The principles of Buddhism and Shambhala can be effective in helping the course of what is happening in the world.

When I was going into one of my first meditation retreats, I asked my father, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, for some advice. He said, "How you act when you're alone affects the rest of your life." Even in solitude, the ruler engages in virtue.

If we do not appreciate the sensitivity and subtlety of the human heart, how can we appreciate the sensitivity and subtlety of the natural world?

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."

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.

People can be trained in certain principles, but then they actually have to apply them and try them out.

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