My hope and wish is that one day, formal education will pay attention to what I call 'education of the heart'.

It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance.

We have made a great effort to maintain all levels of Buddhist education; it has helped us have a kind of renaissance, really.

Like anyone else, I too have the potential for violence; I too have anger in me. However, I try to recall that anger is a destructive emotion. I remind myself that scientists now say that anger is bad for our health; it eats into our immune system. So, anger destroys our peace of mind and our physical health. We shouldn’t welcome it or think of it as natural or as a friend.

What is important is to see how we can best lead a meaningful everyday life, how we can bring about peace and harmony in our minds, how we can help contribute to society.

I call myself a feminist. Isn't that what you call someone who fights for women's rights?

People should not rush to change religions. There is real value in finding the spiritual resources you need in your home religion. Even secular humanism has great spiritual resources; it is almost like a religion to me.