When I ask people to contemplate selflessness, the sometimes react as if I've asked them to put their house on the market or give away all their money. If there was a self that existed in the way we think, discovering selflessness would be like putting our house on the market. But in the Buddhist tradition, the discovery of selflessness is called "completely joyful." It's not called "the raw end of the deal," or "I'd rather go back to bed," or "This is scary and depressing."

What distinguishes Shambhala is its intention of trying to create a society based upon certain principles. So, Shambhala's focus is not just on the individual, but on society as a whole.

You need to eat well, sleep well, and have a roof over your head, but don’t go much further than that before extending yourself to others.

We humans have come to a crossroads in our history: we can either destroy the world or create a good future.

Our only reliable source of strength is the goodness of our hearts. Our only foundation for coming to terms with the suffering of the times is our innate need to be decent human beings.

After you run, there's a sense of accomplishment; you feel like your life is meaningful. It's a moment of clarity.

We can't hire out our own inner work, but we can do the manual labor with delight and decency.