“Once a man wrote to me that once during his meditation the image of the Dalai Lama appeared to him, and it helped him a lot. I am absolutely sure that each of us can do it. The secret to success is to show interest in the other person's point of view from the outset. Let's always look for something in common between us. But let's not take everything in that light. “We are accustomed to thinking that, by objecting to someone, we inevitably enter into a conflict with this person, which must necessarily reveal the winner and the loser, or infringe upon someone's pride. Whether we are laymen or holders of the monastic rank, we simply have no other way if we want to continue living in this world. Everything in her is simple and clear: her temple is her heart, her commandment is loving kindness and compassion, her ethical standards- love and respect for neighbors, whoever they are. This is a religion that I preach, perhaps even more so than Buddhism. “We should develop love and compassion in ourselves, because they can fill our life with true meaning. If we all chose a monastic lifestyle and went to beg, the economy would collapse and we would simply starve to death! I am sure that in such a situation Buddha would say to his monks: "Well, now let's go to work!" Business activity is beneficial for ourselves, for others and for society as a whole.
Among other things, it allows us to provide jobs for those who need it. “I don’t mean to say that we should not be in business or strive for development and prosperity. The most important thing is to smile at another, showing him your real human face. When meeting people, be it a biggie, a beggar vagabond, or just the most a common person, I do not make any distinction between them. The more it is open, the less discomfort we experience in communicating with people.
“When our mind is closed, we can easily succumb to feelings of fear or discomfort. Then we will understand that the aspirations of other people are no different from our own, and our hearts will open to love and compassion. In order to love your neighbors and surround them with tenderness and care, in order to wish them happiness and freedom from suffering, you need to learn to experience all these feelings for yourself. “One thing can be absolutely certain: if we do not have kindness to ourselves, we cannot be kind to others.