The notes below are designed to give prospective readers an idea of what to expect from the book, and to aid in making a decision on whether to buy it.
Ethics for the New Millennium,
His Holiness The Dalai Lama
This is an excellent book by The Dalai Lama, but I found it to be perhaps just a bit too prescriptive for me towards the end, but the start is solid. There are a lot of notes here, but feel free to skim through them and take from them as much as you can.
General Notes
If we can reorient our thoughts and emotions and reorder our behavior, suffering can be reduced and a great deal of it will not arise in the first place.
The best I can do to is to try to help them by sharing in their suffering. We all desire to be happy and to avoid suffering. Those in developed countries are less satisfied, less happy, and to some extent suffer more.
Isolation in big, modern cities results in depression. Is progress more opulent houses in more cities with more cars?
There is a paradox of inner suffering despite external wealth throughout the West. People find it harder and harder to show each other basic affection and are tied to their employer not their neighbor.
Contemporary rhetoric of growth tends towards envy.
We overlook the limitations of modern science, which cannot show us how consciousness works.
Rural communities enjoy great harmony and tranquility. People today are more accepting of diversity and more aware of others which are both positives.
The neglect of the inner dimension is what causes suffering.
Being a good human being is far more important than being a religious believer. Worlds major religions are all directed towards how to achieve lasting happiness. Religion is concerned with salvation, spirituality and is concerned with the dimensions of the human spirit.
Shen pen kyi sem = “the thought to be of help to others.”
Violence at home, drugs, and alcohol are all spiritual problems and may be suited to a spiritual solution.
Religious belief is no guarantee of moral integrity.
Kun long = “that which drives or inspires actions” motivation/disposition/state of heart and mind.
Ten Del = “dependent origination.” All is created with cause and effect within a difficult and complex web of interrelated causes and conditions. It also points to the mutual dependence between the parts and the whole. Finally, all phenomena can be understood as dependently originated as they depend upon one another. There is no present—the time has already passed.
Each act we undertake may have impacts for others and for the world.
Quantum physics and probability theory point to the dependent origination of phenomena, which makes it difficult to distinguish clearly between the observer of an object and the object itself.
‘My’ interests and ‘Your’ interests converge.
Accept that all is more complex and speak of fewer absolutes. It is in everyone’s interests to avoid suffering and find happiness.
We all desire to be happy and not to suffer. An ethical act is one that does not harm others’ happiness.
Happiness is a relative quality, meaning different things make different people happy.
A spiritual act is one that enhances our love, compassion, patience, forgiveness, humility, and tolerance and is based upon some level of concern for others’ wellbeing.
Spiritual acts make our lives meaningful.
Humans are the only animals who experience happiness at a deeper level.
Fulfilling our sensory desires is like taking too many drugs - it will harm us and we forgo a chance at greater fulfillment which involves sensuality.
Inner peace cannot be undermined. Also, good friends, health, freedom, and prosperity are helpful, but no external factor can create inner peace. It comes from our basic attitude.
When we desire things only because they bring us enjoyment, they tend to bring more problems.
We survive in a society where we are dependent upon others.
Altruistic actions bring us happiness and lessen our suffering.
When we worry less about ourselves, the experience of our suffering is less intense.
Shen dug ngal wa la mi so pa “the inability to bear the sign of another’s suffering.”
We have the need for others’ kindness, which is most apparent when we are young and old.
Humans are the only animals that can smile.
A happy mother bears a happy child. Infants can feel their mother’s feelings.
Where there is consciousness, hatred, ignorance, and violence arise, although our nature is disposed towards kindness and compassion.
Our innate capacity for empathy is the most precious human quality.
The more we develop compassion, the more ethical our conduct will develop.
When our intention towards others is good, our security is reduced.
We are all brothers and sisters. When we act out of concern for others, the peak this creates in our hearts bring peace to everyone we associate with.
Friendships are a result of compassion.
To develop happiness, we should restrain those factors which inhibit compassion and cultivate those which are conducive to compassion.
The undisciplined man is like the elephant; out of control he will wreak havoc.
Think of our mind like the water in a lake, it’s clear but mud gets in there sometimes. We need to let the mud settle.
If we keep others’ interests before our own, our acts will be positive.
Mind is the president of the body and our thoughts are like advisors (some good, some bad).
Fear is the most dangerous and negative emotion that can overwhelm and paralyze us.
Nyong mong “afflictive emotion.”
The impact of our actions develops within us.
There is a high degree of probability that discomfort will be felt by the torturer.
First step to avoid negative thoughts and emotions is to avoid situations that give rise to them.
Pay close attention to our body and how we think and feel, being on the outlook for the slightest negativity. Negative thoughts and emotions undermine our health.
Those we dislike are just like us; suffering human beings who wish to be happy.
The angrier we are, the more people shun us. When angry we tend towards rage, spite, hatred, and malice. Anger causes both embarrassment and suffering. We lose inner peace when angry. Danger arises when anger becomes vengeful and malicious. No one ever said anger brings happiness.
Like compassion, anger can never be used up. They both have a propensity to increase like a river flooding in summer when the snow melts.
Negative thoughts and emotions undermine the cause of happiness.
When we become angry, we use harsh words, which can destroy friendships.
It is better to confront a person than to let anger brood away and have resentment in our hearts.
My interests and future happiness are closely connected with others and learning to act accordingly.
If we are to be genuinely happy, inner restraint is indispensable.
Ethic of virtue requires cultivating and reinforcing our positive qualities.
Compassion (nying je) is first and second is so pa which is the ability to bear or patience. People in prison with so pa have concern about their jailers. This ability enables them to endure hardship and is resolute forbearance in the face of adversity. So pa should never be confused with passivity. It safeguards our inner composure to allow us to have a stronger non-violent response.
With old age it is far better to accept it than to fret as nothing can be done to change it. The first step is to notice negative thoughts and emotions. The second step is to apply the brakes with patience (e.g. 20 breaths, a walk, etc.).
When so pa is combined with our ability to separate action from agent, forgiveness arises naturally. So pa acts as a powerful antidote to affliction of anger. So pa is obtained through adversity.
Three things involve us with mean words:
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The words that hurt
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The person uttering them
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Impulses that drive them
Why do we only get angry at the person? Under different circumstances this person could become a good friend perhaps.
The first step to overcome anxiety is to shift the attention away from the self and toward others, as the scale of our problems diminish.
Giving benefits the giver as much as the receiver, especially when done without any expectation of reward. Humility should not be confused with lack of confidence.
Lack of proper recognition of one’s own value is always harmful.
Important to have disclosure to help develop an attitude of regret or repentance. Developing this value is as difficult as driving a donkey uphill whereas destructive activities are as easy as rolling a boulder downhill.
Must not allow ourselves to be put off by the magnitude of others’ suffering. Just take it little by little, don’t expect all changes to occur overnight.
Routine helps. The ocean is formed drop by drop.
Happiness arises from virtuous causes.
All of the world’s major religions stress the importance of cultivating love and compassion. Compassion is empathy to be developed into an unconditional, undifferentiated, and universal scope. The resulting equanimity is a springboard to love still great.
Nying je chenmo “great compassion.”
Relationships based only upon attraction are unstable.
Our compassion will not depend upon some fact but is universal. Compassion is a foundation for restraint and virtue.
Compassion and love are needed for our species to survive. Ethically wholesome activities arise naturally with compassion.
In time our hair falls out, our teeth fall out, and we lose our eyesight and hearing.
Pleasure only in so far as they prevent suffering (e.g. eating to nourish), but if we do not stop over doing it, it will harm us.
Contentment is essential if we are to be happy.
What we think, say, do, desire, and omit creates karma.
Old age, sickness, and death are inevitable, but we choose how we respond to them.
Feeling helpless or angry only embitters the heart.
When you find a problem, examine it, analyze it, determine its causes, and then think about how to solve it. Nothing within the realm of what we experience is permanent. Our suffering reminds us of what others also endure.
Ethical discipline is something we adopt on our own, seeing its possible benefits.
I desire to be happy and so does everyone else.
Skillful means to make sure our deeds are motivated by compassion.
Insight refers to our critical facilities and how we adjust, wise discernment.
Sexual misconduct has a tendency to become obsessive and can have negative impacts on a family including children as well as result in an unwanted pregnancy.
When we live on a mountain of gold, some of it rubs off on us: the same holds for a mountain of dirt.
The keys are compassion and insight.
A dying person departs as serenity and peacefully as possible.
We must take responsibility for our motives.
Today’s ethical reality is so complex, so clearly interconnected. Chi Sem “Universal consciousness.”
Duty to serve all sentient beings in every universe. If we see an opportunity to benefit others, we will take it over an ability to benefit our narrow interests.
Understanding the oneness of the human family.
We have enough problems; all facing death, old age, sickness, and perpetual disappointments. Basically we are all the same.
Cultivating contentment is critical to maintaining peaceful coexistence. Lack of contentment leads to greed, envy, and aggressive competition.
Today’s perpetual economic growth creates social and environmental problems.
Justice entails a requirement to act when we become aware of injustice. Occasionally it will become necessary to take risks to benefit the wider community. We each have a duty to care for each member of our society.
We must avoid the urge to shut away those who are grievously afflicted as if they were a burden. To push them away would be to heap suffering upon suffering. We need one another.
Through developing an attitude of responsibility towards others we can begin to create the kinder, more compassionate world we all dream of.
All human endeavor is potentially great and noble.
A life of luxury is spoiling.
We only have one stomach. There is a limit to how much we can eat. We only have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs. No need for 100 rings. The appropriate use of wealth is philanthropic giving.
We must educate our children to be responsible and caring. Luxurious living is inappropriate.
The world will change when each individual makes the attempt to counter the negative thoughts and emotions and when we practice compassion regardless of whether we have a direct relationship with the person or not.
Young people have a natural enthusiasm for justice and tend to have more flexible minds.
Children constitute humanities most precious resource.
The human mind (lo) is both the source and, when properly directed, the solution to all of our problems.
Kids who see parents flighting will start to think it’s normal after a while.
We must try to avoid presenting others in a negative light.
Humans are the only species that we know of with the power to destroy the earth as we know it.
Compassion inspires all of our actions.
The relationship between empathy and profit is a necessarily fragile one.
Those who run the world’s largest companies are human beings too. The more interdependent our economic relationships become, the more interdependent our political relationships become.
Humanity’s love of peace, justice, and freedom always triumphs over cruelty and oppression.
Violence only means one thing: suffering.
Peace in the world depends upon the hearts of individuals.
Our society portrays warfare as something exciting and even glamorous not as an association with criminality like it should be. Injustice undermines trust, and without trust there can be no lasting peace.
The ultimate goal must be the abolition of all military apparatus. We can start with Auschwitz oven makers took pride in their work but are precisely the same as modern day weapons makers.
Perhaps we could start with Zones of Peace, where parts of one or more country(s) disarm.
The weakness of the UN is that it gives no voices to individual citizens who are marginalized within a government. Perhaps a new World Council of the People could become a moral advisor without binding authority.
People who develop firm faith are better at coping with adversity. Important to have dialogue between faith traditions.
Buddhis gather under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya in India for prayers, meditation, and dialogue.
All the world’s major religions are focused on helping individuals be good human beings by emphasizing love, compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, humility, and so on. They do not live luxuriously but voluntarily accept suffering without consideration to the hardship involved.
Buddhism is not the best for everyone.
Religion is medicine for the human spirit.
Each religion can offer positive contributions to humanity.
When we make mistakes, we cannot turn back the clock. All we can do is to use the present well.
The best way to approach death is without remorse.
We should conduct ourselves responsibly and with compassion for others. We cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion. Our own hearth, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion.
Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who they are: ultimately these are all we need.
Don’t neglect to confront negative thoughts and emotions. Lasting satisfaction cannot be derived from the acquisition of objects.
Indulgence in sensual pleasure is nothing but a gateway to suffering.
Make the rest of your life as meaningful as possible. Little by little, step by step, you will gradually reorder your habits and attitudes.
Relinquish your envy, let go of your desire to triumph over others. Instead, try to benefit them.
Be straightforward. Try to be impartial. Treat everyone as if they were a close friend.
If you cannot help others, at least don’t harm them. Consider yourself to be a tourist.
Closing Buddhist Prayer
“May I become at all times, both now and forever a protector for those without protection, a guide for those who have lost their way, a ship for those with oceans to cross, a bridge for those with rivers to cross, a sanctuary for those in danger, a lamp for those without light, a place of refuge for those who lack shelter, and a servant to all in need.”