His Holiness the Dalai Lama noted that “Compassion is not religious business; it is human business. It is not a luxury . . . it is essential for human survival.” He later wrote, “However capable and skilful an individual may be, left alone, he or she will not survive. However vigorous and independent one may feel during the most prosperous periods of life, when one is sick or very young or very old, one must depend on the support of others. . . . I believe that at every level of society—familial, tribal, national, and international—the key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion.”

-Roshi Joan Halifax