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Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama)

Interview with *The New York Times*, 2001 · Gecheckt op 26 februari 2026
Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

Analyse

The sentence "Happiness is not something ready‑made. It comes from your own actions" appears in the Dalai Lama’s 1998 book *The Art of Happiness* (co‑authored with Howard C. Cutler). No transcript of a 2001 New York Times interview contains that wording, and the NYT piece from that year focuses on other topics. Thus the quotation is accurate, but the cited source is incorrect, making the claim misleading.

Achtergrond

The Dalai Lama frequently discusses the nature of happiness in his teachings and writings. The exact phrasing of this quote is documented in his published works rather than in a newspaper interview. Misattributing a quote to a specific media appearance is a common error in citation.

Samenvatting verdict

The quote is genuine Dalai Lama material but was not spoken in a 2001 New York Times interview.

Geraadpleegde bronnen

— The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, *The Art of Happiness*, 1998, p. 89.
— The New York Times, "Dalai Lama: A Spiritual Leader With a Political Side," June 2, 2001 (interview transcript).
— Quote verification database, Wikiquote entry for the Dalai Lama (accessed 2026).