The Dalai Lama’s Thoughts On Forgiveness

As I began developing my book “Finding Forgiveness” into an audio book I was reminded of the words that His Holiness the Dalai Lama shared in writing the foreword for “Finding Forgiveness.” Because of the profoundness of what he said I would like to share some of his beautiful words.

“In the course of our lives we often make misguided decisions that harm ourselves or others. We do this out of ignorance. We think that a certain mode of behavior will bring us happiness when in fact it brings us suffering. Feelings of self-righteous anger and the urge for revenge may sometimes lead us to harm others in the mistaken conviction that it will benefit us and bring us some form of happiness. Actually, it creates suffering not only for the victims of our deeds but also for us. However justified we may feel, doing others harm even in the name of revenge, severely disturbs our own peace of mind and creates conditions for our own suffering.”

Think about these wise words from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. How many times have we gotten angry towards someone in our self-righteous anger wanted to lash out in some way. Our anger only affects ourselves, no one else. It has a negative impact on our health and over time creates suffering just for ourselves. This truly is like taking poison and hoping someone else will die.

Dr. Eileen Borris is a licensed psychologist and has conducted conflict resolution in nine (9) foreign countries.  She has addressed the United Nations General Assembly, appeared in numerous media interviews and is the author of the bestseller Finding Forgiveness (McGraw Hill). 

Contact Dr. Borris at DrEileen@DrEileenBorris.com  Twitter @ERBorris