2023/02/18
Ethics for the new millennium : Search "god" inside (6 results)
** Dalai Lama, Ethics for the new millennium : Search "spiritual" (47 results)
Search "spiritual" (47 results)
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"Although claiming to be only a simple human being, he is known the world over as a tireless worker for peace, a great spiritual teacher, and a man with a gift for conveying great truths in a manner accessible to all. His combination of genuine warmth, infectious sense of humor, penetrating intellect, and disarming humility have won him many friends and admirers throughout the world." — Senator Claiborne Pell
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"There is great value in reading the basic spiritual values of this unique world figure and Tibetan spiritual leader: human qualities of goodness, compassion, and caring." — The Christian Science Monitor
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Having lost my country at the age of sixteen and become a refugee at twenty-four, I have faced a great many difficulties during the course of my life. When I consider these, I see that a lot of them were insurmountable. Not only were they unavoidable, they were incapable of favor- able resolution. Nonetheless, in terms of my own peace of mind and physical health, I can claim to have coped reasonably well. As a result, I have been able to meet adversity with all my resources — mental, physical, and spiritual. I could not have done so otherwise. Had I been overwhelmed by anxiety and despaired, my health would have been harmed. I would also have been constrained in my actions.
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The reader should, however, bear in mind that my formal learning has been of an entirely religious and spiritual character. Since my youth, my chief (and continuing) field of study has been Buddhist philosophy and psychology. In particular, I have studied the works of the religious philosophers of the Geluk tradition to which, by tradition, the Dalai Lamas have belonged. Being a firm believer in religious pluralism, I have also studied the principal works of other Buddhist traditions. But I have had comparatively little exposure to modern, secu- lar thought. Yet this is not a religious book. Still less is it a book about Buddhism. My aim has been to appeal for an approach to ethics based on universal rather than religious principles.
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We need also to recognize what happens when we rely too much on the external achievements of science. For example, as the influence of religion declines, there is mounting confusion with respect to the problem of how best we are to conduct ourselves in life. In the past, religion and ethics were closely intertwined. Now, many people, believing that science has "disproven" religion, make the further assumption that because there appears to be no final evidence for any spiritual authority, morality itself must be a matter of individual preference. And whereas in the past, scientists and philosophers felt a pressing need to find solid foundations on which to establish immutable laws and absolute truths, nowadays this kind of re-
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revolution is called for, certainly. But not a political, an economic, or even a technical revolution. We have had enough experience of these during the past century to know that a purely external approach will not suffice. What I propose is a spiritual revolution.
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In calling for a spiritual revolution, am I advocating a religious solution to our problems after all? No. As someone nearing seventy years of age at the time of writ- ing, I have accumulated enough experience to be completely confident that the teachings of the Buddha are both relevant and useful to humanity. If a person puts them into practice, it is certain that not only they but others, too, will benefit. My meetings with many different sorts of people the world over have, however, helped me realize that there are other faiths, and other cultures, no less capable than mine of enabling individuals to lead constructive and satisfying lives. What is more, I have come to the conclusion that whether or not a person is a religious believer does not matter much. Far more important is that they be a good human being.
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Actually, I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality.
- love and compassion,
- patience, tolerance,
- forgiveness,
- contentment,
- a sense of responsibility,
- a sense of harmony
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Those who practice religion would, of course, be right to say that
- such qualities, or virtues, are fruits of genuine religious endeavor and that
- religion therefore has everything to do with developing them and
- with what may be called spiritual practice.
- on the one hand, 1] acting out of concern for others' well-being.
- On the other, it entails 2] transforming ourselves so that we become more readily disposed to do so.
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My call for a spiritual revolution is thus
- not a call for a religious revolution.
- Nor is it a reference to a way of life that is somehow otherworldly,
- still less to something magical or mysterious.
- Rather, it is a call for a radical reorientation away from our habitual preoccupation with self.
- It is a call to turn toward the wider community of beings with whom we are connected,
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Here the reader may object that while the transformation of character that such a reorientation implies is certainly desirable, and while it is good that people develop compassion and love,
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Or imagine a situation where we inconvenience another in some small way, perhaps by bumping into them accidentally while walking along, and they shout at us for being careless.
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We find that
- the more we succeed in transforming our hearts and minds through cultivating spiritual qualities,
- the better able we will be to cope with adversity and
- the greater the likelihood that our actions will be ethically wholesome
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My description in this chapter of the relationship between ethics and spirituality does not address the question of how we are to resolve ethical dilemmas.
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Before considering what a spiritual and ethical revolution might consist in,
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Let us now consider the nature of what I have characterized as genuine happiness.
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There is thus an important distinction to be made between what we might call ethical and spiritual acts.
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What does this tell us?
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opment of compassion a key role.
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The first thing, then — because the spiritual qualities conducive to compassion entail positive ethical conduct — is to cultivate a habit of inner discipline. Now I cannot deny that this is a major undertaking, but at least we are familiar with the
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principle. For example, knowing its destructive potential, we restrain both ourselves and our children from indulging in drug abuse. However, it is important to recognize that restrain- ing our response to negative thoughts and emotions is not a matter of just suppressing them: insight into their destructive nature is crucial.
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genuinely happy, inner restraint is indispensable.
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not just a person's physical constitution, nor their intelligence, nor their education, nor even their social conditioning which enables them to withstand hardship.
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Forbearance and also fortitude (courage in the face of adversity) are two words which come quite close to describing so pa at its first level. But when a person develops it more, there comes composure in adversity, a sense of being unperturbed, reflecting a voluntary acceptance of hardship in pursuit of a higher, spiritual, aim. This involves accepting the reality of a given situation through recognizing that underlying its particularity, there is a vastly complex web of interrelated causes and conditions.
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Here I should perhaps add that if humility is not to be con- fused with lack of confidence, still less has it anything to do with a sense of worthlessness. Lack of a proper recognition of one's own value is always harmful and can lead to a state of mental, emotional, and spiritual paralysis. Under such circum- stances, the individual may even come to hate themselves, al- though I must admit that the concept of self-hatred seemed incoherent when it was first explained to me by some Western psychologists. It seemed to contradict the principle that our fundamental desire is to be happy and to avoid suffering. But I
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Now I am not suggesting that each individual must attain these advanced states of spiritual development in order to lead an ethically wholesome life.
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Compassion and love are not mere luxuries.
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As to the possibility that suffering has some actual purpose, we will not go into that here. But to the extent that our experience of suffering reminds us of what all others also endure, it serves as a powerful injunction to practice compassion and refrain from causing others pain.
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In our survey of ethics and spiritual development, we have spoken a great deal about the need for discipline.
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So far as the ethical character of a given action is concerned, we have seen how this is dependent on a great many factors. Time and circumstance have an important bearing on the mat- ter.
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Of course, it will not always be possible to devote time to careful discernment. Sometimes we have to act at once. This is why our spiritual development is of such critical importance in ensuring that our actions are ethically sound.
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Cultivating contentment is therefore crucial to maintaining peaceful coexistence.
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A sense of responsibility toward all others also means that, both as individuals and as a society of individuals, we have a duty to care for each member of our society.
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Saying this, I trust it is clear that I am not calling on everyone to renounce their present way of life and adopt some new rule or way of thinking.
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Before doing so, I must stress that the views I express are personal.
- for compassion,
- for basic spiritual values,
- for inner discipline
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The human mind (lo) is both the source and, properly directed, the solution to all our problems.
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So far as the application of economic policy is concerned, the same considerations apply here as to every human activity.
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This is an important aspect of what I have called universal responsibility. But before examining the matter in detail, it is perhaps worth considering the question of whether religion is really relevant in the modern world. Many people argue that it is not. Now I have observed that religious belief is not a pre- condition either of ethical conduct or of happiness itself. I have also suggested that whether a person practices religion or not, the spiritual qualities of love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, humility, and so on are indispensable.
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How then might we bring about the harmony that is necessary to overcome interreligious conflict?
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When exchanges like these occur, followers of one tradition will find that, just as in the case of their own, the teachings of others faiths are a source both of spiritual inspiration and of ethical guidance to their followers.
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To my way of thinking, the diversity that exists among the various religious traditions is enormously enriching.
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Given the diversity to be found among individual human beings, it is of course bound to be the case that out of many millions of practitioners of a particular religion, a handful will find that another religion's approach to ethics and spiritual development is more satisfactory.
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compassionate and disciplined, how can we expect it of others?
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Therefore, with my two hands joined, I appeal to you the reader to ensure that you
- make the rest of your life as meaningful as possible.
- Do this by engaging in spiritual practice if you can.
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From the Nobel laureate and author of the NewYork Times best- seller The Art of Happiness comes a passionate and exquisitely argued call for a spiritual and ethical revolution.
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"The Dalai Lama illustrates his argument with examples from his extraordinary life, showing the same humility and gentle self- deprecation that make him such a popular speaker and spiritual
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Dalai Lama is the spiritual and temporal leader or tireless efforts on behalf of human rights and it him international recognition. He is a recip- \ward (conferred by the U.S. Con^ ion), the Albert Schweitzer Award, and the
the Dalai Lama's framework for moral living (Dalai Lama Foundation Course)
- Introduction
I Foundations
1 The Modern Quest for Happiness
2 Towards a Spiritual Revolution
3 The Nature of Reality
4 The Reality of Suffering
5 The Pursuit of Happiness
6 The Emotional Roots of Ethics
7 Restraining Our Emotions
8 Cultivating Skillful Means
9 The Practice of Compassion
10 Bringing Compassion and Insight to Non-Harming
III Into the World
11 Living in An Interdependent World
12 Compassionate Society
13 An Ethic of Peace
14 Taking the Path of Ethical Compassion
15 Living Compassion
Further Study
Introduction
1 of 3
In this course you will explore the Dalai Lama's framework for moral living. It rests on the observation that those whose conduct is ethically positive are happier and more satisfied and the belief that much of the unhappiness we humans endure is actually of our own making. Its ultimate goal is happiness for every individual, based on universal rather than religious principles.
Compassion, love, and altruism are not just religious qualities. As human beings, and even as animals, we need compassion and affection to develop, sustain ourselves, and survive. What is the purpose of life? I believe that satisfaction, joy, and happiness are the ultimate purposes of life. And the basic sources of happiness are a good heart, compassion and love.
According to the Dalai Lama our survival has depended and will continue to depend on our basic goodness as human beings. Today, with the growing secularization and globalization of society, we must find a way to establish consensus as to what constitutes positive and negative conduct — what is right and wrong, what is appropriate and inappropriate.
That way is what the Dalai Lama calls global ethics. How do we live in this positive way? By learning to cultivate compassion and altruism.
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Cultivating altruism — our aspiration
Despite the amazing advances in technology in the modern world, humans do not appear to have made comparable progress socially or emotionally, as is evidenced by our current epidemics of war, crime, violence, mental illness and substance addiction. In fact, our emphasis on economic and technological progress may be directly related to the social and familial ills we see in modern society.
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The Dalai Lama offers us a profound blueprint for reorienting ourselves towards that which really matters. At the heart of what matters is the reality that everyone aspires to achieve happiness and avoid suffering.
Happiness derives not from wealth or progress but from an inner peace, one that each one of us must create for ourselves by cultivating the most profound human qualities such as empathy, humility and compassion, and by eliminating destructive thoughts and emotions such as anger and hatred.
From the foundation of such an an inner peace we can develop ethical discipline founded on true compassion, a motivation to practice love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness toward all, even those who would harm us.
For the Dalai Lama, we act ethically when we do what we know will bring happiness to ourselves and others. When we act towards others with a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of all life, we recognize that everything we do affects others, that everything we do has a universal dimension.
In this course we explore some of the ways we can develop our heart and mind, cultivating a motivation to contribute to the well-being of others. How do we develop such compassion? We learn to cultivate those qualities such as empathy that contribute to inner peace and to eliminate the negative emotions which are obstacles to compassion.
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Working with this course: global ethics and personal ethics
Faced with the challenge of establishing genuine world peace and preserving the bountiful earth, what can we do? Beautiful words are no longer enough. We should instead embark on the difficult task of building an attitude of love and compassion within ourselves.
As you will see in this course, the path to an ethical society and world is the development of compassion and altruism in each one of us. This course offers you an opportunity to explore such a path for yourself. To encourage and guide you in this process, this course offers numerous opportunities to stop reading and reflect on and examine in your own life, in your own mind, and in your own heart what you have been learning. We call these "reflections."
To aid you in this path of reflection and examination, you can keep an online journal as you work with this course. Just click the journal button on the left and create a new entry for each reflection.
In this course
The course is organized into three modules
In the first module you investigate the foundations of altruism and ethics: the quest for happiness, seeing the true nature of reality, the truth of suffering and the nature of emotions.
In the second module you look more closely at how to begin to cultivate the qualities of an ethical life such as empathy, patience and compassion, as well as how to counter negative emotions with restraint.
In the third module you explore how the qualities of compassion, loving-kindness, and empathy can naturally lead us to work not just for our own self, family, or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind.
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In the first module of this course we explore the groundwork for an altruistic life. For the Dalai Lama, the foundation of altruism, compassion, and ethics is the observation that we all naturally desire happiness and freedom from suffering. Ethical actions, therefore, are those that support, not hinder, others' pursuit of happiness.
But what is happiness? If we are going to pursue happiness for ourselves and others, we need to understand what true happiness is — what is genuine happiness and what is the relationship of inner peace and happiness to ethics and spirituality. In this module we explore:
The nature of happiness
The inevitability of suffering and identifying suffering that we can transcend
Spirituality and ethical practice — going beyond religion
Understanding reality as a foundation for happiness
The realm of human emotion — our innate capacity for empathy and loving-kindness as well as for destructive emotions such as hatred, anger, and jealousy
The motivation for empathy and kindness
Our universal aspirationThe Dalai Lama, having traveled all over the world and having met people from every walk of life, sees in all people a shared aspiration to be happy and to avoid suffering. I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affect this. From the very core of our being, we simply desire contentment. I don't know whether the universe, with its countless galaxies, stars and planets, has a deeper meaning or not, but at the very least, it is clear that we humans who live on this earth face the task of making a happy life for ourselves. Therefore, it is important to discover what will bring about the greatest degree of happiness.
Universal yet, paradoxically, different
While everyone, everywhere, aspires and strives to better their lives , the Dalai Lama observes the paradox that those living in technologically and economically "developed" societies appear to actually be less happy and to suffer more than people living in less developed (agrarian) societies. This is not to say that those in less developed cultures do not suffer more from disease or physical ailments or hunger. But in developed countries people have become so absorbed in accumulating wealth that, while appearing to live agreeable lives, they are vexed with mental and emotional suffering. Through highly developed science and technology, we have reached an advanced level of material progress that is both useful and necessary. Yet, if you compare the external progress with our internal progress, it is quite clear that our internal progress is inadequate. In many countries, crises — murders, wars and terrorism — are chronic. People complain about the decline in morality and the rise in criminal activity. Although in external matters we are highly developed and continue to progress, at the same time it is equally important to develop and progress in terms of inner development.
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Modern society — autonomy and dissatisfaction
This paradox whereby inner - or we could say psychological and emotional - suffering is so often found amid material wealth is readily apparent throughout much of the West.
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The Dalai Lama observes that modern society has taken us away from dependence upon one another for support. Modern life is arranged so as to minimize direct dependence on others.
While not negating the important merits of advanced technology and science, the resultant autonomy has led to a sense of independence — our welfare, in the present and the future, is no longer dependent on those we live with but rather on our jobs or our employer.
The self-propelled machine
Observing modern industrial society, the Dalai Lama sees people who have lost their sense of community and belonging. Isolation and "independence" have replaced togetherness and interdependence:
Like a huge self-propelled machine. Instead of human beings in charge, each individual is a tiny, insignificant component with no choice but to move when the machine moves.
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The Dalai Lama values the advantages of technological and material advances, and sees their benefits for all people, including Tibetans. But he wants us to recognize the psychological and emotional affects that have accompanied the abandonment of traditional belief systems. It's not either - or.
The Dalai Lama points out as an example the disease and health problems that accompany poor sanitation in the underdeveloped world. But while we are free of these in the developed world:
. . . instead of water-borne diseases, we find stress-related disease.
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My happiness is my priority
Modern culture emphasizes self-reliance and self gratification. Happiness is defined by what "I" have and/or have accomplished.
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We no longer see our neighbor as relevant to our future well being, the Dalai Lama observes.
We have created a society in which people find it harder and harder to show one another basic affection. This in turn encourages us to suppose that because others are not important for my happiness, their happiness is not important to me.
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