Our power comes not from suppressing others but from uplifting them.

Our root fantasy is that "I" am real and that it's possible for "me" to be happy.

Certain teachers have tremendous amounts of experience. They are articulate, and they give wonderful discourse. But at some point along the road, they themselves learned from and studied a book.

If you decide to go on a Buddhist path, you have to be careful if you start mixing a lot of different traditions you are not totally familiar with - mixing this kind of meditation with that kind of practice or this kind of visualization with that kind of mantra. Then you really are concocting your own thing, and you have no idea what is going to happen.

Initially, you have to live a period where you are developing your attitude. I would consider that a meditation: determining what you want to do. You have a period where you meditate and you get the strength.

If you want to be miserable, think of yourself. If you want to be happy, think of others.

When we are using this term 'basic goodness,' we are talking about our inherent completeness.