Compassion enhances our self-confidence because a calm mind allows our marvellous human intelligence to bloom. When we’re angry, our thinking is distorted and we don’t see the different aspects of reality. A calm mind enables us to take a broader, more realistic view.

When individuals are too self-centred, they tend to be prone to fear, suspicion, anxiety and anger. Compassion and restraining from harming others, act as an antidote to this. Scientists say that it is basic human nature to be compassionate, because we are social animals.

Fear and anxiety easily give way to anger and violence. The opposite of fear is trust, which, related to warm-heartedness, boosts our self-confidence. Compassion also reduces fear, reflecting as it does a concern for others’ well-being. This is what really attracts friends.

In working for the good of humanity I don't think of myself just as a Tibetan or a Buddhist, but as a human being. We have to think of the whole of humanity. Being human is the common ground in our efforts to create a better world, because we all survive in dependence on others.