My very dear Karen,Thank you very much for your kind letter. I am very sorry it took so long for me to reply.

Rinpoche gave this advice to a student who had a strong wish to get ordained and also to do long-term retreat, but was in a relationship and was concerned about hurting her partner by leaving.

One way to celebrate a birthday is as if you have just been in a place where there’s great danger. You might not have survived, but you have. That’s a miracle. It’s amazing that since the last birthday, over this past year, you did not die.

My very dear Janine,Thank you very much for your kind letter.Even if you are at university, you still have to work under people or with people. Working under someone is not necessarily a negative thing.

Regarding global warming, usually the real cause, karma, isn’t talked about. The reality is: nothing happens without relating to the mind. People think, “This is a natural disaster,” but it doesn’t happen without a cause, and the main cause is karma.

My very dear Honorable Al Gore,I am the spiritual head of the FPMT, which is a worldwide organization devoted to benefiting society through the practice and philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism, education, public service, health, and culture.

My very dear Sharon,Thank you for your kind letter. I am very happy that my thought transformation book helped when your mind and spirits were down and low.

Students at the centers should do the following practices to prevent more problems from earthquakes over the next six weeks:

This is a message to all at Kopan Monastery: Tenpa Choden-la, Um-dze-la, Geshe Jangchun, as well as Ani Jangsem and all the nuns at the nunnery,Regarding earthquakes, I left a prayer with Khedrup for all the monks and nuns to do.