TIME flows

Time flows; no one can stop time. Use time properly, meaningfully, sensibly. Don’t use time for destructive purposes. Minute by minute, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year and decade by decade, the rest of our lives becomes more meaningful if you utilise time wisely.Whether or not you believe in life after death, this life should be something meaningful for you; the way you spent time should make you feel genuine satisfaction. If you use time cheating and bullying, you might get some sort of satisfaction but that would be very short-lived – for in the long run, even a non-believer gets some sort of doubt; you feel some sort of uneasiness…That’s why I am saying, only do those things that give you deep satisfaction. That’s living a meaningful life. Just money will not give you real satisfaction. Only greed increases, for you always want more and more.Cultivate a more compassionate attitude and that will give you genuine satisfaction. Firstly, I have to check my own motivation, figure out how to use my own time. Now I am nearly 78 years old; I was all set to leave for Allahabad from Dharmsala to the Mahakumbh Mela. Then the weather turned bad and the trip had to be cancelled. So we planned once again after ten days; as I was about to leave, once again the weather turned bad; so I had to cancel the programme. Now if I wish to go the next time, I have to wait another twelve years! I felt sad but what matters is that I should use my time meaningfully.

So how to make your life more meaningful? First, we should think… all sentient beings experience pleasure and pain (although some are debating about whether plants have feelings). All sentient beings wish to be happy. Because of the power of intelligence, human beings have much better ability to avoid suffering. In the mean time, somehow, that very intelligence is also the source of problems.

There’s too much stress. The more educated you are, the more expectations you have (and others have of you), your hopes and fears too are intensified because of memory and intelligence. Animals have less expectation, they deal with immediate threats.

We should use our intelligence in such a way that it is a source of happiness, not as aggravator of anxiety and stress. Real happiness comes from within and not from money and knowledge. Pay more attention to common experience, common sense and then go deep inside the mind and realise that compassion brings us all together… When we learn from one another that becomes the basis of genuine harmony.

I was in Vienna recently at a Christian monastery. Before leaving I paid my respects to the statue of Christ. I was reflecting… and my eyes turned moist! We must respect all religions. No religion is militant. Jihad in Islam refers to the need to combat our own inner negative emotions. Once I was in Portugal at the Church of Fathima. I went there as part of my pilgrimage and I prayed to the small statue of Mary there as part of my meditation practice with some Christian monks. I turned back, to see the Mary statue smiling! So! Mary does not discriminate between Christian and Buddhist! You can appreciate all religions and at the same time maintain your own practice in whatever you have chosen to follow.

– Dalai Lama