Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny.

Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.  message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives. 

These technologies can make life easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. You may have a child with a birth defect and be able to get in touch with other parents and support groups, get medical information, the latest experimental drugs. These things can profoundly influence life. I'm not downplaying that.

If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun.

How beautiful our country is, even after facing many obstacles, whether it was for independence, or with caste or religion, we Indians always make a comeback and fight with each of them with a huge determination.

If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate. 

Whether you call it Buddhism or other religion, self-discipline, that's important. Self-discipline with awareness of consequences.

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

I have done one thing that I think is a contribution: I helped Buddhist science and modern science combine. No other Buddhist has done that. Other lamas, I don't think they ever pay attention to modern science. Since my childhood, I have a keen interest.

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remove ourselves.

There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible.