I Pray For All Of Us, Oppressor

We Know That To Wage A Nuclear War Today, For Example, Would Be A Form Of Suicide; Or That To Pollute The Air Or The Oceans In Order To Achieve Some Short-term Benefit Would Be To Destroy The Very Basis For Our Survival.

If We Develop Concern For Other People's Welfare, Share Other People's Suffering, And Help Them, Ultimately We Will Benefit. If We Think Only Of Ourselves And Forget About Others, Ultimately We Will Lose. The More We Care For The Happiness Of Others, The Greater Our Own Sense Of Well-being Becomes.

I Am Convinced That Human Nature Is Basically Affectionate And Good. If Our Behavior Follows Our Kind And Loving Nature, Immense Benefits Will Result, Not Only For Ourselves, But Also For The Society To Which We Belong. I Generally Refer To This Sort Of Love And Affection As A Universal Religion. Everyone Needs It, Believers As Much As Non-believers. This Attitude Constitutes The Very Basis Of Morality.

I Have Found A Much Greater Appreciation Of Buddhism Because I Couldn't Take It For Granted Here In Exile.

Until You Have The Inner Discipline That Brings Calmness Of Mind, External Facilities And Conditions Will Never Bring The Joy And Happiness You Seek. On The Other Hand, If You Possess This Inner Quality, Calmness Of Mind, A Degree Of Stability Within, Even If You Lack The Various External Factors That You Would Normally Require To Be Happy, It Will Still Be Possible To Live A Happy And Joyful Life.