“Nothing can silence me as long as I am alive. I don’t give any kind of excuse. If I cannot come out [of China] or I cannot go in [to China] this is not going to change my belief. But when I am there, I am in this condition: I see it, I see people who need help. Then you know, I just want to offer my possibility to help them.”

“Whenever I go to the dock and look at the horizon, I am on the other side. If I see a boat on the ocean, it pulls me like a cord… like a belt pulling my sides, and I don’t know where I am, I cannot think of anything else…”

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel it.”

“Coming and going by the dance, I see
That what I am not is a part of me.
Dancing is all that I can ever trust,
The dance is all I am, the rest is dust.
I will believe my bones and live by what
Will go on dancing when my bones are not.”

“When I cannot see words curling like rings of smoke round me I am in darkness—I am nothing.”

“Thank you for praying for me, and wishing me well, and all the support, because I need it a lot. And inside me there is a warrior, but right now, I am a 'Golden Girl'… But I wanted to let you guys know that I have not died, and I am here, and I am going to fight with all I have got to stay — and to help. And I have never been in this bad a condition, but I am determined.”

“My current situation is, I always want to find a new possibility. China is in a changing stage, and that puts me in a very difficult situation, because anytime a new condition is announced there is a lot of struggle between the new and the old. So the establishment really becomes extremely nervous because they are refusing to meet very basic human rights or values. I don’t know how long I can still struggle in China, but I will try my best. Because this is a land I am very familiar with, and we have been in the same kind of struggle for generations. I think it’s a time for change.”

“I an a political asylum situation here. Legally, I cannot tell that I am making any politics action here. But I always want to be with my people over there. I want to go back to Vietnam, of course, if possible.”

“I am going to help everyone I can to understand the Buddha’s teachings, I am going to help everyone I can to recite the Great Compassion Mantra and the Heart Sutra, I am going to let everyone know how great the Buddha’s teachings are. I am going to make world peace a reality.”

“I am not an expert at praying, as you know. But can you please help me? I am in desperate need of help. I don't know what to do. I need an answer. Please tell me what to do…”