To be completely enlightened means that you're a Buddha.I don't speak of enlightenment.

We should develop a deep appreciation for all the we have, and not waste it, otherwise we'll die with deep regrets.

Even if the hermits do not appear to benefit other beings with their presence or teachings, still they are enormously inspiring to many. Perhaps, in this lifetime, they were meant to work on their own practice, to try to purify their own mindstream so that in future lifetimes (that will last a lot longer than this one), they will be fit vessels to give the teachings to others.

If you lose interest in the dharma, then you might be reborn in a place where you are unlikely to meet with the dharma. And then you're completely off the path.

To become effortless takes a lot of effort. It's good to compare it to learning an instrument or learning a sport.

I sometimes feel tremendous compassion and helplessness.

In the early '60s there was very little reliable information on Tibetan Buddhism. I was living in London and I had joined the Buddhist Society. For the most part, people there were either interested in Theravada or Zen Buddhism. There was almost no one into Tibetan Buddhism at that time.