5 Of The Best Dalai Lama Quotes On Finding Happiness

We live in a society that is obsessed with happiness. Here are 5 of the best Dalai Lama quotes on Finding Happiness.

Happiness. We seek and search it out in all sorts of places, people and substances, in an attempt to grasp, and if we only could, keep it. But happiness is elusive and often it seems the more we focus on it, the harder it is to find.

1) When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes – I already have everything that I really need’. – Dalai Lama Quotes

The antidote of discontentment is gratitude. Gratitude is a practice. It is easy to focus on the things we don’t have, but happiness lies in focusing on what we do have. Take stock of the small, beautiful, and often skimmed-over delights that exist in your day-to-day life. The air you breathe, the flavour of your meals, the grass under your feet. Becoming acutely aware of how much you already have in your life increases your happiness. The Dalai Lama expands on this by stating-

2) As long as there is a lack of the inner discipline that brings calmness of mind, no matter what external facilities or conditions you have, they will never give you the feeling of joy and happiness that you are seeking. – Dalai Lama Quotes

Discipline is required to create prosperity in all aspects of life, and happiness is no different. To create happiness for yourself you must practice calming your mind through meditation or yoga. As you get better at it, you will slowly lose the desire to find happiness in other places or things. The things you thought you needed to be happy. Fame, power, sex, food, alcohol, consumption, all become obsolete. You will have accessed the discipline of the mind and you will invariably protect yourself from the endless pursuit of external gratification.

3) Even when a person has all of life’s comforts – good food, good shelter, a companion – he or she can still become unhappy when encountering a tragic situation. – Dalai Lama Quotes

Although we can achieve happiness by practicing self-discipline and gratitude, it is also important to embrace the parts of life that are not as pleasant. Because of our fanatical obsession with happiness, we can sometimes lose touch of the natural flow of life. The truth is: Life can be hard and things can happen around you, which cause you to feel sorrow and grief. This is a part of what makes us human, and what makes us appreciate happiness at all.

4) To be kind, honest and have positive thoughts; to forgive those who harm us and treat everyone as a friend; to help those who are suffering and never to consider ourselves superior to anyone else. Even if this advice seems rather simplistic, make the effort of seeing whether by following it you can find greater happiness. – Dalai Lama Quotes

In the end, happiness means something different to everybody. If you are able to focus your mind upon the things you have in a positive way and be kind and compassionate towards yourself and others, then you are as close to happiness as anyone can dream to be.