Quotes of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

“When compassion arises in us through deep concentration on the suffering of other beings and empathy with them, it can to some degree disturb the peace of our mind. And so we may ask: “Are we not loading additional suffering onto our own shoulders by developing compassion?” I think this is an essential question, and it requires serious reflection. First of all, I see an enormous difference between the suffering and pain that we naturally experience within the wheel of existence, and that which we experience as a result of voluntary empathy with the suffering of others. In the first case, we experience pain and suffering without any particular ability to influence it in any way. We have no control over our own experiences. In the second case, we do encounter a certain disturbance of our inner equilibrium, but by virtue of the fact that we have accepted this suffering voluntarily and with a specific purpose, the effect it will have on our mind will be completely different. I do not think that suffering and pain will fully take possession of our mind. They will become for us not a heavy burden, but a source of joy and confidence, born in the very depths of our heart and testifying to inner strength.”