Because the existing education system is oriented towards materialistic goals we need to pay special attention to inner values such as tolerance, forgiveness, love and compassion.
Dalai LamaTo combat hatred directed toward a person, a Buddhist cultivates loving kindness toward that person.
Dalai LamaWe human beings are social beings. We come into the world as the result of othersโ actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from othersโ activities. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.
Dalai LamaSometimes we feel that one individual's action is very insignificant. Then we think, of course, that effects should come from channeling or from a unifying movement. But the movement of the society, community or group of people means joining individuals. Society means a collection of individuals, so that initiative must come from individuals. Unless each individual develops a sense of responsibility, the whole community cannot move. So therefore, it is very essential that we should not feel that individual effort is meaningless- you should not feel that way. We should make an effort.
Dalai LamaWhether it is under the guise of survival and self-defence or directly expressed through dominion and greed, the failure to recognize the common humanity shared by us all lies at the heart of our difficulties. To overcome it, we should begin to develop, from the level of the individual through that of society to the world at large, what I call a sense of universal responsibility; a deep respect for every living being who lives on this one small planet and calls it home.
Dalai Lama