We are each faced with the individual responsibility of creating a happy life for ourselves. A strong sense of well being leads to a healthy body and positive states of mind such as security, hope and serenity.
According to the Dalai Lama, enduring happiness can be found by generating feelings of compassion and loving kindness towards others.
"From my own limited experience I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion," he says. ‘I try to treat whoever I meet as an old friend. This gives me a genuine feeling of happiness.’
Release Negative Emotions by Showing Compassion
The Dalai Lama teaches that the more we practice loving kindness towards ourselves and others, the greater our levels of happiness become. The warm-hearted feelings that are generated as we care for others, automatically put the mind at ease, helping to release negative emotions such as fear, anger and insecurity.
He believes that compassion is the ultimate source of success in life and that it can give us the strength to cope with life’s inevitable difficulties and every day ups and downs. The key to developing compassion is to remember that it is not just ourselves who undergo problems and suffering.
We can strive to develop genuine sympathy for our fellow human beings, he says, as we recognize that others have been through and are going though similar difficulties. This increases our sense of interdependence and connection with others.
"It is because our own human existence is so dependent on the help of others that our need for love lies at the very foundation of our existence," says the Dalai Lama as he describes how we need to generate a sense of concern and responsibility for the welfare of others.
Unconditional Love for Others Decreases Depression
Depression is often characterised by feelings of isolation and withdrawal. The affection and respect of those around us are essential to our wellbeing. Many studies have shown that caring for a pet can help to lift symptoms of depression as pets display unconditional love, help us to respond positively and transform out of depression.
So how do we transform our thoughts and behavior? According to the Dalai Lama, it is important to be clear about what we mean by compassion. He describes how feelings of desire and attachment are all too often mistaken for compassion. Genuine loving kindness does not come from personal emotional needs but rather from the unconditional concern for another individual.
Universal Altruism and Empathy
The Dalai Lama teaches that when we can recognize that all beings are "equal in both their desire for happiness and their right to obtain it,’ we naturally feel closer to them and our empathy is generated automatically as we wish people well.
The practice of Metta Bhavana or loving kindness meditation can help us to actively generate these positive emotional states. Read more here.
Sources:
Kathleen Doheny, 'Pets for Depression and Health', WebMD, 18th August 2010, Accessed 14th August 2011
Tenzin Gyatso; The Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet, 'Compassion and the Individual', Dalailama.com, Accessed 14th August 2011
Josie Budd - Hi, I am a writer, personal growth blogger, photographer, meditator and mother based in Glastonbury, UK. As a writer and science graduate, ...
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