If you can make people understand why freedom is so important through the arts, that would be a big help.
The quintessential revolution is that of spirit. Without this, the forces which produce the inequalities of the old order will continue to operate.
I think that freedom is sometimes a state of mind. Sometimes, mind you, but not always.
We have to choose between dialogue and utter devastation.
Absolute peace in our world is an unattainable goal. But it is one towards which we must continue to journey, our eyes fixed on it as a traveller in a desert fixes his eyes on the one guiding star that will lead him to salvation.
A more significant phase should mean serious political dialogue.
As you look at me and listen to me, please remember the often repeated truth that one prisoner of conscience is one too many.
In politics, you also have to be cautiously optimistic.
Democracy acknowledges the right to differ as well as the duty to settle differences peacefully. Authoritarian governments see criticism of their actions and doctrines as a challenge to combat.
Some believe that the only way to remove the authoritarian regime and replace it with a democratic one is through violent means. I would like to set the precedent of political change through political settlement, not through violence.
Where there is no justice there can be no secure peace.
There is no intrinsic virtue to law and order unless “law” is equated with justice and “order” with the discipline of a people satisfied that justice has been done.
In a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear. Never let fear prevent you from doing right.
It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute.
We must all work together if we are all to live together in unity and harmony.
It cannot be doubted that in most countries today women, in comparison to men, still remain underprivileged.
When we think of the state of the economy, we are not thinking in terms of money flow. We are thinking in terms of the effect on everyday lives of people.
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.