Ageing destroys youth, sickness destroys health, degeneration of life destroys all excellent qualities and death destroys life. Even if you are a great runner, you cannot run away from death. you cannot stop death with your wealth, through your magic performances or recitation of mantras or even medicines. Therefore, it is wise to prepare for your death.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the inevitability of death and the futility of trying to escape it through wealth or other means.
In this quote, the Dalai Lama emphasizes the inevitability of death and the reality that material possessions, health, and even spiritual practices cannot shield us from this ultimate fate. He suggests that rather than attempting to evade death through superficial means, it is wise to accept the mortality of life and prepare ourselves for it, fostering deeper understanding and acceptance of our existence.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a philosophical discussion on the nature of life and death.
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.
Blind nature will nearly always select the most probable, but man can let the most improbable become actual.
When you once see something as false which you have accepted as true, as natural, as human, then you can never go back to it.
If precious metals had been abundant, they would not have been precious.
I have never felt that the one thing that I am 'known for' is what I am.
We want to answer this classical question, who am I? So I think that most of our works are for art, or whatever we do, including science or religion, tried to answer that question.
There is a daily discussion with our servants about the price of food and the number of loaves: a conference with our presbyters to consider the sins of our people is a very rare occurrence.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.