Compassion doesn't, of course, mean feeling sorry for people, or pity, which is how the word has become emasculated in a way.

It's a great event to get outside and enjoy nature. I find it very exciting no matter how many times I see bald eagles.

Look into your own heart, discover what it is that gives you pain and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain on anybody else.

Jesus did not spend a great deal of time discoursing about the trinity or original sin or the incarnation, which have preoccupied later Christians. He went around doing good and being compassionate.

Each of the world religions has its own particular genius, its own special insight into the nature and requirements of compassion, and has something unique to teach us.

I like silence; I'm a gregarious loner and without the solitude, I lose my gregariousness.

Compassion is not an option. It's the key to our survival.

Religious people often prefer to be right rather than compassionate. Often, they don't want to give up their egotism. They want their religion to endorse their ego, their identity.

Religion isn’t about believing things. It's ethical alchemy. It’s about behaving in a way that changes you, that gives you intimations of holiness and sacredness.

I am not interested in the afterlife. Religion is supposed to be about losing your ego, not preserving it eternally in optimum conditions.

Surely it's better to love others, however messy and imperfect the involvement, than to allow one's capacity for love to harden.

God loves to say yes to the prayers that echo His heart.

When you find out that there was never anything in the dark side to be afraid of … Nothing is left but to love.

It's important for women to work. They need to keep their independence, to keep earning and being challenged.

Sometimes a good love song can change the world and create positive energy more than any political song can.

For me, family has always come first.

- Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest, Sir? - Because it is there.

You don't need a vacation when there's nothing to escape from.

My parents wanted me to be smart and be a scholar, and the best I could do was graduate high school.

It used to be only on TV that women could lead, that a show could be based on a woman

I don't read economic forecasts. I don't read the funny papers.