February 23, 2010
NOVA Southeastern University
“The Effects of Compassion on the Global Community”
written by Bonnie Yonker
As the Dalai Lama walked on stage with a huge warm smile, he was greeted with honor and respect. His holiness reminded us that “race, nationality, religious faith, profession, social background, I always consider secondary. The first, most important: we are the same, same human beings.” These words set the intention for the next 75 minutes as HH emphasized that compassion is the key to peace.
Through meditation, “you can heal your own mental state. If basic mental attitude is healthy, we won’t be disturbed by the external,” just like if our immune system is healthy we won’t catch every little cold. About 90% of negativity is mental projection, not reality. Attitudes such as hatred and jealousy should be replaced with compassion. When the mind is calm, we can see reality more clearly. Meditation helps us to maintain a balanced state of mind.
When facing tragedy or difficulty, try to look at it from a different perspective. Imagine you were an outsider looking in and act accordingly. Many of our difficulties lie outside of our control. “If there’s a problem with a solution, no need to worry about it. If no solution, then again, no need to worry!”
Use a daily meditation practice to heal your own mental state, even through daily acts of forgiveness or kindness to others. If you set the intentions daily, traces of this calm will carry with you throughout the day.
A Precious Human Life
“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive; I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all human beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others; I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
– HH, the 14th Dalai Lama