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The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World QUOTES

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World QUOTES

1 " You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

2 " I'm actually very humbled listening to His Holiness,' the Archbishop said, 'because I've frequently mentioned to people the fact of his serenity and his calm and joyfulness. We would probably have said 'in spite of' the adversity, but it seems like he's saying 'because of' the adversity that this has evolved for him. "

― Desmond Tutu , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

3 " Symptoms of chronic stress are feelings of fragmentation and of chasing after time - of not being able to be present. What we are looking for is a settled, joyful state of being, and we need to give this state space. The Archbishop once told me that people often think he needs time to pray and reflect because he is a religious leader. He said those who must live in the marketplace - business people, professionals and workers - need it even more. "

― Desmond Tutu , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

4 " We are fragile creatures, and it is from this weakness, not despite it, that we discover the possibility of true joy. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

5 " When you are grateful,' Brother Steindl-Rast explained, 'you are not fearful, and when you are not fearful, you are not violent. When you are grateful, you act out of a sense of enough and not out of a sense of scarcity, and you are willing to share. If you are grateful, you are enjoying the differences between people and respectful to all people. The grateful world is a world of joyful people. Grateful people are joyful people. A grateful world is a happy world. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

6 " The more time you spend thinking about yourself, the more suffering you will experience. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

7 " I asked the Dalai Lama what it was like to wake up with joy, and he shared his experience each morning. 'I think if you are an intensely religious believer, as soon as you wake up, you thank God for another day. And you try to do God’s will. For a nontheist like myself, but who is a Buddhist, as soon as I wake up, I remember Buddha’s teaching: the importance of kindness and compassion, wishing something good for others, or at least to reduce their suffering. Then I remember that everything is interrelated, the teaching of interdependence. So then I set my intention for the day: that this day should be meaningful. Meaningful means, if possible, serve and help others. If not possible, then at least not to harm others. That’s a meaningful day. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

8 " It probably takes many years of monastic practice to equal the spiritual growth generated by one sleepless night with a sick child. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

9 " We are wired to be caring for the other and generous to one another. We shrivel when we are not able to interact. I mean that is part of the reason why solitary confinement is such a horrendous punishment. We depend on the other in order for us to be fully who we are. (...) The concept of Ubuntu says: A person is a person through other persons. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

10 " If your mental health is sound, then when disturbances come, you will have some distress but quickly recover. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

11 " The Dead Sea in the Middle East receives fresh water, but it has no outlet, so it doesn't pass the water out. It receives beautiful water from the rivers, and the water goes dank. I mean, it just goes bad. And that's why it is the Dead Sea. It receives and does not give. In the end generosity is the best way of becoming more, more, and more joyful. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

12 " As one of the seven billion human beings, I believe everyone has the responsibility to develop a happier world. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

13 " I asked what we must do about intolerance and fanaticism which was flaring all around the world. "Education and wider contacts are really the only solutions," the Dalai Lama replied. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

14 " Perhaps our synagogues, our temples, and our churches," Archbishop Tutu added, "are not as welcoming as they should be. I really think that we do need for these fellowships to do a great deal more to have those who are lonely come and share. Not in an aggressive way, or in order, as it were, to increase their records or their ranks, but really just keenly interested in one person who comes and gets what they did not have before--warmth and fellowship. ... "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

15 " It is not happiness that makes us grateful, it’s gratefulness that makes us happy. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

16 " So," the Dalai Lama finally said, slapping the Archbishop on the wrist playfully. "I prefer to go to hell than to heaven. I can solve more problems in hell. I can help more people there. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

17 " So many wars have been fought and so much injustice has been perpetrated because we've banished others from our group and therefore our circle of concern. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

18 " The problem is that our world and our education remain focused exclusively on external, materialistic values. We are not concerned enough with inner values. Those who grow up with this kind of education live in a materialistic life and eventually the whole society becomes materialistic. But this culture is not sufficient to tackle our human problems. The real problem is here," the Dalai Lama said, pointed to his head.

The Archbishop tapped his chest with his fingers to emphasize the heart as well.

"And here," the Dalai Lama echoed. "Mind and heart.. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

19 " If you live with fear and consider yourself as something special then automatically, emotionally, you are distanced from others. You then create the basis for feelings of alienation from others and loneliness. So, I never consider, even when giving a talk to a large crowd, that I am something special, I am 'His Holiness the Dalai Lama' . . . I always emphasize that when I meet people, we are all the same human beings. A thousand people -- same human being. Ten thousand or a hundred thousand -- same human being -- mentally, emotionally, and physically. Then, you see, no barrier. Then my mind remains completely calm and relaxed. If too much emphasis on myself, and I start to think I'm something special, then more anxiety, more nervousness. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

20 " I would forget that I'm just talking as a human being to fellow human beings. I would think of myself as something special, and that kind of thinking would make me feel isolated. It is this sense of separateness that isolates us from other people. In fact, this kind of arrogant way of thinking creates a sense of loneliness, and then anxiety. "

― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World