In an often told story, Buddha's attendant Ananda approaches him, pleased at a sudden insight. He says, "Buddha, friendship is half of all that matters, isn't it?" To which Buddha replies, "No, Ananda, friendship is everything."
The Dalai Lama's whole life story is a demonstration of the power of friendliness. He is everyone's friend. When you meet him face to face, he grins at you like you are his long-lost best friend, looking deeply in your eyes with a kindness that is breathtaking. He laughs with everyone all the time, the way best friends do. John Cleese, formerly of Monty Python fame and now a business consultant, once talked about this with the Dalai Lama: "I asked him why it is that, in Tibetan Buddhism, they all laugh so much. It's the most delightful thing to be around them, because they are constantly in fits of giggles. And he said to me, very seriously, that laughter is very helpful to him in teaching and indeed in political negotiations, because when people laugh, it is easier for them to admit new ideas to their minds."
— Geri Larkin, Tap Dancing in Zen