As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all Beings.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of self-love and compassion towards others.
In this quote, the Dalai Lama invites us to recognize our own worth and treat ourselves with kindness as we breathe in, while simultaneously extending that same kindness and compassion to all living beings as we breathe out. It highlights the interconnectedness of self-care and empathy, suggesting that cherishing oneself can lead to a greater capacity to cherish others.
In practice
In a meditation session, you could share this quote to encourage participants to focus on self-compassion.
Human beings are not intrinsically selfish, which isolates us from others. We are essentially social animals who depend on others to meet our needs. We achieve happiness, prosperity and progress through social interaction. Therefore, having a kind and helpful attitude contributes to our own and others' happiness.
Material objects give rise to physical happiness, while spiritual development gives rise to mental happiness. Since we experience both physical and mental happiness, we need both material and spiritual development. This is why, for our own good and that of society we need to balance material progress with inner development.
All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.
The ultimate source of a happy life is warm-heartedness. This means extending to others the kind of concern we have for ourselves. On a simple level we find that if we have a compassionate heart we naturally have more friends. And scientists today are discovering that while anger and hatred eat into our immune system, warm-heartedness and compassion are good for our health.
My religion is kindness. _x000D_ A good mind, a good heart, _x000D_ warm feelings these are _x000D_ the most important things.
If a person's basic state of mind is serene and calm, then it is possible for this inner peace to overwhelm a painful physical experience. On the other hand, if someone is suffering from depression, anxiety, or any form of emotional distress, then even if he or she happens to be enjoying physical comforts, he will not really be able to experience the happiness that these could bring.
To-morrow I will live, the fool does say;_x000D_ _x000D_ To-day itself's too late, the wise lived yesterday.
I think [Transcendental Meditation] is what people need. They don't need high minded talk, they need results.
Be grateful for your difficulties and challenges, for they hold blessings. In fact... Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health personal growth, individuation and self-actualisation.
To become learned, each day add something. To become enlightened, each day drop something
Adversity has ever been considered the state in which a man most easily becomes acquainted with himself.
Ambition! We must be careful what we mean by it. If it means the desire to get ahead of other people - which is what I think it does mean - then it is bad. If it means simply wanting to do a thing well, then it is good. It isn't wrong for an actor to want to act his part as well as it can possibly be acted, but the wish to have his name in bigger type than the other actors is a bad one.
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