The simple recognition that everyone else wants to be happy and not to suffer, just as I do, serves as a constant reminder against selfishness and partiality. It reminds us there is little to be gained from being kind and generous while hoping to win something in return. Actions motivated by a desire to earn a good name for ourselves are still selfish, even if they appear to be acts of kindness.

Violence will only increase the cycle of violence.

According to Buddhism, individuals are masters of their own destiny. And all living beings are believed to possess the nature of the Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra, the potential or seed of enlightenment, within them. So our future is in our own hands. What greater free will do we need?

I became the Dalai Lama not on a volunteer basis.

The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticise others.

We can wake ourselves up, discover in ourselves an energy that was hidden there, and act with more clarity, more force.

My faith helps me overcome such negative emotions and find my equilibrium.