Each day, the most important thing for us to do is to develop a kind heart. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has pointed out that people of all religious faiths share this aspiration along with compassion and ethical conduct. Even some people who are not religious support secular ethics because living beings need kindness and compassion. 

We are unable to take care of ourselves when we first come into this world and would not be alive today if it were not for the kindness of others. Naturally, we all have a kind heart, but it is also something we must work at developing. I grew up hearing, “Love thy neighbour as thyself ”. It sounded like a great idea, but I did not know how to do it until I learnt Buddhist thought-training techniques for developing a kind heart and forgiveness. 

Also very useful are Buddhist instructions on working with anger by focusing on others’ good qualities, the benefits of kindness, and how completely dependent we are on the kindness of others. Some days we will be successful with these methods, while on other days we will fall on our faces. All we can do is pick ourselves up, try to relax our minds, and come back to developing a loving attitude. If we keep doing this slowly over time, it becomes much more of a natural reaction and a habit. 

“365 Gems of Wisdom” e-book is out now!