It is the love of ordinary people, in Burma, in Japan or anywhere else in the world, for justice and peace and freedom that is our surest defense against the forces of unreason and extremism...
Each man has in him the potential to realize the truth through his own will and endeavour and to help others to realize it.
I worry that even those who want to reform are not quite sure how to go about it. There is so much to be done.
Calamities that are not the result of purely natural phenomena usually have their origins, distant and obscure though they may be, in common human failings.
Peace, development, and justice are all connected to each other. We cannot talk about economic development without talking about peace. How can we expect economic development in a battlefield?
I haven’t heard any music on the BBC World Service in a long time. Maybe I’m listening at the wrong times. But not one single piece of music.
We achieve everything by our efforts alone. Our fate is not decided by an almighty God. We decide our own fate by our actions. You have to gain mystery over yourself. It is not a matter of sitting back and accepting.
If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.
If you give in to intimidation, you’ll go on being intimidated.
To be kind is to respond with sensitivity and human warmth to the hopes and needs of others. Even the briefest touch of kindness can lighten a heavy heart. Kindness can change the lives of people.
I look upon myself as a politician. That isn’t a dirty word.
I feel that the BBC World Service is not as versatile as it used to be – or perhaps I’m not listening at the right times.
I could listen to the radio and I had access to books from time to time. Not all the time.
I don’t believe in professional dissidents. I think it’s just a phase, like adolescence.
I don’t understand why people say that I am full of courage. I feel terribly nervous.
I don’t want to see the military falling. I want to see the military rising to dignified heights of professionalism and true patriotism.
I felt that it was my duty not to senselessly waste my time. And since I didn’t want to waste my time, I tried to accomplish as much as possible.
I was a bit of a coward when I was small. I was terribly frightened of the dark.
After all it was my father who founded the Burmese army and I do have a sense of warmth towards the Burmese army.
I would like to have seen my sons growing up.