It is not just a person's physical constitution, their intellegence, their education, or even their social conditioning that enables them to withstand hardship. Much more significant is their inner development. And while some may be able to survive through sheer willpower, the ones who suffer the least are those who have a high degree of patience and courage in the face of adversity.

It is not enough simply to wish that love and compassion should increase in us. We need to make a sustained effort, again and again, to cultivate the positive aspects within us - and the key here is constant familiarity. The nature of human thoughts and emotions is such that the more you engage in them, the more you consciously develop them, the more powerful they become.

I have always had this view about the modern education system: we pay attention to brain development, but the development of warmheartedness we take for granted.

The Dalai Lama should not be partisan either, should remain above.

If you resort to violent methods because the other side has destroyed your monastery, for example, you then have lost not only your monastery, but also your special Buddhist practices of detachment, love, and compassion.

We need a little more compassion, and if we cannot have it, then no politician or even a magician can save the planet.

It is vital that when educating our children's brains that we do not neglect to educate their hearts.