Dalai Lama (14th) — "Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Dalai Lama (14th)
"It is under the greatest adversity that there is the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others."
"We need to understand that inner peace is the key to world peace."
"Sometimes I think I am a little bit naughty, a little bit mischievous."
"I consider myself a simple Buddhist monk. My life is not complicated."
"I think the modern world is too much focused on material things. We need to focus more on spiritual values."
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
Kindness isn't reserved for convenient moments or easy relationships — it's a constant choice available in every interaction. The second sentence directly dismantles the excuse that circumstances make kindness impossible. Whether you're dealing with strangers, opponents, or people who've wronged you, the capacity to be kind remains yours. It frames cruelty or indifference not as an unavoidable response to difficulty, but as a deliberate decision.
Relevance to Dalai Lama (14th)
Tenzin Gyatso has lived in exile since China's annexation of Tibet in 1959, watching his homeland's culture systematically dismantled. Yet he refuses to advocate hatred toward Chinese leaders, grounding his resistance entirely in compassion — the Buddhist principle of karuna. He won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for this stance. His entire teaching ministry frames compassion not as weakness but as the most powerful and practical force available to humans facing injustice.
The era
The 20th and 21st centuries have been marked by Cold War ideological warfare, genocide, nuclear threat, and rising social media tribalism that makes dehumanizing opponents easier than ever. In this context — an era of Tibetan persecution, global terrorism, and political polarization — insisting kindness is always possible is a radical counter-claim. It challenges cultures that normalize cruelty as pragmatism, retaliation as justice, and indifference as self-preservation.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].