“There’s a vast difference between no checkmate and stalemate. This is what the democratic process is like.”

Fear is a habit; I am not afraid.

My attitude to peace is rather based on the Burmese definition of peace – it really means removing all the negative factors that destroy peace in this world.

Intimidation and propaganda work in a duet of oppression, while the people, lapped in fear and distrust, learn to dissemble and to keep silent.

There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk.

Challenges mean opportunities as well.

The people of my country want the two freedoms that spell security: freedom from want and freedom from fear.

So peace does not mean just putting an end to violence or to war, but to all other factors that threaten peace, such as discrimination, such as inequality, poverty.

If you can make people understand why freedom is so important through the arts, that would be a big help.

The quintessential revolution is that of the spirit, born of an intellectual conviction of the need for change in those mental attitudes and values which shape the course of a nation’s development.

With the right kind of institutions, starting with the rule of law, Burma could progress very quickly.

Kindness can change the lives of people.

Sometimes, 24 hours can bring a total revolutionary change.

How can you call it a sacrifice when you choose to do something because you believe in it?

Without a revolution of the spirit, the forces which produced the iniquities of the old order would continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration.

Peace as a goal is an ideal which will not be contested by any government or nation, not even the most belligerent.

Weak logic, inconsistencies and alienation from the people are common features of authoritarianism.

The only difference between men and women is that women are able to create new little human beings in their bodies while simultaneously writing books, driving tractors, working in offices, planting crops – in general, doing everything men do.

A seed grows in writing as in nature. The seed of the idea is developed by both labor and the unconscious, and the struggle that goes on between them.

Creativity arises out of the tension between spontaneity and limitations, the latter (like the river banks) forcing the spontaneity into the various forms which are essential to the work of art or poem.

The seed of the idea is developed by both labor and the unconscious, and the struggle that goes on between them.

The tension between standing apart, and being fully involved; that is what makes a writer.

We all need to get the balance right between action and reflection. With so many distractions, it is easy to forget to pause and take stock.

Guys who might not be superstars but because of their hustle, because of the little things they do, these are the guys who can really mean the difference between winning and losing.

Since then mountains and torrential rivers and whatever separates and alienates have been cast between us, and even if we wanted to get together, we couldn’t. But when you now think of that little footbridge, words fail you and you sob and marvel.