Religion and philosophy have their value, but in the end all we can do is open to mystery and live a path with heart

The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another.

Most of us have spent our lives caught up in plans, expectations, ambitions for the future; in regrets, guilt or shame about the past. To come into the present is to stop the war.

We do not have to improve ourselves; we just have to let go of what blocks our heart.

Do not doubt your own basic goodness. In spite of all confusion and fear, you are born with a heart that knows what is just, loving, and beautiful.

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived How well we have loved How well we have learned to let go

Have respect for yourself, and patience and compassion. With these, you can handle anything.

Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be. Let your body relax and your heart soften. Open to whatever you experience without fighting.

The basic principle of spiritual life is that our problems become the very place to discover wisdom and love.

Stop trying to be less of who you are. Let this time in your life cut you open and drain all of the things that are holding you back.

My roots are firmly planted in the glory of nature. The soil beneath my feet heartens each step.

Everyone has to start somewhere. If you let people bring you down now, you’ll never know how high you could climb. And you owe it to yourself to try.

A look of interest, or perhaps doubt, came across his face. "Well, " he said, "I'm sure your bulimia was fulfilling some need.

Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.

The fact there is no route-map to utopia does not mean that there are no routes to more accessible destinations.

Institutions do all the things that are supposed to be bad. They impede personal exploration. They enforce conformity. But they often save us from our weaknesses and give meaning to life.

I would say that by virtue of transforming politics, [Dalai Lama] is in fact easily underestimated.

I love the opportunity to wear something really special and go to a wonderful event at some great cultural institution.

There are two kinds of trouble: The kind you have and the kind you haven't. There are but few of the first sort, but of the second there is no end.