All religions are essentially the same in their goal of developing a good human heart so that we may become better human beings.

Whenever there is a challenge, there is also an opportunity to face it, to demonstrate and develop our will and determination.

The ultimate source of a happy life is warm-heartedness. This means extending to others the kind of concern we have for ourselves. On a simple level we find that if we have a compassionate heart we naturally have more friends. And scientists today are discovering that while anger and hatred eat into our immune system, warm-heartedness and compassion are good for our health.

We must realize that it is best to focus on our oneness, to re emphasize what is the same about each of us rather than dwell on what is different.

I believe compassion to be one of the few things we can practice that will bring immediate and long-term happiness to our lives. I'm not talking about the short-term gratification of pleasures like sex, drugs or gambling (though I'm not knocking them), but something that will bring true and lasting happiness. The kind that sticks.

The simple recognition that everyone else wants to be happy and not to suffer, just as I do, serves as a constant reminder against selfishness and partiality. It reminds us there is little to be gained from being kind and generous while hoping to win something in return. Actions motivated by a desire to earn a good name for ourselves are still selfish, even if they appear to be acts of kindness.

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.