Tentra Nepalese Totem

You may have seen this “Tentra Nepalese Totem” before. Every now and then, it (or a variation of it) pops up in email, on Facebook, or can be found at inspirational sites around the web.

During the summer of 2002, it was being circulated widely as a chain email with promises of good luck to all who passed it on. At the time, it was said to have been written by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.

For those who have not had the pleasure of reading the Tentra and absorbing its wisdom, here it is in all its original glory.

Instructions for Life

As easy as it is to believe that the Dalai Lama, in his infinite wisdom and insight, outlined these “Instructions for Life,” the list is actually a truncated version of Life’s Little Instruction Book: 511 Suggestions, Observations, and Reminders on How to Live a Happy and Rewarding Life, written in 1995 by Jackson Brown and H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
BUY THE BOOK

• Give people more than they expect, and do it cheerfully.
• Learn by heart your favorite song.
• Memorize your favorite poem.
• Don’t believe all you hear.
• Do not sleep as much as you would like.
• When you say “I love you,” say it truthfully.
• Believe in love at first sight.
• When you say “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye.
• An engagement period of six months is crucial before marriage.
• Never mock another’s dreams.
• Love deeply and passionately. You may get hurt, but this is the only way to live life to the fullest.
• In disagreements, fight fairly, and do not offend.
• Do not judge others by their relatives.
• Talk slow, think fast.
• When someone asks you a question you do not want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
• Remember that the greatest love and the greatest success also hold the greatest risks.
• Bless a person who has just sneezed.
• When you lose, do not lose the lesson.
• Respect yourself. Respect others. Take responsibility for your actions.
• Do not allow a small disagreement to hurt a great friendship.
• When you realize that you have made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
• Smile when you answer the phone. Those who call can “hear” the smile in your voice.
• Marry (or be with) the person you love talking to the most. When you get old, conversation will be more important than anything else.
• Spend some time alone.
• Accept change with open arms, but do not give up your values.
• Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
• Read books more and watch television less.
• Live a good, honorable life. Later, when you grow old and remember the past, you will enjoy it once again.
• Believe and trust in God, whomever/whatever you conceive God to be, but lock your car.
• Do all you can to create a calm home full of love.
• Do not bring back the past.
• Read between the lines.
• Share your knowledge. It is the way to live forever.
• Be gentle with our planet Earth.
• Pray. It has immeasurable power.
• Never interrupt someone who flatters you.
• Mind your own business.
• Do not trust a man or woman who does not close their eyes when you kiss them.
• Once a year, visit a place you have never seen before.
• If you make a lot of money, channel it so as to help others while you are alive. This is the greatest satisfaction wealth can bring.
• Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a stroke of luck.
• Learn all the rules, and then break some.
• Remember that the greatest relationships are the ones in which the love between two people is greater than the need one has of the other.
• Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
• Remember that your character is your destiny.
• Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Live . . . love . . . laugh. And don’t forget to pass it on for good luck.

You might also like: