“We all possess love and affection that are naturally and inherently a part of us. So we have to enhance them, rather than ignore them and let them disappear. This is of vital importance, because this love is one of the essential qualities of our mind, something truly precious and crucial for a human being.

   Now when a person embodies that attitude of love and affection, his or her conduct in life will be admirable, and what we call that of a ‘true human being.’ In fact this is the mark of a good human being, rather than whether or not he or she is a spiritual practitioner. It also lies at the root of a happy and peaceful human society. How important it is, then, that we recognize this, and do everything we can to enhance that attitude of love and caring for others.

   Human beings naturally possess this love and affection, and so I feel it is the role of the religions of the world to bring out their potential and make these wonderful qualities grow. Isn’t this why so many different spiritual views and philosophies have indeed evolved—so that we can develop these wonderful, natural qualities more and more? In a nutshell, this is the whole reason why we undertake spiritual practice: to become a good human being, someone who is patient, tolerant, altruistic, compassionate, contented, and self-disciplined. We practice because that is the kind of person we want to become.”

From The Vision of Enlightenment (2006) by the Dalai Lama