In the Buddha's life story we see the three stages of practice: Morality comes first, then concentrated meditation, and then wisdom. And we see that the path takes time.

I don't want to convert people to Buddhism - all major religions, when understood properly, have the same potential for good.

Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents, and then later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other's kindness, how can it be in the middle that we would neglect kindness towards others?

The highest happiness is when one reaches the stage of liberation, at which there is no more suffering.

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

The real troublemakers are anger, jealousy, impatience, and hatred. With them, problems cannot be solved. Though we may have temporary success, ultimately our hatred or anger will create futher difficulties. Anger makes for swift solutions. Yet, when we face problems with compassion, sincerity, and good motivation, our solutions may take longer, but ultimately they are better.

By far the single greatest danger facing humankind - in fact, all living beings on our planet - is the threat of nuclear destruction.