We need to make material progress, but we need inner development too ... remember that the real development we seek is not in the buildings but in our hearts and minds.

Up to now my involvement in the Tibetan freedom struggle has been part of my spiritual practice, because the issues of the survival of the Buddha Teaching and the freedom of Tibet are very much related. In this particular struggle, there is no problem with many monks and nuns, including myself, joining.

Sometimes, whether a desire is excessive or negative depends on the circumstances or society in which you live in.

I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion and elimination of ignorance, selfishness and greed.

When you think everything is someone else's fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.

If we have a positive mental attitude, then even when surrounded by hostility, we shall not lack inner peace.

I am the source of my own suffering, because of the habits of my mind.