The Buddha always emphased the important of good friends.

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

When we read history we find that in all ages people have thought, this is the dark age.

Because we're trying, because we want, it's very hard to get.

It's not a matter of how much you know or can define, or how many millions of mantras or thousands of prostrations you have done, or how many months of wangs you've attended. The important thing is whether or not the mind is really changing, whether our negative emotions are really coming under control, whether we are really beginning to understand ourselves, whether our mind is really improving, and whether in our hearts there is genuine love and caring for other people.

If nuns begin getting more empowered, where does that leave us?

In the texts, and as His Holiness the Dalai Lama reminds us, we should check the person's behavior not when they're sitting on a big throne, but behind the scenes. How do they treat ordinary people - not the big sponsors - but just ordinary people who are of no particular importance to them.