May 24, 2010: The New York Times Op-Ed Contributor, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, writes about the need for compassion, potential, mutual understanding, and the "power of personal contact to bridge differences."

"When I was a boy in Tibet, I felt that my own Buddhist religion must be the best — and that other faiths were somehow inferior. Now I see how naïve I was, and how dangerous the extremes of religious intolerance can be today." 

"Granted, every religion has a sense of exclusivity as part of its core identity. Even so, I believe there is genuine potential for mutual understanding. While preserving faith toward one’s own tradition, one can respect, admire and appreciate other traditions."

"Harmony among the major faiths has become an essential ingredient of peaceful coexistence in our world. From this perspective, mutual understanding among these traditions is not merely the business of religious believers — it matters for the welfare of humanity as a whole."

Read the entire article, "Many Faiths, One Truth" by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.

What do you believe? Have your beliefs changed over time or through circumstances and relationships? Please comment.