Thomas Paine

He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.

I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.

I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition (Christianity) one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology.

The less you respond to negative people, the more peaceful your life will become.

Children, Fear God; that is to say, have an holy awe upon your minds to avoid that which is evil, and a strict care to embrace and do that which is good.

There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.

I come to realize that mind is no other than mountains and rivers and the great wide earth, the sun and the moon and stars.

I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.

I prayed for your peace even if you started this whole war in me.

O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet.

Why is the tao so valuable? Because it is everywhere, and everyone can use it. This is why those who seek will find.

Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen.

What a good thing Adam had. When he said a good thing he knew nobody had said it before.

A man who is good enough to go to heaven is not good enough to be a clergyman.

A cult is a religion with no political power.

To know God better is only to realize how impossible it is that we should ever know him at all. I know not which is more childish to deny him, or define him.

Being neededdoes not entail selfish pride or unhealthy attachment to the worldly esteem of others. Rather, it consists of a natural human hunger to serve our fellow men and women.