Tweets of Wisdom AND Compassion

I was really excited to discover that the Dalai Lama has an official account on the Twitter website!

Some background info on the Dalai Lama for those who may be interested: The 14th Dalai Lama is a peace-loving, Tibetan Buddhist monk who considers himself merely to be "an ordinary person" despite his extraordinary circumstances and huge influence/impact he has on millions around the globe. His words of wisdom and compassion have been an inspiration to people of different backgrounds/walks of life.

On his own website, more can be found about the Dalai Lama:

http://www.dalailama.com/

"His Holiness is both the temporal and the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of inter-religious harmony and the welfare of the Tibetan people, focusing on the survival of their identity, culture and religion."


His Tweets, rooted in Buddhist philosophies/teachings, provide great advice and encouragement:

"Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others is the ultimate source of success in life."


"As well as restraining ourselves from negative thoughts and emotions, we need to cultivate and reinforce our positive qualities."

They are great snippets to read at the start of the day or when you may be feeling a little "down" and need a mood-lifter. They are also helpful in aiding in ones own thinking and self-reflection, and can be found here at this website:

http://twitter.com/dalailama

I think it is great that Buddhist monks are utilizing social media such as blogs, various Internet websites, etc. to modernize Buddhist teachings and to help make Buddhism more "mainstream" while at the same time trying not to stray too far from their traditions.

I will continue to look for other interesting/inspirational people to follow on Twitter.

Also, for any of you interested, here is a short video of the Dalai Lama speaking at the Stanford University campus about the importance of compassion and respect: