By far the most important form of attention we can give our loved ones is listening... True listening is love in action.

But for the first time, I had a religious identity. I had come home. And so I called myself a Zen Buddhist at the age of 18.

It is not easy for us to change. But it is possible and it is our glory as human beings

The principal form that the work of love takes is attention. When we love another person we give him or her our attention; we attend to that person's growth.

Our view of reality is like a map with which to negotiate the terrain of life. If the map is true and accurate, we will generally know how to get there. If the map is false and inaccurate, we generally will be lost.

Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it.

The whole course of human history may depend on a change of heart in one solitary and even humble individual - for it is in the solitary mind and soul of the individual that the battle between good and evil is waged and ultimately won or lost.