Instructions for Life
Instructions for Life
Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Follow the three R’s:
Respect for self,
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Spend some time alone every day.
Open your arms to change , but don’t let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good honorable life.
Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation, don’t bring up the past.
Share your knowledge, it’s a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
Dalai Lama
Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Follow the three R’s:
Respect for self,
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Spend some time alone every day.
Open your arms to change , but don’t let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good honorable life.
Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation, don’t bring up the past.
Share your knowledge, it’s a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
Dalai Lama
posted by Vince Hemingson at 7:52 PM
6 Comments:
So, if the Dalai Lama makes such good sense... how come we ignore his advice? Because it goes against our ego's mandate. Maybe it would be better if we were conscious of how our egos try to get away with the exact opposite of what the D.L. says. Then at least we'd know where we honestly stand. Then we'd know how ill-fated we are as a species -- and maybe then -- maybe only then we'll panic enough to change our ways. Whadayathink?
Who is "WE"? We is a very all-encompassing statement.
And the Dalai Lama also says they are "instructions" for life.
So are the "Ten Commandments", which in and of themselves are not a bad philosophy as a way to lead a good and honourable life.
And ego? Ego and sense of self are parts of our identity and character that evolve as we experience life. And hopefully learn a few lessons along the way.
All of us act in our own self interest.
Or at least we think we do. Sometimes we do things that we think are good for ourselves, but that are actually harmful to our self-interest.
And as you attain some maturity in life you begin to recognize that some behavior is harmful, not only to ourselves, but to our relationships with others.
Relationships that we are dependent on. At that point, hopefully we modify our behavior, because even though we are acting out of a sense of self-interest, it is in our self-interest to be nice to others, or kind, or polite, because it makes our lives EASIER and WORK BETTER.
Why do some people continually overtrain and stay in a state of permanent semi-injury?
They have not yet learned the lesson that sometimes in order to run fast - first you must run slow. A fancy way of saying you need to build an aerobic base - for many weeks - before doing speed and strength workouts.
Life is about acquiring knowledge and experience.
The Dalai Lama's "Instructions for Life", could just as easily be instructions for runners, and are meant to help us stop and think - "Is what I am about to do, really the best thing for me?"
Sometimes renunciation and denial - something that to the ego is unthinkable - is actually good for us in the long run...
You are an interesting set of contradictions, Mr. Hemingson.
It is interesting to try to reconcile the Vince who sounds so wise, with the Vince who barks at people.
The barking almost always comes after I say something nicely the first time, complete with "Please and Thank You".
And when I fail to make an impression the first time with what I say, my second and third requests tend to sharpen in tone.
And I doubt you have seen my bite.
Having never been barked at, perhaps only because I've never met Vince in person, I was ready to defend him on the principle that that hard won wisdom should be taken seriously. I guess part of me falls into the "if you are talking to someone who doesn't speak English, speak really loudly and slowly" theory of communication.
As a fairly stubborn person, I know that there will be points on which Vince and I will disagree when we meet. So, I guess that I will be barked at in a bar in Boston next April!
Scooter,
I only "bark" when I have to repeat myself more than two or three times.
And giving instructions is a completely different category than disagreeing over ideas and principles.
In fact, I would defend to the death, your right to be wrong. As for barking in Boston, I hope rather to be howling at the Moon!
Best, Vince
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