In my childhood, I had a religious assistant who always told me, if you can really laugh with full abandonment, it's very good for your health.

I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.

A positive future cannot emerge from the mind of anger of despair

Anger and hatred are the real enemies that we must confront and defeat, not the 'enemies' who appear from time to time in our lives.

I remain convinced that most human conflicts can be solved through genuine dialogue conducted with a spirit of openness and reconciliation.

The real enemy of happiness is the mind's fixations and delusions... If you have the right mind, you can overcome anything - you can be happy, no matter what.

It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act. There are two aspects to action. One is to overcome the distortions and afflictions of your own mind, that is, in terms of calming and eventually dispelling anger. This is action out of compassion. The other is more social, more public. When something needs to be done in the world to rectify the wrongs, if one is really concerned with benefitting others, one needs to be engaged, involved.