According to accounts of the Buddha's life, it would seem that he had a very deep relationship with nature. He was not born in the royal palace but in a park, under a sala tree. He attained complete enlightenment under the bodhi tree and left this earth to enter Parinirvana, again, between three sala trees. It would seem that the Buddha was very fond of trees.

When something needs to be done in the world to rectify the wrongs, if one is really concerned with benefiting others, one needs to be engaged, involved. This is action out of compassion.

Even a small act of compassion grants meaning and purpose to our lives.

If we looked down at the world from space, we would not see any demarcations of national boundaries. We would simply see one small planet, just one.

Learning to forgive is much more useful than merely picking up a stone and throwing it at the object of one's anger, the more so when the provocation is extreme. For it is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.

If we have a positive mental attitude, then even when surrounded by hostility, we shall not lack inner peace.

A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.