According to Buddhism, our view of the self as a singular, distinct, autonomous and lasting entity is at odds with reality and, therefore becomes a source of frustration and suffering. An exacerbated feeling of self-importance, self-cherishing, and self-centeredness are the basis for impulses of attraction and aversion, which quickly develop...

Leonardo da Vinci wrote in his notebooks: “The time will come when people like me will think of the murder of an animal just as they think today of the murder of a man.” And George Bernard Shaw said, “Animals are my friends, and I don’t eat my friends.” It’s not a matter of denying that there are differences in intelligence between animals a...

In 2005 we visited a remote area of Eastern Tibet to check on the progress of our Karuna-Shechen projects there and look for new ways in which to help. While visiting one of our small clinics, I happened to enter a dark kitchen with my camera. In a dark corner near the hearth, was a little girl whose smile and direct gaze, completely devoi...