We only think about the difficult people and the horrible things that happen. That's what gets all the media attention.

We've been human countless times and done everything you can imagine. So we've been planting all these negative seeds, and they're going to come up.

If we want to be musicians, dancers or sportspeople, we can download a certain amount and watch DVDs and read books, but in the end we need someone to assess us and give us personal instruction. The two go together.

Even if one isn't a committed Buddhist, it just helps us become better human beings.

From a Buddhist point of view, the first thing to help is yourself, to get your own mind together. And to really understand how to benefit beings, not just on the physical level, but on all levels. Then there are endless beings you can benefit.

The answer lies within ourselves. If we can't find peace and happiness there, it's not going to come from the outside.

For so many centuries women have been suppressed and regarded as inferior. And that of course is not right at all, that we all have buddha-nature - so what's the difference?