Losang Samten: Be Mindful. Be Kind. Be Patient. | Big Think
Be Mindful. Be Kind. Be Patient.
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The Venerable Losang Samten, a renowned Tibetan scholar and a former Buddhist monk, stresses the virtues of being mindful, kind, and patient.
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LOSANG SAMTEN:
The Venerable Losang Samten, a renowned Tibetan scholar and a former Buddhist monk, was born in Chung Ribuce, of central Tibet. In 1959, he and his family fled to Nepal and later moved to Dharamsala, India. His education includes studies at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts and the Namgyal Monastery which is the monastery of the 14th Dalai Lama. In 1985, he earned a Master’s Degree in Buddhist Philosophy, Sutra, and Tantra, from the Namgyal Monastery, which is equivalent to a Ph.D. In 1994, Losang received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He was granted an Honorary Doctorate of Art from the Maine College of Art in 1995. He taught Tibetan Language at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from 1994 – 1997 and was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2002. In 2004, he was awarded a Pew Fellowship in the Arts.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Losang Samten: When we are more mindful we get a joy. In a way, the seed of the mindfulness, we all have that. We don’t have to buy that from somewhere else. Not necessarily finding for the enlightenment or [a] spiritual reason, in a sense, but whether we [are] a believer or non-believer, we all need a peace of mind. So the peace of mind comes from the mindfulness. Through that, we understand how important kindness and compassion [are]. One mental good quality leads into the next and the next and the next. The fundamental [one that] we’re talking [about] here is mindfulness.
All the Holy Beings, each religious leader, the first thing definitely they will say to us – be kind, be kind. Be kind to yourself. Be kind, be kind. And be kind to the other. To be kind is the Jesus, [to] be kind is the God, [to] be kind is the Buddha.
Another thing [that] is very important to us to practice is be patient, be patient, be patient. Working with somebody or [on] the relationship – husband and wife, girlfriend and boyfriend, any relationship – life’s not perfect. Life [will] never be perfect. [No matter] how much we put into effort to be perfect, there’s no perfect everything. We are human. Patience is wonderful to have. So if that day somebody in your life, if he or she is so stressful and at that time – sometimes not necessarily, there’s not much room for communica[tion] – just be patient. Just be [breathes in deeply].
Truly these are not religious training[s], but more as a human being we all need that kind of quality. But yet, again, the seeds – we all have them. We all have patience. How much we call an impatient person, he or she has the seeds of patience and the kindness and the compassion. All of these seeds we don’t have to buy anywhere – we have them. We all have room to grow, but we all have the seeds of beautiful kindness and patience.
Directed / Produced by Jonathan Fowler and Elizabeth Rodd
The Venerable Losang Samten, a renowned Tibetan scholar and a former Buddhist monk, stresses the virtues of being mindful, kind, and patient.
@aljapeterka370
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
🙏
Buddha
wow
loven
🙂
🧘♀️
🇸🇮
@gardensofthegods
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
I used to know Lobsang a little bit when I lived in the Philadelphia area years ago …we used to do meditation and prayers at his Center when it was in Upper Darby about a block away from the city limits of West Philly .. actually it was walking distance from the famous Tower Theater , a great concert venue.
He was always in a good mood and liked to joke a lot… once he got crazy clowning around and was swinging his prayer beads in the air ..it was so funny.
One time he told us he likes to watch the Animal Planet channel and back then I didn't make the connection he was saying when he told us to notice that often animals live in fear : " you see them go to eat food or drink water and they look around first to make sure they're not going to be attacked…or eaten."
He mentioned that several times but it wasn't until I moved out of the area I'd heard another Lama saying that when a person has a lot of FEAR it puts them more in an animal state of Mind.
The Buddhists talk a lot about the importance of overcoming fear and because they believe in reincarnation there is a belief that a lot of fear could propel you to be reborn as an animal.
Lobsang spoke about Saint Francis of Assisi every now and then because he knew Saint Francis in the Catholic world was the protector and lover of animals. Also, he regularly would talk about Christ.
One time during the evening lecture he said some people in this room will be reborn as animals "maybe be lucky and be a pet treated good by its owner but maybe some not so lucky and be born beast of burden or worse yet be someone's food ."
Then he said something really strange " some of you will be reborn on another planet …will have human mind ,think like human ..BUT NOT LOOK LIKE HUMAN ! "
but when he said that , it was a little bit creepy the way he said it because he was emphatic when he said" but not look like human"… almost as if he wanted to scare us, hahaha.
So after everybody left I asked him about that and he said oh yes of course there's life on other planets.
He had also told us that Earth is actually a young planet and how they know is because the population is exploding .
At his Center the main thing they do is the Green Tara prayers.. they had a big thanka ( religious painted wall hanging ) of her there.
One time we went on a retreat with Lobsang in the Pocono Mountains…it was great, I recall this one guy who had originally befriended him when low sign first came to America to New York City but I think he said he didn't know much English , well that guy was pretending to be shantideva with the Pitchfork thing and he was chasing Lobsang around the campfire with it, that was pretty funny .
At the campfire there was an older Lama and they were talking about when the red Chinese were invading Tibet and they had to escape to India ..He told us that the CIA tried to help the Tibetan Lamas and monks by dropping crates of rifles and ammo down to where they were in the mountains hiding ..he said " it wouldn't have helped us ,though , because we didn't know how to use the guns . "
And I was on a ride on the lake there with Lobsang and a female student in one of those things that you pedal with your feet.. he looked around and said he wished he could live in a place like that.
I always remembered this and it bothered me that I don't have money.. that I'm not rich and I couldn't make his dream come true .
If you like him you can go to the website for his Center and be on their list and they will send you info regularly and his newsletters… and it is always wonderful hearing what he has to say.
Lobsang told us that he was only 4 years old when his father who was also a Lama decided to flee from the Communists and get to India.
In his book ancient teachings for modern times he mentions a little bit about his childhood and the poverty ..he talks about how his mother died.
His book should be read by anybody interested in Buddhism because it is DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE…he demystifies it .
And I wish he would write another book like that on Buddhism some more because he is a great teacher that can take a complicated subject and simplify it.
Some books on Buddhism conversely make it even more mystifying and harder to really comprehend.
Lobsang had lost the lease to a center they had in Philadelphia and I felt very bad about that and it was another time I wished I had the money to just outright buy him his own building.
One night when we were all getting ready to leave from evening prayers and lecture he said : " come Friday if you want a surprise but I cannot tell you what it is …just come Friday and you can bring some friends too."
So when we were there Friday evening ,a huge van showed up and a lot of Lamas, some of them very young came out and I could not believe it because these were the famous Drepung monastery monks who have toured and gone on stage with the Grateful Dead…
…. so we had a wonderful evening with them there and then when I was sitting on the floor eating food I was talking with two of the drivers who bought them there and they turned out to have connections also with the Grateful Dead… I wish I could remember our conversation about that but I don't really remember anything.
@AntonioVergaraSax
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
If we have the "seeds" of good thinks, like patience, mindfulness, and kindness, does that mean we have the "seeds" of their opposites, like impatience, no mindfulness, and unkind behavior?
@MatthewGoreBGenomics
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
Thx to you for this short, it should help reminding me to hear others with confidence. I should have a better day 2moro.👥✌
@kraftuber
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
I feel so kind and patient after watching this Buddhist Monk talk about kindness and patience over and over again… Especially after seeing him take a slow, deep breath… (O_o)
@biloximoon8186
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
😃 I LOVE this message! This channel is one of my favorites, though this video has put a huge smile on my face! Thank you for creating this video and sharing it! NAMASTE!
@plantman5126
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
he is more correct than the major religions, but still has a basis of nonsense to his thinking.
@hollow12U
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
http://www.adverts.ie/arcade-retro/stern-viper-pinball-machine/6927134
@jmonge1
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
boring
@redfirpineburngreen0
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
To mirror what Losang Samten is saying is so 180 degrees from the mirror of Narcissus. I would think.
@hahahashish
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
It's easy to be mindful, kind and patient when you have the money…not so easy when you don't have the money for basic things
@OnyxIdol
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
Lovely video.
@Trey4x4
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
…not religous. But I was the 666th upvoter.. lol
@sin8800
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
I can listen to him for hours. Very Taoist-like discussion of the importance of being mindful, kind and patient.
@sin8800
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
ger fren bo fren ^_^
@zenzylok
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
Be patient, while your human life spans perish in eyes of the stars.
@LeonidasGGG
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
People be kind… Be patient… Patient people… I said BE patient… BE F* PATIENT GODDAMIT!!!
lol XD
@IvanusPrime
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
I have shown tremendous patience by watching this video until the end.
@drevilatwork
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
yea… I'l have what he's been smoking please
@TheSammyt4
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
This guy just makes me smile
@haku-p2i
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
In my opionion it's not always a good idea to take a deep breath and be patient. I think it depends on the situation. Some relationships, or some situations in general, are better managed by facing the problem or expressing ourselves or taking action, not by patiently waiting 🙂
@Neueregel
January 5, 2026 at 9:57 am
This Monk guy still needs to assume his fictional sky-daddy. Too many buzzwords, and empty words like 'mindful' and too little essence. This Buddhism thing is also another segragating religion disguised as 'philosophy'. No thanks. Being kind or patient has nothing to do with wasting your time with mindfulness and spirituality. These are different sets of qualities. Kindness and patience are welcomed in civilised societies, but mindfulness is a waste of time.
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