--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are social animals. Others' suffering…" description: "\"We are social animals. Others' suffering is ultimately your suffering; their happiness is ultimately your happiness.\" — Dalai Lama" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/dalai-lama-89_animal_we-are-social-animals-others-suffering-i_2110832.jpg" --- # We are social animals. Others' suffering is ultimately… ![“We are social animals. Others' suffering is ultimately your suffering; their happiness is ultimately your happiness.” quote by Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/dalai-lama-89_animal_we-are-social-animals-others-suffering-i_2110832.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/dalai-lama-89_animal_we-are-social-animals-others-suffering-i_2110832.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/dalai-lama-89_animal_we-are-social-animals-others-suffering-i_2110832.jpg) > “We are social animals. Others' suffering is ultimately your suffering; their happiness is ultimately your happiness.” [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings share emotions; another’s pain or joy becomes your own. **In simple terms:** We feel others’ emotions. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy and shared happiness. Themes compassion interconnectedness empathy Mood calm compassionate Type spiritual ethical When to use this quote - community building - mental health - conflict resolution Key Concepts shared suffering collective well‑being Questions to Reflect On - How can you protect yourself while caring for others? - What practices deepen compassionate connection? A Different Perspective Empathy can be overwhelming without boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-animals-658704/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-happiness-846929/) [Suffering Ultimately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-ultimately-4260269/) [Ultimately Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimately-suffering-1912610/) ## Related quotes > [It may look as if the situation is creating the suffering, but ultimately this is not so - your resistance is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/it-may-look-as-if-the-situation-is-creating-the-suffering-but/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Ultimately, suffering is always political with all kinds of justifications - there are those who justify Israel's occupation of land as being a fulfillment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/ultimately-suffering-is-always-political-with-all-kinds-of/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [A psychoneurosis must be understood, ultimately, as the suffering of a soul which has not discovered its meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/a-psychoneurosis-must-be-understood-ultimately-as-the-suffering-of-a/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [All human beings have an innate desire to overcome suffering, to find happiness. Training the mind to think differently, through meditation, is one important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-human-beings-have-an-innate-desire-to-overcome-suffering-to-find/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“In reality, there is in love a permanent strain of suffering which happiness neutralises, makes potential only, postpones, but which may at any moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/in-reality-there-is-in-love-a-permanent-strain-of-suffering-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [What you’re believing in the moment creates your suffering or your happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/what-you-re-believing-in-the-moment-creates-your-suffering-or-your/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Most men, whether men or women, wish above all else to be comfortable, and thought is a pre-eminently uncomfortable process; it brings to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/most-men-whether-men-or-women-wish-above-all-else-to-be-comfortable/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [“But now that I knew that suffering had been my happiness, I asked myself if I wasn't fleeing toward a God because I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/but-now-that-i-knew-that-suffering-had-been-my-happiness-i-asked/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [Happiness and suffering support each other. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/there-is-no-true-love-save-in-suffering-and-in-this-world-we-have-to/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [“Life, U May told her, is a gift full of riddles in which suffering and happiness are inextricably intertwined. Any attempt to have one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/life-u-may-told-her-is-a-gift-full-of-riddles-in-which-suffering-and/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [Your suffering is my suffering and your happiness is my happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/your-suffering-is-my-suffering-and-your-happiness-is-my-happiness/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“We are, when we love, in an abnormal state, capable of giving at once to the most apparently simple accident, an accident which may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-are-when-we-love-in-an-abnormal-state-capable-of-giving-at-once-to/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More by Dalai Lama > [Although under particular circumstances, the violence method - any method - can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/although-under-particular-circumstances-the-violence-method-any/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [In the interests of everyone the artist had a responsibility to use his medium well. 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So through that way, more concern of well being of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/we-live-within-the-environment-so-that-directly-relates-with-our/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [My belief is that the various religious traditions have great potential to increase compassion, the sense of caring for one another, and the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/my-belief-is-that-the-various-religious-traditions-have-great/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“So let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/so-let-us-reflect-on-what-is-truly-of-value-in-life-what-gives/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I am the source of my own suffering, because of the habits of my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-the-source-of-my-own-suffering-because-of-the-habits-of-my-mind/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) [Explore all 1,406 Dalai Lama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. 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The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are social animals. 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