When we bear witness, when we become the situation - homelessness, poverty, illness, violence, death - the right action arises by itself. We don't have to worry about what to do. We don't have to figure out solutions ahead of time. Peacemaking is the functioning of bearing witness. Once we listen with our entire body and mind, loving action arises.

whatever judgment we make is a subjective one we're making now, and that it could change.

Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning...look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.

I always tell people that if you get upset over what someone says, imagine him or her with a clown's nose on and you won't get so angry.

People get stuck a lot because they're afraid to act; in the worst case,...we get so attached to some end result that we can't function. We need help just to move on, only life doesn't wait.

Take the selfishness out of anger and you're left with determination.

I honor businesses for what they do, I honor nonprofits for what they do, I honor government for what it does, and then I invite everyone to the table so that together we can come up with innovative and broad-based solutions that can serve as many people as possible. The fewer or less diverse voices you invite to the table, the smaller and narrower your solution will be and the fewer people it will serve.