Thought of the week

When we think continually about ‟I! I! I!” and only talk about ourselves, we considerably reduce the size of the world that we want to be ours. The events that occur in the narrow sphere of selfishness affect us deeply and will certainly disturb our inner peace. The situation is very different when we feel primarily concerned with others and bear in mind that they are so numerous that, in comparison, our own personal concerns are negligible. If on top of that our desire is to remove their suffering, we will not get discouraged. It will give us more courage and determination, in contrast to self-pity, which depresses us and reduces our courage.

FOURTEENTH DALAI LAMA, TENZIN GYATSO (b. 1936)
Oral Teachings given in Schvenedingen Germany, 1998.