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Tibet Quotes

Browse 119 quotes about Tibet.

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Tibet Quotes

“There is no reason for a sound faith to be irrational. A useful faith should not be blind, but should be well aware of its grounds. A sound faith should be able to use scientific investigation to strengthen itself. it should be open to the spirit not to lock itself up in the letter. A nourishing, useful, healthful faith should be no obstacle to developing a science of death.”

ScienceDeathReligionFaithDyingBuddhismNothingnessReligion And PhilosophyTibetTibetan Buddhism
Book:The Tibetan Book of the Dead
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“Tibet became a laboratory for the enlightenment movement to create its model society, to evolve into an actual manifestation of a buddha‘s pure universe, a „buddhaverse“. A social buddhaverse is a place where everything is geared toward enlightenment, where every lifetime is made meaningful by dedication to optimal evolutionary development. Because that nation embraced the enlightenment movement for more than a millennium, Tibet is the prime example of a sustained attempt by an entire people to create a society, culture, and civilization that cherish the individual‘s pursuit of enlightenment over the needs of society. Instead of believing that a strong central government can force a group of people into making a better place to live, the Tibetans, influenced by ancient India, saw that helping the individual is what transforms society. Imagine a culture in which everything is geared toward helping all individuals become the best human beings they can be; in which individuals are driven to devoting their lives to becoming enlightened by the natural flood of compassion for others that arises out of their wisdom. Once an individual attains enlightenment, society at large automatically becomes enriched. This was the heart of the Buddha‘s social revolution. (p. 32-33)”

BuddhismEnlightenmentAwakeningTibetThe Path Of The BodhisattvaSpiritual RevolutionBuddhaverseThe Enlightenment Movement
Book:Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness
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“The general kind and soft customs of Mustang were soon to strike me as exceptional. Apart from occasional disputes between husband and wife, which like family rows all around the world bring raised voices, I never heard a person scream or shout; Even the children had very civilised manners. In fact the only person I knew to consistently angry in Lo Mantang was myself, and Tibetans consider bd temper a Western characteristic. Take for example the reactions of European to missing his train; he will invariably swear under his breath. Who in our can stand frustration without giving vent to anger? I soon had to master my own temper, having raised my voice against one of the innumerable people who stopped to stare at me and my smal party, I was told by a peasant: ‘’I cannot understand; you are a great man, how is it that small things like myself deserve your wrath?’’ After that I learned to be tolerant, realising that by getting mad I was only debasing myself, and that it was stupid to be bothered by trivialities.”

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Book:Mustang: A Lost Tibetan Kingdom
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“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The great eleventh-century Nalanda pandit Lama Atisha understood this well, and with a mighty heart of wise compassion he set out to marshal the Buddha‘s eighty-four thousand teachings – found in hundreds of scriptures and thousands of verses – into a logical, sequential, and practical road map to help guide spiritual seekers on the path, from ordinariness to liberation on to full and final awakening. This unique style of teaching came to be called Lam Rim, or the Gradual Path to Enlightenment, and, attesting to its beauty and effectiveness, has been preserved in all lineages and schools of Tibetan Buddhism for the past thousand years. One of the unique features of the Lam Rim is that it recognizes an alternative to the path of sudden, spectacular enlightenment and instead proposes a more modest, gradual awakening. From the beginning of Tibet‘s history of receiving dharma transmission from India, with the great debates involving the eighth-century Indian scholar Kamalashila, it was clear that for the masses the gradual process of studying, contemplating, and embodying insights over the course of a sustained, lifelong practice would be most appropriate and beneficial. While all methods have their validity and are useful for practitioners of various dispositions, the gradual approach explained in these pages is as relevant to modern students as it was to Tibetans centuries ago. – Geshe Tenzin Zopa”

BuddhismEnlightenmentAwakeningBuddhaTibetTibetan BuddhismLam RimAtishaGradual Awakening
Book:Gradual Awakening: The Tibetan Buddhist Path of Becoming Fully Human
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“Power deities, for all their strength, are very much like humans, They are subjects to periods of despair and are not free from the crippling consequences of emotions, For over two decades Tibetans were forbidden from holding any religious ceremonies or prayers. No prayer flags, incense or ceremonies were offered to the deities and demi-gods of the region. This neglect broke their hearts and they became bedraggled and weak.”

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Author:Tsering Wangmo Dhompa
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“How easily such a thing can become a mania, how the most normal and sensible of women once this passion to be thin is upon them, can lose completely their sense of balance and proportion and spend years dealing with this madness.”

LoveLifeSoulSelfPhilosophyRomanceMovingDeathMotherDesirePoetryTimeSpiritualityPassionFatherStrongHeavenStarsSexWomenGrowthJusticeLossSinDecisionMoneyGriefEmotionFictionBeautyFamilyMarriageCourageHellFireComedyRelationshipJourneyCrimeLonelinessHonestyDivineTrustRegretPrideDramaSadBedTravelDepressionHeartbreakMarriedRomanticLonelyPrejudiceAngerMurderTransformationAngrySuicideMadBraveSevenGreedDisappointmentDivorceHappyLustNineHealUnhappyContemporaryEsteemTriumphWomanIsolationFiftyAbandonHardshipDeepFeelingSecretsHelpBetrayHikingTrappedAgonyRemorseEroticJaneUnbearableForgiveAnorexiaRevelationDescentMountaineeringPersonalLucyUnionLiteraryEverestDysfunctionAustenPackingPurgatoryTibetPrettyJuicySonsPageantBackLovelessDanteCloudWhite CollarBronteSeparateSteamyPossessRedeemShadesPassageSummitsResurrect50KissedInauthenticityElatedEnchantBovaryAnnapurnaChatterleyEyreGasherbrum
Book:HELL HEAVEN & IN-BETWEEN: One Woman's Journey to Finding Love
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“I'm convinced after spending three weeks in China and Tibet, unless the United States gets its act together, our grandchildren will be living in a world dominated by the People's Republic. China is simply inexorable in its pursuit of wealth, growth and power. It cares little about human rights, democracy, labor protections, fair trade rules or the environment. It is relentless in advancing its national interests.”

PeopleWorldHumansLittlesStatesCareTogetherThreeGrowthInterestWealthUnitedUnited StatesDemocracyEnvironmentRightsWeekFairsLaborTradeHuman RightsChinaProtectionSpendingConvincedPursuitRepublicGrandchildrenRelentlessAdvancingInexorableTibetNational InterestsFair TradePursuit Of Wealth
Author:Mort Kondracke
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“The buddha-dharma does not invite us to dabble in abstract notions. Rather, the task it presents us with is to attend to what we actually experience, right in this moment. You don't have to look "over there." You don't have to figure anything out. You don't have to acquire anything. And you don't have to run off to Tibet, or Japan, or anywhere else. You wake up right here. In fact, you can only wake up right here. So you don't have to do the long search, the frantic chase, the painful quest. You're already right where you need to be.”

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Author:Steve Hagen
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“They have their belief, these poor Tibet people, that Providence sends down always an Incarnation of Himself into every generation. At bottom some belief in a kind of Pope! At bottom still better, a belief that there is a Greatest Man; that he is discoverable; that, once discovered, we ought to treat him with an obedience which knows no bounds. This is the truth of Grand Lamaism; the "discoverability" is the only error here.”

PeopleKnowsMenKindStillsBeliefPoorGenerationsBuddhismOughtTreatsErrorsBottomBoundsObedienceProvidencePopeIncarnationTibetGreatest Man
Author:Thomas Carlyle
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“If the situation was such that there was only one learned lama or genuine practitioner alive, a person whose death would cause the whole of Tibet to lose all hope of keeping its Buddhist way of life, then it is conceivable that in order to protect that one person it might be justified for one or 10 enemies to be eliminated if there was no other way.”

IfsWayPersonsWholeMightOrderCausesLosesSituationEnemyAliveProtectGenuineBuddhistJustifiedLamaTibetThat One Person
Author:Dalai Lama
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“The whole Hollywood conception of Tibet as this peace-loving country denies the complex humanity of the Tibetan people. Their ideas exist in a high degree of tension with impulses toward corruption, toward violence, toward all sorts of things. The Dalai Lama himself would say that he has to fight these impulses himself on a daily basis.”

PeopleIdeasCountryWholeHumanityFightingViolenceDegreesHollywoodBasesComplexesCorruptionDenyImpulseTensionConceptionTibetanLamaTibetDalai
Author:Pankaj Mishra
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“We had a rule in Tibet that anyone proposing a new invention had to guarentee that it was beneficial, or at least harmless, for seven generations of humans before it could be adopted.”

HumansGenerationsSevenInventionAdoptedBeneficialTibetNew Inventions
Book:Imagine All the People: A Conversation with the Dalai Lama on Money, Politics, and Life As It Could Be
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“You shouldn't speak until you know what you're talking about. That's why I get uncomfortable with interviews. Reporters ask me what I feel China should do about Tibet. Who cares what I think China should do? I'm a f***ing actor! They hand me a script. I act. I'm here for entertainment, basically, when you whittle everything away. I'm a grown man who puts on makeup.”

ThinkingKnowsMenFeelsShouldHandsCareActorsAsksSpeakTalkingScriptsEntertainmentChinaAsk MeUncomfortableInterviewsMakeupReportersWho CaresTibetGrown Man
Author:Brad Pitt
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“I'm now nearly 79. At 16 I took responsibility for Tibet and lost my freedom. At 24 I lost my country and became a refugee. I've met difficulties, but as the saying goes: 'Wherever you're happy, you can call home, and whoever is kind to you is like your parents.' I've been happy and at home in the world at large. Living a meaningful life isn't just a matter of money; it's about dedicating your life to helping others.”

WorldKindCountryMatterHelpingHomeLostParentResponsibilityLike YouMetsDifficultyHappyMeaningfulHelping OthersDedicationBeing HappyRefugeeMeaningful LifeTibet
Author:Dalai Lama
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“I wanted to bring the book out right now because I think anyone who cares about Tibet knew there would be disturbances in the run up to the Olympics [2008]. Many Tibetans feel it's their last chance to broadcast their suffering and frustration and pain to the world before the Olympics take place and China is accepted as a modern nation and the world forgets about Tibet.”

ThinkingWorldFeelsBookWould BeCareRunningWantedPainLastsSufferingNationsChanceForgetModernRight NowChinaAcceptedFrustrationOlympicsWho CaresDisturbanceTibetanTibetLast Chance
Author:Pico Iyer
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“Dalai Lama has made new opportunities for women that they never had in Tibet, introduced science into the monks' curriculum and had Tibetan students in exile take their classes in English after the age of ten so that they will know more about the outside world. But one of the great things he's done is to bring all the Tibetan groups together in exile, as perhaps they couldn't have been when they weren't in exile and they weren't under such pressure.”

KnowsWorldHas BeensMadeDoneAgeTogetherOpportunityClassGroupsStudentsTenPressureGreat ThingsExileMonkCurriculumOutside WorldTibetanLamaTibetNew OpportunityDalai
Author:Pico Iyer
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“It's impressive that a man [Dalai Lama], on the day after his Nobel Prize was announced, in October, 1989, said to me, "I really wonder if my efforts are enough?" Most of us, if we just won the Nobel Prize, would think this is vindication, or at last there's a chance for Tibet. He's the rare person who thinks, as a Buddha would, "I don't know if I've done enough, I don't know if I will do enough."”

IfsThinkingKnowsMenPersonsSaidDoneEnoughLastsChanceEffortWonderPrizeImpressiveOctoberNobelNobel PrizeLamaTibetDalaiVindicationRare Person
Author:Pico Iyer
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“[The Dalai Lama] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could, and still things get worse in Tibet." If you look at it from one point of view, as he himself says, his monastic position of forbearance and nonviolence hasn't reaped any benefits. And yet, he's thinking in terms of the long term, of centuries.”

IfsThinkingYearsLooksLongMadeStillsTermViewsCenturyPositionBenefitsYears AgoChinaPoint Of ViewLong TermNonviolenceConcessionsLamaTibetDalaiForbearance
Author:Pico Iyer
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“Up to now my involvement in the Tibetan freedom struggle has been part of my spiritual practice, because the issues of the survival of the Buddha Teaching and the freedom of Tibet are very much related. In this particular struggle, there is no problem with many monks and nuns, including myself, joining.”

Has BeensProblemSpiritualPracticeStruggleIssuesTeachingParticularSurvivalIncludingRelatedNo ProblemMonkInvolvementJoiningNunTibetanSpiritual PracticeTibet
Author:Dalai Lama
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