His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Buddhism and Democracy

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Buddhism and Democracy

Washington, D.C., April 1993


1. For thousands of years people have been led to believe that only an authoritarian organization employing rigid disciplinary methods could govern human society. However, because people have an innate desire for freedom, the forces of liberty and oppression have been in continuous conflict throughout history. Continue reading »

H.H. Dalai Lama Teachings Washington D.C. 1998, Verse 7

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The practice of tong len, giving and taking, encapsulates the practices of loving-kindness and compassion: the practice of giving emphasizes the practice of loving-kindness, whereas the practice of taking emphasizes the practice of compassion.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The practice of tong len, giving and taking, encapsulates the practices of loving-kindness and compassion: the practice of giving emphasizes the practice of loving-kindness, whereas the practice of taking emphasizes the practice of compassion.

Teachings given on November 8, 1998 in Washington D.C. by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on The Eight Verses of Training the Mind. Training the Mind:  Verse 7

The seventh verse summarizes all the practices that we have been discussing. It reads:

In brief, may I offer benefit and joy
To all my mothers, both directly and indirectly,
May I quietly take upon myself
All hurts and pains of my mothers.

This verse presents a specific Buddhist practice known as “the practice of giving and taking” (tong len), and it is by means of the visualization of giving and taking that we practice equalizing and exchanging ourselves with others. Continue reading »