In this time of increasing violence and confusion, society seems to have lost the ethical direction once provided by religion. Modern morals are based on the assumption that left unsupervised, humankind will commit horrors. In this exquisitely argued cry for a new ethos, the Dalai Lama posts the notion that true ethics spring from human nature, not the rules of government, and that human beings are better than we think we are. He adds that a society and a life that cultivates love and compassion are completely within our reach.