Perhaps Westerners are in a better position to practice true renunciation than uneducated Orientals because most Western people, by the time they come to the Dharma, have led a pretty full worldly life with lots of sensual pleasures, money and lots of toys to play with. They have seen that the path of accumulation of worldly treasure does not lead to happiness or contentment. That's why they come to the Dharma.

Meditation is a way to take us to a deeper level of awareness.

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

The dharma is here. And the dharma is in your heart. Where else would it be?

Different people are different.

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?

We need to be sincere in our practice, but at the same time we can't take ourselves too seriously.