“More people, especially young people, are realising that if they want change, they’ve got to go about it themselves – they can’t depend on a particular person, ie me, to do all the work. They are less easy to fool than they used to be, they now know what’s going on all over the world.”

Each and every one of us is capable of making such a contribution.

There is nothing to be gained by being unnecessarily nasty. Violence begets violence.

Jobless people will have no self-confidence. And they feel they are worthless because when you don’t have a job you have to rely on someone.

It is not power that corrupts but fear.

If you are feeling helpless, help someone.

I’ve always thought that the best solution for those who feel helpless is for them to help others.

Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour.

It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.

The history of the world shows that peoples and societies do not have to pass through a fixed series of stages in the course of development.

In societies where men are truly confident of their own worth women are not merely “tolerated”, they are valued.

When I was in London a Kachin youth criticized me for not condemning the Burmese military for their offensive in Kachin State. I answered “condemnation is not the solution.” We want to build reconciliation, not condemnation.

One should mature over 20 years.

The true measure of the justice of a system is the amount of protection it guarantees to the weakest.

Kindness can change the lives of people.

It would be difficult to dispel ignorance unless there is freedom to pursue the truth unfettered by fear.

My top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves.

It became like a symbolic thing, to be “an artist.” After Duchamp, I realized that being an artist is more about a lifestyle and attitude than producing some product.

Growing up, my family was an enemy of the state. I have experienced more disappointment than joy, much more sad stories or desperate conditions.

This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the quality of their lives.

The whole attitude of society has become much more open and realistic. They realize that the only way to make a more democratic and free society is to let different opinions come out.

Some media in the world are more critical towards what’s happening than others.

You’ll have more love than you know what to do with. Whatever you are inside, you receive a thousandfold on the outside.

The story of a couple is always very fragile, especially over more than thirty years.

The moment that you are willing to step outside of tomorrow, outside of needing more time, or having more time, everything becomes possible. And you may finally notice where the Buddha has always been.