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?

There is often a big disparity between the way in which we perceive things and the way things really are.

Attention-yes! That's present! And present, you see, makes past and future.

Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility... Without this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life is materially, you may still be worried, disturbed or unhappy because of circumstances.

If others are happy, we will be happy. If others suffer, ultimately we all suffer.

I'm nothing special, just an ordinary human being. That's why I always describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk.

Anger may bring extra energy, but it eclipses the best part of our brain: its rationality. The energy of anger is almost always unreliable.