Quotes of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

“People often confuse compassion with pity and look down somewhat on the person who evokes compassion. I think this is wrong. Genuine compassion must be born of the awareness that all beings, like ourselves, desire happiness and do not want suffering. If we realize this, then, witnessing the suffering of other beings, we will be able to feel sincere sympathy and involvement. This is true compassion, which prompts us to take responsibility for others and to care sincerely about their well-being. At its foundation, therefore, lies the recognition that essentially we are all equal, and a genuine respect for the natural aspiration of other beings to happiness and to the removal of suffering. We recognize their right to have these aspirations become reality.”