desire and attachment that lead to rebirth. Because karma and desire combine to create rebirth, in some sense they are like parents. Thus, He meant that karma and desire are to be eliminated.
"One aspect of compassion is to respect others' rights and to respect others' views. That is the basis of reconciliation. The human spirit of reconciliation based on compassion is working deep down, whether the person really knows it or not. Our basic human nature is gentleness; therefore, no matter how much we go through violence and other bad things, ultimately the proper solution is to return to human feeling and affection. So affection or compassion is not

Today the Dalai Lama is perhaps one of humankinds most beloved spokspersons, not only for the Buddhist perspective, but also for all spiritually minded people seeking a pathway and a refuge to their own inner dialogue with the divine source of knowledge. The dalai Lama has the unique gift of combing both simplicity and profound philosophical under-standing concerning our spiritual life. His teachings are direct as well as rooted in parables and metaphors. The Dalai Lama states in simple terms his advice for meditation: "....in your life, unless you make specific time for something that you feel commited to, you will always have other obligations and you will always be too busy." In philosophical terms the Dala Lama states: "In Buddhism it is thought that there is a special relationship between the emanation and the emanating force, and that an emanation comes to an end when it has fulfilled its destiny." With parables the Dali Lama quotes from the Buddha as saying: "....when you are looking into the ocean trying to locate a fish, you will not be able to find one while the ocean is still and the fish are under the water. But when a wave comes, you will occasionally be able to glimpse the fish.

And The Buddha Said - The Twin-Verses - What we are is the result of what we have thought, is built by our thoughts, is made up of our thoughts. If one speaks or acts with an impure thought, suffering follows one, like the wheel of the cart follows the foot of the ox. What we are is the result of what we have thought, is built by our thoughts, is made up of our thoughts. If one speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows one, like a shadow that never leaves. "They insulted me; they hurt me; they defeated me; they cheated me." In those who harbor such thoughts, hate will never cease. "They insulted me; they hurt me; they defeated me; they cheated me." In those who do not har- bor such thoughts, hate will cease. For hate is never conquered by hate. Hate is conquered by love. This is an eternal law. Many do not realize that we must all come to an end here; but those who do realize this, end their quarrels at once. Whoever lives only for pleasures, with senses uncontrolled, immoderate in eating, lazy, and weak, will be overthrown by Mara, like the wind throws down a weak tree. Whoever lives not for pleasures, with senses well controlled, moderate in eating, has faith and the power of virtue, will not be overthrown by Mara, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain. Whoever would put on the yellow robe without having cleansed oneself from impurity, disregarding self-con- trol and truth, is not deserving of the yellow robe. But whoever has cleansed oneself from impurity, is well grounded in all the virtues, and is possessed of self-control and truth, is deserving of the yellow robe. Those who imagine truth in un-truth and see untruth in truth never arrive at truth but follow vain desires. Those who know truth as truth and untruth as untruth arrive at truth and follow true desires. As rain makes its way into a badly roofed house, so passion makes its way into an unreflecting mind. As rain does not make its way into a well-roofed house, so passion does not make its way into a reflecting mind. Wrongdoers grieve in this world, and they grieve in the next; they grieve in both. They grieve and are afflicted when they see the wrong they have done. The virtuous find joy in this world, and they find joy in the next; they find joy in both. They find joy and are glad when they see the good they have done. Wrongdoers suffer in this world, and they suffer in the next; they suffer in both. They suffer when they think of the wrong they have done. They suffer even more when going on the wrong path. The virtuous are happy in this world, and they are happy in the next; they are happy in both. They are happy when they think of the good they have done. They are even happier when going on the good path. Even if the thoughtless can recite many of the scriptures, if they do not act accordingly, they are not living the holy life, but are like a cowherd counting the cows of others. Even if the faithful can recite only a few of the scriptures, if they act accordingly, having given up passion, hate, and folly, being possessed of true knowledge and seren-ity of mind, craving nothing in this world or the next, they are living the holy life. Anger - Give up anger; renounce pride; transcend all worldly attachments. No sufferings touch the person who is not attached to name and form, who calls nothing one's own. Whoever restrains rising anger like a chariot gone astray, that one I call a real driver; others merely hold the reins. Overcome anger by love; overcome wrong by good; overcome the miserly by generosity, and the liar by truth. Speak the truth; do not yield to anger; give even if asked for a little. These three steps lead you to the gods. The wise who hurt no one, who always control their body, go to the unchangeable place, where, once they have gone, they suffer no more. Those who are always aware, who study day and night, who aspire for Nirvana, their passions will come to an end. This is an old saying, Atula, not just from today: "They blame the person who is silent; they blame the person who talks much; they also blame the person who talks in moderation; there is no one on earth who is not blamed." There never was, nor ever will be, nor is there now anyone who is always blamed or anyone who is always praised. But the one whom those who discriminate praise continually day after day as without fault, wise, rich in knowl-edge and virtue, who would dare to blame that person, who is like a gold coin from the Jambu river? That one is praised even by the gods, even by Brahma. Be aware of bodily anger and control your body. Let go of the body's wrongs and practice virtue with your body. Be aware of the tongue's anger and control your tongue. Let go of the tongue's wrongs and practice virtue with your tongue. Be aware of the mind's anger and control your mind. Let go of the mind's wrongs and practice virtue with your mind. The wise who control their body, who control their tongue, the wise who control their mind are truly well controlled.

For of all sad words of tongues or pen - the saddest are these: It might have been. John Greenleaf Whittier
The only way to discover the limits of the possible, is to go beyond them into the impossible. Arthur C. Clarke
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. Dhammapada
If a man could have half of his wishes, he would double his troubles. Benjamin Franklin
You train people how to treat you by how you treat yourself. Martin Rutte
Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring
ways. Stephen Vincent Benet
It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it. Somerset Maugham
A man's doubts and fears are his worst enemies. William Wrigley, Jr.
Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must "set yourself on fire." Arnold Glascow
Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination. Voltaire
A good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude. Rainer M. Rilke
One day the people of the world will want peace so much that the governments are going to have to get out of their way and let them have it. Dwight Eisenhower

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime.
And, departing, leave behind us -
Footprints on the sands of time.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
Love is not thinking about it; it is doing it. It is loving! Eric Butterworth

I look upon all man as my compatriots making less account of the national than of the universal and common bond. Michel de Montaigne
Fear always springs from ignorance. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Man is what he believes. Anton Chekov
One day the people of the world will want peace so much that the governments are going to have to get out of their way and let them have it. Dwight Eisenhower
Better to ask twice than to lose your way once. Anon

NEW DELHI, India - A teen-age monk who escaped Chinese-controlled Tibet last year is about to begin a pilgrimage to some of Buddhism's holiest sites in northern India, Tibetan officials said Tuesday. The 17th Karmapa - one of the most senior monks, or lamas, in Tibetan Buddhism - has been given permission by the Indian government to visit the towns of Sarnath, Varanasi and Bodhgaya, officials of the Tibetan exile government said. The three towns are considered among the holiest of Buddhist shrines in India. Buddhists believe the founder of their religion achieved Enlightenment at Bodhgaya. The 15-year-old lama, Thinley Dorje, is also head of the Karma Kagyu sect. The exact dates of his 27-day pilgrimage will not be revealed due to security reasons, said Karma Yuthok, minister for religion and culture in The Dalai Lama's Government-in-exile in Dharamsala. Newspapers have reported, however, that he would travel from New Delhi to the Hindu holy town of Varanasi on the Ganges River on Feb. 22. "The purpose of the Karmapa's travels is to pay his respects at some of the Buddhist holy sites in India,'' said Yuthok. The lama eluded the Chinese guards at his monastery in Tibet and trekked across the Himalayan Mountains to India last year. His movements were restricted af-ter his arrival, but New Delhi granted the Karmapa refugee status on Feb. 3, 2001, giving him more freedom to travel in India. Even with Tibetan refugee status, however, the Karmapa cannot travel to the Rumtek Monastery, seat of his pre-decessor. The former Himalayan Buddhist kingdom of Sikkim lies in an area that China claims. He has also been de-nied permission to visit Shearabling, a monastic center in northern India considered of great significance to Tibetan Buddhists. "We've only just received the permission for the pilgrimage to the Buddhist holy sites. We'll keep trying for permission for him to visit the Rumtek and Shearabling Monasteries,'' said Yuthok. The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet af-ter a failed 1959 revolt against Chinese rule, was followed to northern India by more than 120,000 refugees who settled with him in the Indian mountain town of Dharamsala. The Karmapa said he came to the mountain town of Dharamsala because he wanted to study with his tutors, who had not been allowed to visit him in China.

Lama and one of the highest-ranking monks in Tibetan Buddhism, led the prayers to
mark the Tibetan new year at the Vajra Vidhya Sansthan monastery near Sarnath, a pilgrimage site. Wearing the traditional black cone headdress and yellow silk robes, the 15-year-old Karmapa ushered in the Tibetan year of the 'iron snake.' "I rejoice in the faith and dedication shown by all of you,'' Dorje said to the Tibetan monks assembled. The Karmapa is the only senior lama to be recognized by both Beijing and the exiled Tibetan religious leader, The Dalai La-ma. He arrived in Dharamsala in north India in January 2000 after an arduous 875-mile journey through the snowbound Himalayas. The Karmapa heads the Karma Kagyu sect and is considered by his followers to be the reincarnation of his predecessor. The Vajra Vidhya Sansthan monastery was decorated with strings of marigold flowers, colored flags and banners welcoming both the New Year and the Karmapa. Trangu Rimpoche, the head of the monastery who has been designated the Karmapa's teacher, led a religious chant of ancient Tibetan verses. Monks offered traditional Tibetan delicacies and sweets to the Karmapa, who was seated on a tall throne placed in front of a 15-foot-high gold and bronze statue of Buddha. Other monks and nuns beat drums and blew trumpets. Later, devotees offered sacred silk scarves, called 'khadas' (katas), to the Karmapa. The event attracted Buddhist monks and nuns from all over the world. Securi-ty was tight, and worshippers had to pass through metal detectors on their way to the ceremony. The monk spent 13 months restricted to monasteries near Dharamsala, the headquarters-in-exile of The Dalai Lama, until Indian officials granted him refugee status this month. However, he is still barred from going to Rumtek Monastery, the seat of his predecessor in the former Himalayan Buddhist kingdom of Sikkim. Now an Indian state, Sikkim is also claimed by Chi-na, and Indian officials fear his visit could anger Beijing. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed 1959 revolt against Chinese rule. He was followed to northern India by more than 120,000 refugees who settled with him in Dharamsala.
(February 24, 2001 )

(Left) The 17th Karmapa, Thinley Dorje, waves from a hotel balcony in New Delhi Wednesday Feb. 21, 2001. The Karmapa, one of the most senior monks, or lamas, in Tibetan Buddhism, ar-rived in New Delhi to begin his journey to the towns of Sarnath, Varanasi and Bodhgaya. The three towns are considered among the holiest of Buddhist shrines in India and Buddhists believe the founder of their religion achieved Enlightenment at Bodhgaya. (Below) The 17th Karmapa,

Ugyen Thinley Dorje, 15, rear, blesses the monks after an initia-tion and empowerment session in the Vajra Vidya monastery in Sarnath, northern India,
SARNATH, India -Teen-Age Monk Blesses Buddhists - Hundreds of monks bowed deeply as a teen-age Buddhist leader who escaped Chinese-controlled Tibet last year led prayers for world peace in northern India Saturday. Ugyen Thinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa

The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye, the more light you pour upon it,
the more it will contract.
Passion is the sound love makes when it sings, the movement love makes when it dances. Passion is the gift you earn when you honor the fire of love and learn to keep it burning.
Find the courage to show your passion to whomever you meet. When you choose to be passionate about your life, your life will be passionate about you.
Do you work with love? Do you work with gratitude? Do you work with passion? This is your true career here on earth, and you can do it anytime, and anywhere. When you give all of yourself to each moment of your work and each moment of your life, you will experience true success, and you will know true fulfillment.

Beneath the sala trees at Kusinagara, in his last words to his disciples, the Buddha said: "Make of yourself a light. Rely upon yourself: do not depend upon anyone else. Make my teachings your light. Rely upon them: do not depend upon any other teaching. Consider your body: Think of its impurity. Knowing that both its pain and its delight are alike causes of suffering, how can you indulge in its desires? Consider your 'self'; think of its transiency: how can you fall in-to delusion about it and cherish pride and selfishness, knowing that they must all end in inevitable suffering? Consider all substances; can you find among them any enduring 'self'? Are they not all aggregates that sooner or later will break apart and be scattered? Do not be confused by the universality of suffering, but follow my teaching, even after my death, and you will be rid of pain. Do this and you will indeed be my disciples. My disciples, the teachings that I have given you are never to be forgotten or abandoned. They are always to be treasured; they are to be thought about, they are to be practiced. If you follow these teachings, you will always be happy. The point of the teachings is to control your own mind. Keep your mind from greed, and you will keep your behavior right, your mind pure and your words faithful. By always thinking about the transiency of your life, you will be able to resist greed and anger, and will be able to avoid all evils. If you find your mind tempted and so entangled in greed, you must suppress and control the temptation; be the master of your own mind. A man's mind may make him a Buddha, or it may make him a beast. Misled by error, one becomes a demon; Enlightened, one becomes a Buddha. Therefore, control your mind and do not let it deviate from the right path. You should respect each other, follow my teachings, and refrain from disputes; you should not, like water and oil, repel each other, but should, like milk and water, mingle together. Study together, learn together, practice my teachings to-gether. Do not waste your mind and time in idleness and quarreling. Enjoy the blossoms of Enlightenment in their sea-son and harvest the fruit of the right path. The teachings which I have given you, I gained by following the path myself. You should follow these teachings and conform to their spirit on every occasion. If you neglect them, it means that you have never really met me. It means that you are far from me, even if you are actually with me; but if you accept and practice my teachings, then you are very near to me, even though you are far away. My disciples, my end is approach- ing, our parting is near, but do not lament. Life is ever changing: none can escape the dissolution of the body. This I am now to show by my own death, my body falling apart like a dilapidated cart. Do not vainly lament, but realize that noth-ing is permanent and learn from it the emptiness of human life. Do not cherish the unworthy desire that the changeable might become unchanging. The demon of worldly desires is always seeking chances to deceive the mind. If a viper lives in your room and you wish to have a peaceful sleep, you must first chase it out. You must break the bonds of worldly passions and drive them away as you would a viper. You must positively protect your own mind. My disciples, my last moment has come, but do not forget that death is only the end of the physical body. The body was born from parents and was nourished by food; just as inevitable are sickness and death. But the true Buddha is not a human body: - it is En-lightenment. A human body must die, but the Wisdom of Enlightenment will exist forever in the truth of the Dharma, and in the practice of the Dharma. He who sees merely my body, does not truly see me. Only he who accepts my teach-ing truly sees me. After my death, the Dharma shall be your teacher. Follow the Dharma and you will be true to me. During the last forty-five years of my life, I have withheld nothing from my teachings. There is no secret teaching, no hidden meaning; everything has been taught openly and clearly. My dear disciples, this is the end. In a moment, I shall be passing into Nirvana. This is my instruction."
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Last Update: 11/30/04