Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
People need security of the mind. Why do they want democracy? Because it can give them freedom and security in a balanced way.
I was heartened that people everywhere want certain basic freedoms, even if they live in a totally different cultural environment.
I think, if you have enough inner resources, then you can live in isolation for long periods of time and not feel diminished by it.
If suffering were an unavoidable part of our existence, we should try to alleviate it as far as possible in practical, earthly ways.
Young people drift away from society because, in many cases, they have no hope or goals. So, hope will have to be given to the young.
If I advocate cautious optimism it is not because I do not have faith in the future but because I do not want to encourage blind faith.
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've always said that the more coordinated the efforts of the international community are, the better it will be for democracy in Burma.
I've always been strongly on the side of non-violence. Also, I think that if you use the wrong means, the ends themselves get distorted.
The peace of our world is indivisible. As long as negative forces are getting the better of positive forces anywhere, we are all at risk.
The greatest gift for an individual or a nation... was abhaya, fearlessness, not merely bodily courage but absence of fear from the mind.
Fearlessness may be a gift, but perhaps most precious is courage from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions.
The best way to help Burma is to empower the people of Burma, to help us have enough self-confidence to obtain what we want for ourselves.
The history of the world shows that peoples and societies do not have to pass through a fixed series of stages in the course of development.
Jobless people will have no self-confidence. And they feel they are worthless because when you don't have a job you have to rely on someone.
Sometimes I didn't even have enough money to eat. I became so weak from malnourishment that my hair fell out, and I couldn't get out of bed.
I wish people wouldn't think of me as a saint - unless they agree with the definition of a saint that a saint's a sinner who goes on trying.
I have been free for more than a month. Some people may think that that is long enough. Others may think that that is not quite long enough.
The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all.
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.
It could achieve a lot if everyone in Burma could stop saying something is good if it is not good, or say something is just if it is not just.
Democracy, like liberty, justice and other social and political rights, is not "given", it is earned through courage, resolution and sacrifice.
I only used a cell phone for the first time after I was released. I had difficulty coping with it because it seemed so small and insubstantial.
People keep saying I've changed. I used to be confrontational. But I'm - I haven't changed. It was - it's just that circumstances have changed.
It is not a sacrifice, it's a choice. If you choose to do something, then you shouldn't say it's a sacrifice, because nobody forced you to do it
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.
The quintessential revolution is that of spirit. Without this, the forces which produce the inequalities of the old order will continue to operate.
To the best of my knowledge, no war was ever started by women. But it is women and children who have always suffered most in situations of conflict.
What does Burma have to give the United States? We can give you the opportunity to engage with people who are ready and willing to change a society.
Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world... Kindness can change the lives of people.
Regimented minds cannot grasp the concept of confrontation as an open exchange of major differences with a view to settlement through genuine dialogue.
Some of the most relaxing weekends I have ever enjoyed were those I spent quietly with a sense of all work to date completed, and an absorbing mystery.
I was surprised by the response of young people because there is a perception that those younger than the 1988 generation are not interested in politics.
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.
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.
It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.
The French say that to part is to die a little. To be forgotten too is to die a little. It is to lose some of the links that anchor us to the rest of humanity.
We are not out to boast that there is so much percentage of growth per year. Our real concern is how it affects the lives of people, the future of our country.
Human rights must be protected by the rule of law, and there can never be occasions where human rights can be neglected or ignored or the rule of law set aside.
Once serious political dialogue has begun, the international community can assume that we have achieved genuine progress along the road to real democratisation.
To view the opposition as dangerous is to misunderstand the basic concepts of democracy. To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy.
A revolution simply means great change, significant change, and that's how I'm defining it - great change for the better, brought about through non-violent means.
Religion is about increasing peace and harmony in the world. ... People of all different religions should be given the opportunity to pursue good in their own way.
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.
Whatever help we may want from the international community now or in the future, we want to make sure that this help is tailored to help our people to help themselves.
I don't think you can work on feelings in politics, apart from anything else, political change can come very unexpectedly, sometimes overnight when you least expect it.
The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations.
There is a special charm to journeys undertaken before daybreak in hot lands: the air is soft and cool and the coming of dawn reveals a landscape fresh from the night dew.
Sometimes I think that a parody of democracy could be more dangerous than a blatant dictatorship, because that gives people an opportunity to avoid doing anything about it.
War is not the only arena where peace is done to death. Wherever suffering is ignored, there will be the seeds of conflict, for suffering degrades and embitters and enrages.