I want to say, without hesitation, the purpose of our life is happiness.

If the work is worthwhile, then whether we can complete it or not, it's worth making the attempt. That's why courage is important.

I consider myself to be just one among 7 billion human beings. If I were to think of myself as different from others, or as something special, it would create a barrier between us. What makes us the same is that we all want to lead happy lives and gather friends around us. And friendship is based on trust, honesty and openness.

Moving towards better rather than moving away from bad is an attitude of embracing life rather than rejecting it.

From one point of view we can say that we have human bodies and are practicing the Buddha's teachings and are thus much better than insects. But we can also say that insects are innocent and free from guile, where as we often lie and misrepresent ourselves in devious ways in order to achieve our ends or better ourselves. From this perspective, we are much worse than insects.

Too strong a media emphasis on death and violence can lead to despair.

To be in flow means to be totally absorbed in whatever one is doing at the moment. It occurs when one is fully present and completely focused on the task at hand...Flow can occur during any human activity, whether work or at play.