Ultimately, as individuals we each have to ask ourselves to be courageous and apply certain principles.

A lot of people do their practice. They meditate on compassion. Then they yell at people afterwards. That is not quite working. One of the things I try to emphasize is contemplative meditation - bringing your thought and intention into meditation.

You need to become more genuine to who you are. So, people pushing you can help take you to the level where you really understand the principles and enter them into action.

The first thing you have to do is acknowledge the basic and fundamental goodness of all beings. If you don't, then you are going to have conflict. That's at the core of Shambhala.

One of the characteristics of every great teacher I've known is tremendous exertion. It's interesting: You may see them as spiritual people or compassionate people, but the driving force is that incredible exertion - and their ability to sustain it.

The notion of auspiciousness is something positive, something with forward momentum, coming out of our actions.

This is bravery: using the challenge of daily life to sharpen our mind and open our heart.