Words for Reflection
The reason why love and compassion bring the greatest happiness
is simply that our nature cherishes them above all else. The
need for love lies at the very foundation of human existence.
It results from the profound interdependence we all share
with one another.
—Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet
From the moment of birth every human being wants happiness and
wants to avoid suffering. In this we are all the same.
—Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet
We rely so much on each other and are so interconnected that
without a sense of universal responsibility, a feeling of
universal brotherhood and sisterhood, and an understanding
that we really are part of one big human family, we cannot
hope to overcome human suffering, let alone bring about peace
and happiness.
—Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet
Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not
a luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability,
it is essential for human survival.
—Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet
Many times I am asked if I am angry at the Chinese for what has
happened. Sometimes I lose some temper, but afterwards I get
more concern, more compassion towards them. In my daily prayer,
I take in their suffering, their anger, and ignorance...and
give back compassion. This kind of practice I continue.
—Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet
While
the rest of the world was busy exploring outer space, we Tibetans
were busy exploring inner space.
—Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet
For as rain forests are to the earth's atmosphere...so are the
Tibetan people to the human spirit in this time of its planetary
ordeal.
—Huston Smith, from The World's Religions
Why is it that the fate of Tibet has found such a deep echo in
the world? There can only be one answer: Tibet has become
the symbol of all that present-day humanity is longing for,
either because it has been lost or not yet been realized or
because it is in danger of disappearing from human sight:
the stability of a tradition, which has its roots not only
in a historical or cultural past, but within the innermost
being of man, in whose depth this past is enshrined as an
ever-present source of inspiration.
—Lama Anagarika Govinda, from The Way of the White Clouds
Tibetans
are masters of ritual. Incense; chanting; circumambulation
around temples and prayer walls; rhythmic beating of drums
and cymbals; receiving blessings by holy monks, or lamas;
recitation of mantras; the spinning of prayer wheels are all
enacted for the benefit of both the individual and the overseeing
deities. Emphasis on ritual provides almost every Tibetan
—whether they live in Tibet itself, or in refugee communities
scattered throughout India, Nepal, Switzerland or North America
—with a deeply satisfying connection to both Buddhism and
Tibetan culture.
—Edie Farwell and Anne Hubbell Maiden, The Wisdom of Tibetan
Childbirth,
In Context, No. 31
When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan
people will be scattered like ants across the face of the
earth, and the Dharma will come to the land of the red men.
—Padmasambhava, Indian Buddhist Guru who helped to spread
Buddhism
in Tibet in the 8th century, A.D.
When the iron bird flies, the red-robed people of the East who
have lost their land will appear, and the two brothers from
across the great ocean will be reunited.
—from the Book of Hopi
The
word "genocide" must be used with care. Our world and our
century have seen countless abominable massacres, and it is
easy to slip into the use of the word to denote such atrocities.
We should, however, restrict it to those crimes before high
heaven which are truly designated by it. If we do so, and
if we consider only the last sixty years, there are four such
mass murders which can justifiably carry the terrible brand.
They are: the Jewish Holocaust, the Stalin Terror, the bloodthirst
of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, and what was done to the people
and culture of Tibet during the miserable lust for death and
torture unleashed by the mad Mao Tse-tung under the name of
"The Cultural Revolution".
—Bernard Levin, The Times, September 7, 1990 (Introductory
Quote From Mary Craig's, Tears of Blood: A Cry of Tibet)
Chinese are betrayed by their mistrust. Tibetans are betrayed by their hope.
—Jamyang Norbu in Red Flag Over Tibet
If the valley is reached by a high pass, Only the best friends
or worst enemies are visitors.
—Tibetan Proverb
Chip ... chip. That's the sound of Tibetan civilization being hacked away
—Melinda Liu, China Invades Tibet —Again, Newsweek,
April 3, 1995
Silence
is consent.
—Michel Peissel, opening quote from Cavaliers of Kham:
The Secret War in Tibet.
For as long as space endures, And for as long as sentient beings
remain, Until then may I too abide To dispel the misery of
the world.
—Shantideva, from A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of
Life, A common dedication prayer for Tibetan Buddhists.
Wisdom
is the bliss of seeing through the delusion of self-preoccupation
to reveal the underlying dimension of freedom. Compassion
is the expression of such bliss to others. Compassion is also
sensitivity to other's suffering.
-Robert Thurman, from Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred
Art of Tibet
Not
long before his death, the great historian Arnold Toynbee
was asked to name what he considered to be most significant
event or phenomenon of the 20th century. It was not one of
the great world wars, nuclear fission, television, or the
computer. It was, he said, "the coming of Buddhism to the West."
—from The Utne Reader, March/April 1993
Compiled by Tibet Education Network. Taken from: Approaching Tibetan
Studies: A Resource Handbook for Educators, by Tibet Education
Network (see The Global Source Catalog)
