I Am A Simple Buddhist Monk.

If We Choose An External Marker As The Measure Of Our Inner Worth, Whether It Is The Amount Of Money We Make, Or Others' Opinion Of Us, Or The Success Of Some Project We're Involved In, Sooner Or Later We're Bound To Be Battered By Life's Inevitable Changes. After All, Money Comes And Goes, And Thus Is An Unstable Source Of Self-esteem, An Unreliable Foundation Upon Which To Build Our Identity.

It Is Not Enough Simply To Wish That Love And Compassion Should Increase In Us. We Need To Make A Sustained Effort, Again And Again, To Cultivate The Positive Aspects Within Us - And The Key Here Is Constant Familiarity. The Nature Of Human Thoughts And Emotions Is Such That The More You Engage In Them, The More You Consciously Develop Them, The More Powerful They Become.

It Is Important To Direct Our Intelligence With Good Intentions. Without Intelligence, We Cannot Accomplish Very Much. Without Good Intentions, The Way We Exercise Of Our Intelligence May Have Destructive Results.

Compassion Is Not Religious Business, It Is Human Business, It Is Not Luxury, It Is Essential For Our Own Peace And Mental Stability, It Is Essential For Human Survival.

We Can Benefit Others Through Our Actions By Being Warm And Generous Toward Them, By Being Charitable, And By Helping Those In Need.