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" 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
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" Sit comfortably. You can close your eyes or keep them open. If you keep them open, keep your gaze soft and your focus inward. When the Dalai Lama meditates, his eyes remain open but with his gaze pointed slightly downward, not looking at anything specifically. Now pick a topic or experience that is troubling you, or simply watch your thoughts and feelings arise and recognize that they are temporary, without judging or identifying with them. Some will be bright and pleasant and some will be dark and stormy, but they all pass in time. Let them float through your mind like clouds in the sky. Now ask yourself, “Is my thought true? How do I know for sure? Does it help the situation? Is there a better way of thinking about it or approaching the situation?” Let’s look at how we might analyze the three fundamental, and often challenging, negative human emotions. "
― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
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" For anger, you can ask yourself what is its use? It may help to think of the Dalai Lama’s story of his driver, who was so angry about banging his head into the fender of the car that he banged his head into the fender of the car. Anger often involves some disappointment or frustrated expectation. Ask yourself, “What was my expectation? Can I release it and accept what is or how others are rather than how I think they should be? Can I also acknowledge my part in the conflict? Can I see my part in contributing to the situation I am angry about? If I am angry about what has been said, can I see that these are just words that no longer exist, that, like all things, they are impermanent? Will my anger benefit anyone, including me?” You could also reflect on how, if not contained, anger can lead to destructive action—from saying hurtful things to outright violence—that we later regret. Contemplate how anger can destroy relationships, alienate others, and rob you of your peace of mind. "
― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
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" For sadness, we can reach out for comfort or count our blessings. As we saw, sadness is an emotion that expresses our need for one another, and our sorrows are halved when shared. We can also recognize that while sadness may last longer than other emotions, it, too, will pass. All life, the sadness and sorrow included, is impermanent and will end. There are always going to be highs and lows in any life, in any year, in any day. So much of our mood comes from what we focus on. We can choose to focus on what is going well for us and for the people in our life. As the Archbishop said, we can count our blessings. By putting our attention on the things we are grateful for, we can shift how much time we spend in sadness and how quickly we return to joy. The Dalai Lama’s ability to focus on what has been enriching about life in exile rather than all that has been lost has allowed him to go beyond sadness, grief, and even despair. "
― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
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" We try so hard to separate joy and sorrow into their own boxes, but the Archbishop and the Dalai Lama tell us that they are inevitably fastened together. Neither advocate the kind of fleeting happiness, often called hedonic happiness, that requires only positive states and banishes feelings like sadness to emotional exile. The kind of happiness that they describe is often called eudemonic happiness and is characterized by self-understanding, meaning, growth, and acceptance, including life’s inevitable suffering, sadness, and grief. "
― Dalai Lama XIV , The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World