I always believed in love, compassion and a sense of universal respect. Every human being has that potential.

There are differences between us. But it doesn't make sense to emphasize that, because my future and yours is connected with everyone else's. So we have to take seriously our concern for all of humanity. When we focus on our individuality, humanity inevitably suffers. And once humanity suffers, each one of us will also suffer.

Buddha himself taught different teachings to different people under different circumstances. For some people, there are beliefs based on a Creator. For others, no Creator. The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.

Anger, pride and competence are our real enemies.

It is difficult to violently suppress people in the long run, as the example of the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries has shown.

When, from the depths of your heart, you spontaneously wish all beings to find true, lasting happiness, this is great love.

Once we have a firm practice of compassion our state of mind becomes stronger which leads to inner peace, giving rise to self-confidence, which reduces fear. This makes for constructive members of the community. Self-centredness on the other hand leads to distance, suspicion, mistrust and loneliness, with unhappiness as the result.