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It is this time and this place that matter—not some other time or place. What matters is here and now—the people here and now.

Just as a spring breeze awakens tender new shoots of green, sincere encouragement can thaw a frozen heart and instill courage. It is the most powerful means to rejuvenate the human spirit.
Friendship is not a matter of the amount of time you spend with someone. Rather, it is a measure of the strength and depth of the spiritual resonance that arises between you.
Japanese mountain potatoes known as taros are rough and dirty when harvested, but when they are placed in a basin of running water together and rolled against each other, the skin peels away, leaving the potatoes clean and ready for cooking. Similarly, the only way for us to hone and polish our character is through our interactions with others.
Genuine sincerity opens people’s hearts, while manipulation causes them to close.
A Buddhist scripture states that “the voice does the Buddha’s work.” The voice has the power to convey one’s compassion for another. No matter how much you care, the sentiment alone will not communicate itself. When your feelings are conveyed in words, your voice will have the immense power to move another person’s heart.
It is this time and this place that matter—not some other time or place. What matters is here and now—the people here and now.
One person’s heart moves another’s. If one’s own heart is closed, then the doors of other people’s hearts will also shut tight. On the other hand, someone who makes all those around him or her into allies, bathing them in the sunlight of spring, will be treasured by all.

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