Have A Good Heart

These words of wisdom come from the Dalai Lama. They teach us that it is very crucial to have a good heart.

It is essential to know that to be a happy person, a happy family, a happy society, it is very crucial to have a good heart, that is very crucial. World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just the absence of violence but the manifestation of human compassion.– Dalai Lama

There are many quotes from the Dalai Lama on this website, and I think this one is special. This is because a while ago, there was an article called A Wise and Understanding Heart, which is the story of my Bar Mitzva (a rite of passage for a Jewish boy at the age of 13). I asked god for “A wise and understanding heart to discern between good and evil.”

At the time, I did not know what I was asking for. I was just reading the words that the rabbi wrote by rote (:) pun intended!) I was required to learn my speech by heart and speak it before the entire congregation.

Now that I am a teacher of mindfulness meditation, I recognize the value of this haunting verse.

Reading the Dalai Lama’s statement, I realize that in addition to a wise and understanding heart, or, as he put it, “have a good heart,” I recognize the importance of practicing and manifesting “human compassion.”

For example, my morning practice usually consists of a period of time when I manifest a feeling of compassion and shower loving kindness blessings on myself, my wife, my children, the rest of my birth family (brothers, sisters, and their children), and especially the people I know who are suffering from illness, grief, fear, anxiety, or anything else.

You can learn to develop compassion by using these verses:

May I  be at peace.
May my heart remain open.
May I know the beauty and the radiance of my own true nature.
May I be healthy.
May I be happy.

Practice these for yourself for a while and then shower these loving kindness blessings on the rest of the people in your life and all sentient beings.

What makes you a happy person? Is it because you have a good heart? Is it because you are at peace with yourself and the world? Is it because you manifest human compassion? Please share.