There are always some people who are ready to embrace a doctrine, a notion, a dogma, and they miss the real teaching.

Guarding knowledge is not a good way to understand. Understanding means to throw away your knowledge. You have to be able to transcend your knowledge the way people climb a ladder. If you are on the fifth step of a ladder and think that you are very high, there is no hope for you to climb to the sixth.

Preventing war is much better than protesting against the war. Protesting the war is too late.

I am determined to practice deep listening. I am determined to practice loving speech.

Mindfulness must be engaged. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. Otherwise, what's the use of seeing?

As children, Siddhartha and Jesus both realized that life is filled with suffering. The Buddha became aware at an early age that suffering is pervasive. Jesus must have had the same kind of insight, because they both made every effort to offer a way out. We, too, must learn to live in ways that reduce the world's suffering.

Words and thoughts concerning compassionate action that are not put into practice are like beautiful flowers that are colorful but have no fragrance.