Prayer for the Swift Return of His Eminence Choden Rinpoche

Composed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Peerless expounder, pinnacle of the Shakyas,

who guides beings through teaching dependent origination; the seventeen panditas, victorious Losang, and the rest: Father and son, along with the lineage, please bestow excellent virtue.

Holder and master of victorious Losang’s teachings [Losang Gyalten],

Which are entirely unmistaken, pure by the three analyses¹;

Fearless, powerful [Jigdrel Wangchuk] protector of beings:

I make requests to the incomparable, glorious lama.

In this degenerate time, when the victor’s teachings are utterly disparaged, Continue reading »

The Yoga of the Spiritual Master 
Inseparable from Avalokiteshvara

by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, 
Lozang Tenzin-gyatso 
translated by Alexander Berzin 
October 2010 Continue reading »

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama: Equanimity is the culmination of The Four Immeasurables; it is the most essential yet difficult to cultivate, the guide of the other three. Our Equanimity must extend to and embrace all living beings throughout all realms of existence for it to become sublime, limitless, and immeasurable.

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama: The Four Immeasurables, Sublime Qualities of True Love

Compassion and love are not mere luxuries. As the source both of inner and external peace, they are fundamental to the continued survival of our species. The Four Immeasurables—Loving-kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity—are the sublime expressions of love: the essential nature and radiance of the enlightened heart. They are also known as the Four Limitless Ones, The Four Sublime States, and the Brahmaviharas or Divine Abodes. These four qualities of true love are said to be sublime, lofty, noble, and most excellent for they are the right and ideal way of relating with all living beings. These sublime qualities of love provide the answer to all situations we may encounter in our lives. They are the great removers of tension, the great peace-makers in social conflict, and the great healers of wounds suffered in the struggle of existence. These noble qualities of love level social barriers, build harmonious communities, awaken the slumbering generosity within us, and revive the joy and hope long abandoned.

These four qualities of love are called immeasurable because their capacity to purify the heart and generate positive energy is beyond measure. Continue reading »

Sua Santità il Dalai Lama: “Tutto ciò che appare alla nostra mente è minato da un’incongruenza tra come i fenomeni si presentano e come realmente sono: tra la realtà convenzionale e quella ultima”.

Addressed to the Seventeen Great Panditas of Glorious Nalanda

by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Perfectly arisen through the compassionate wish to benefit beings,

And more exalted even than the gods, you have reached the supreme level of protection, Continue reading »

To Invoke the Wisdom Mind of the Compassionate Teacher Padmasambhava

by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The absolute, which is beyond all limits and extremes is the fundamental nature of clear light, Continue reading »

A Prayer for the Flourishing of the Non-Sectarian Teachings of the Buddha

by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Embodiment of the four kayas, omniscient Lord Buddha ‘Kinsman of the Sun,’ Continue reading »

Brief Commentary on Eight-Verse Attitude-Training

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama 
Dharamsala, India, 7 October 1981 translated by Alexander Berzin 
 Continue reading »

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: I think there are two different ways to overcome depression. One way is to increase or develop the realization of our own potential; to understand that no matter how weak we may sometimes be at a superficial level, deep down there is no difference between the Buddha and us.

By His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala, India (Last Updated Nov 5, 2012) An audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India, in November 1990. His Holiness discusses a range of topics, including karma, other religions, depression, Buddhist tenets and the mind. Transcribed and edited by Ven. Thubten Chodron. Second edit by Sandra Smith, November 2012.

Question: How do we gain conviction in karma? Does karma function only if we believe in it?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: I think there are two ways to think about this. First, Buddhists don’t accept a creator. If we accept a creator as fully compassionate, all-knowing and omnipotent, then that creator is the ultimate reality or ultimate truth. A creator is something independent, however, from the Buddhist viewpoint, this presents some contradictions, so a creator is not easy to accept.

There’s no almighty creator, but at the same time we have to accept that things are changing all the time, so we have to find out the causes and conditions for that change. From that perspective comes the discussion of karma. That is one way of thinking about karma. Continue reading »

Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama: Science at the Crossroads

This article is based on a talk given by the Dalai Lama at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience on November 12, 2005 in Washington DC.

The last few decades have witnessed tremendous advances in the scientific understanding of the human brain and the human body as a whole. Furthermore, with the advent of the new genetics, neuroscience’s knowledge of the workings of biological organisms is now brought to the subtlest level of individual genes. Continue reading »

Bring Quality Back into Buddhist Pursuits

In his speech to a large crowd of Tibetans from Tibet given on Mar 27, 2006 at the end of his Monlam teaching in Dharamsala, His Holiness the Dalai Lama spoke passionately about several issues, one of which was about the need for the concerned Tibetans and Buddhists to bring primary focus on quality when it comes to religious education, discoursing, or practice. The following are relevant excerpts, as translated by the editor.



His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Most of us Tibetans are poor when it comes to standards of knowledge. Speaking from the religious point of view, there are in our society of six million Tibetans people with astonishing degree of genuine faith in Buddhism. Continue reading »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: If ignorance is eliminated, then the contaminated actions that depend on it are stopped. .

Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Death

Through the afflictions of desire, hatred and ignorance, contaminated karma (actions) are performed, which establish potencies in the mind in the form of predispositions. When a lifetime finishes, a person who has such predispositions is born again in cyclic existence with a mind and body appropriated through these contaminated causes. Continue reading »

Continue reading »

A Commentary on Developing Deepest Bodhichitta (the Understanding of Voidness) in Thirty-seven Bodhisattva Practices

(rGyal-sras lag-len so-bdun-ma) 
by Togmey-zangpo (Thogs-med bzang-po) 
His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama translated by George Dreyfus and edited by Alexander Berzin, 1978 
revised by Alexander Berzin, August 2003 Continue reading »

Compassion and the Individual by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The Purpose of Life

One great question underlies our experience, whether we think about it consciously or not: What is the purpose of life? I have considered this question and would like to share my thoughts in the hope that they may be of direct, practical benefit to those who read them.

I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affect this. From the very core of our being, we simply desire contentment. I don’t know whether the universe, with its countless galaxies, stars and planets, has a deeper meaning or not, but at the very least, it is clear that we humans who live on this earth face the task of making a happy life for ourselves. Therefore, it is important to discover what will bring about the greatest degree of happiness. Continue reading »

(rGyal-sras lag-len so-bdun-ma) 
by Togmey-zangpo (Thogs-med bzang-po) 

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama 
translated and condensed by Alexander Berzin, 1983 Continue reading »

Ordination in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition

His Holiness the Dalai Lama feels that it is important to know that nuns and monks ordained in the Tibetan tradition follow the vows set forth in the Mulasarvastivadin school of monastic codes. The gelong/gelongma (bhikshu/bhikshuni–the fully ordained monk/nun) level are recorded in the Mulasarvastivadin school’s Individual Liberation Sutras. Continue reading »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The Birthright of All Beings

A message from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Saka Dawa.

The Buddha Shakyamuni took birth as a prince of the Shakya clan in India. He achieved enlightenment at the age of thirty-six and entered Mahaparinirvana at the age of eighty-one. These three great events took place on the same day of the year, over 2500 years ago, which we celebrate at the season of Wesak. Continue reading »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama comforting an elderly Tibetan woman.

Questioning the Advice of the Guru by H.H. the XIV. Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso

You should do everything your guru tells you to do, even if it seems strange, right? Wrong. According to His Holiness the Dalai Lama every student is responsible for checking the guru’s instructions against reason and Dharma. The rationalizations that many students tell themselves in the face of odd guru behaviours – “It must be a teaching” or “It’s crazy wisdom that you can’t question” or “It’s a test” – serve only to damage students who don’t understand that even powerful teachers have personalities that sometimes have blind spots and make mistakes. Continue reading »

Ethics in the Teacher-Student Relationship: The Responsibilities of Teachers and Students

From notes taken during the meeting of H.H. the Dalai Lama and Western Buddhist Teachers in Dharamsala, 1993.

Western Buddhist Teacher: What are the qualities of a good teacher?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: There are specific requirements for each kind of teacher. These are described in the Vinaya, in Mahayana texts such as Mahayanasutralamkara, and in the tantras.¹

In the past teachers were not appointed. Rather, through diligent training a person became a good practitioner. If others came and asked that person to teach, he or she taught those few students. As those students practiced and developed good qualities, others gained respect for their teacher, and gradually that person became known as a great teacher. Because this is a natural process, there is less danger of a corrupted person becoming a well-known teacher. In the monastic system, the process of becoming a teacher was organized to some extent.

Continue reading »