There is no self-interest completely unrelated to others' interests. Due to the fundamental interconnectedness which lies at the heart of reality, your interest is also my interest. From this it becomes clear that "my" interest and "your" interest are intimately connected. In a deep sense, they converge.

See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort.

Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned.

All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness, can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I believe the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics that is beyond religion.

If some people have the belief or view that the Dalai Lama has some miracle power, that's totally nonsense.

Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that's important. Self-discipline with awareness of consequences.

In pluralistic, democratic societies, there is the freedom to adopt the religion of your choice. This is good. This lets curious people like you run around on the loose!