I think East Asian countries, I think they're very fortunate to have Buddhism survive as a strong influence because right from the time when Buddha himself, 2,500 years ago, made the point about the importance of education, and the word "Buddha" also means enlighten[ed] or educated. So all the Buddhist countries, not only Japan and Korea and China and Hong Kong and Thailand but also even Burma and Sri Lanka, had a higher level of education.
Amartya SenI really do believe that education, despite this massive potential in transforming human lives, has not received the kind of attention that people should have given to it.
Amartya SenEducation could be a great vehicle for gender equity. It allows people to see what your rights are by reading. Quite often women, for example, may have rights that they are not in the position to actually make use of.
Amartya SenEducation can really transform the insecurities in the world into a bigger vision of what we are as human beings.
Amartya Sen