Dalai Lama (14th)

"The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and discrimination."

"When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others."

"Spend the way a bodhisattva spends: for the benefit of others."

"Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us lasting happiness."

"Cultivate the mind of boundless compassion toward all beings."

"The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness."

"See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort."

"To develop patience, you need someone who willingly hurts you; an enemy is, therefore, a great teacher."

"All major religious traditions carry basically the same message."

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion."

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito."

"The creatures that inhabit this earth—be they human beings or animals—are here to contribute, each in its own way, to the beauty and prosperity of the world."

"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions."

"We need to make genuine effort to replace the competitions and conflicts with cooperation and understanding."

"The very foundation of our spiritual practice is ethics."

"Human potential is the same for everyone. Your feeling, 'I am of no value', is wrong."

"In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision."

"We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most."

"A compassionate attitude helps us gain peace of mind, which is a foundation for physical health."

"The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being."

"Whether one believes in a religion or not, this is a corner of ethics that lies in every human being's power."

"Every day, think as if you have come back to life, as if you were new."

"Do not try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be something wonderful. That is foolish."

"The key to a happy life is to accept you are never actually in control."

"Taking into account the real economic, political and military realities of the world seems to me to be perfectly compatible with true compassion."

"If our tears do not water the roots of compassion, what do they water?"

"Music is a wonderful language. I wish I were a musician so I could talk to people through music."

"Our compassion is incomplete if it is only partial—limited to our family, nation, or those we believe share our beliefs."

"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."