It was the experience of mystery - even if mixed with fear - that engendered religion.

Innovation is futuristic. Those who do not innovate are bound to stagnate.

I am sometimes sad when I hear the personal stories of Tibetan refugees who have been tortured or beaten. Some irritation, some anger comes. But it never lasts long. I always try to think at a deeper level, to find ways to console.

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.

We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.

Inspiration can hit you in the head at any time in any context. It could happen in a conversation. Talking to someone at a party, you can get an idea. But you've got to remember those inspirations.

Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?

Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity's belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul, and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all.

Let everyone try and find that as a result of daily prayer he adds something new to his life, something with which nothing can be compared.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

I don't like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess.

A weak man is just by accident. A strong but non-violent man is unjust by accident.