Yesterday, I got the chance to hear the Dalai Lama speak at at public address at my alma mater, UC San Diego. I had received a special invitation for alumni and thought there is no way could I pass this up.
At 81 years old, he is so full of life and quite the jokester. He created such a hopeful energy among the massive audience of 25,000 attendees. I’m so glad I got to experience this with my sisters at my side!
As he spoke, I tried write down some of his words of wisdom so I wouldn’t forget them.
Maybe you can pull some of his insightful ideas from my scrambled notes below.
Studies say having compassion leads to greater happiness and a longer life.
Having more inner strength, more self confidence, and less fear produces stronger immune systems.
Scientists now say a healthy mind is very important for a healthy body.
Religion, which touches on morals and values, has overall decreased. Education of the mind is at the top as a main priority and focus today. Because of the overall decrease in religion, the basic human value of compassion should be taught in modern education. It should be the responsibility of educational institutions to help with moral ethics and positive inner values.
Thinking too much ‘we, we, we’ makes ‘they, they, they.’ It distances ‘us’ from ‘them.’ This distancing is what leads to bullying, to violence. Rather, there should be oneness of humanity, genuine love and compassion, brother and sisters.
Those that are negative towards us still deserve our love and compassion. There is possibility for enemies to become best friends.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean you just forget what happened. You keep what they did inside, but do not let anger develop.
The 21st century should be the century of dialogue. There must be mutual respect. We should talk, and consider others our brothers and sisters.
Q: How do you serve others while also making space for self-care?
A: Make sure you take care of your health. Give yourself sleep, nourish your body with protein, etc. You can give to others in mental ways: listen to them, be compassionate towards them. You don’t have to give them the physical health of your body.
Q: How do you get over a trauma or tragedy?
A: Analyze if you can overcome that tragic situation. If that tragic situation already happened, then there’s nothing you can do about it, so don’t worry. It already happened!
Our livelihood is entirely dependent on the rest of the community we are in. Thus, we need to be compassionate towards those around us. We need to not give harsh words… unless you want to be lonely.
There is no absolute negative. Everything is relative. It took one tragedy for the Dalai Lama to have new opportunities. If his tragedies didn’t happen, he would have remained in the same place and more narrow-minded.
Q: What is your idea of success?
A: Happiness and happy mind.
Design Your Life Thinkshop 