chaoticollection

Today I was lucky enough (along with many other Loyola University Chicago students) to hear His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama give a lecture on interfaith collaboration. Though his accent was heavy, I could easily tell how influential and inspiring he is and I even caught a few worthwhile quotes that I wanted to share:

More on the serious side…

“We all deserve a happy life.”

“The ultimate source of happiness, joyfulness and satisfaction is within yourself.”

“All religions have the same mission: bring meaning to life.”

“Keep warmheartedness.” —this might be my favorite one

“Respect all religions and respect all non-believers.”

“What is God’s message? A message of love.”

“Be yourself. Create inner peace. Then share it with family and friends.”

“Peace is not achieved through prayer and meditation. Peace is achieved through action and effort.”

“We must extend our love to all.”

“If you accept God, be honest, truthful, compassionate.”

“Skepticism brings investigation; investigation brings answers.”

“Be more compassionate—our life started that way.”

“A calm mind is very important for life.”

“Globalization was bound to happen.”

His endearing side…

“That’s foolish!”

“I don’t know…” —in response to a student’s question. If the Dalai Lama doesn’t know, we’re in trouble!

“Oh, you need some chair!” —to the Dean of Arts & Sciences after realizing that he had been standing for awhile. He then invited the dean to sit with him on his chair and continuted to hold his hand throughout the rest of his lecture

“Want a sweet? Keep, keep!” —he randomly pulled out a piece of candy from his satchel and offered it to the dean…

“I should shorten my answers!” —when realizing that time was running out and there were still multiple selected students to ask him questions

All in all it was quite the experience. I’m honored to know I was in his presence!