Merit clears away obstacles.

I think, for East and West, the first thing we need is a good grounding in basic Buddhadharma.

We all have our own karma and so different teachers will be meaningful to different students.

Many people are benefiting beings, but from a dharma point of view, if you are a dharma practitioner, then the first priority is to get yourself together.

When I look back I can think that of course I've been lazy and haven't practiced as much as I could have and have wasted time. Still though, I look back on my life and I think that really, I am very happy that I lived my life the way I have and I would never ever have wished it any other way - especially, the six years with my lama and then the 18 in Lahul.

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

The world is full of incredible people who are embodiments of compassion. Some of them have a spiritual path; some of them don't.