The Dalai Lama - Foundation of the Altruistic Mind

KINDNESS, CLARITY, AND INSIGHT
25th Anniversary Edition
by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso,
edited and translated by Jeffrey Hopkins,
co-edited by Elizabeth Napper
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Dalai Lama Quote of the Week

The foundation of the altruistic mind of enlightenment is a good heart, a good mind, at all times. All of us can benefit from cultivating this; we should not get angry, fight, backbite, and so forth. When people engage in such activities, they do so for the sake of personal concerns but actually are only harming themselves. Therefore, all of us need to do whatever we can to cultivate a good mind,a good heart. I am not just explaining this; I, too, am doing as much as I can to practice it. Everyone needs to do whatever is possible, for as much as we can practice this, so much will it help.

If you engage in such practices and gain experience of them, your attitudes and way of viewing other people will change; then when a problem--which you have encountered before--arises, you will not respond with the same excitement as previously, will not generate the same negative attitudes. This change is not from something external, is not a matter of getting a new nose or a new hairstyle, but takes place within the mind. Some people can withstand problems whereas others cannot; the difference is one of internal attitude.

The change from putting these teachings into practice comes slowly. After some time, we may encounter those who tell us we have changed; this is a good sign that the practices have been effective.

--from Kindness, Clarity, and Insight 25th Anniversary Edition by The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, edited and translated by Jeffrey Hopkins, co-edited by Elizabeth Napper, published by Snow Lion Publications

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Tags: Kindness, Clarity, Insight, 25th Anniversary Edition, The Dalai Lama, His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, Snow Lion Publications, Buddhism, mind, Enlightenment, altruism