The menu is not the meal.
If you really understand Zen, you can use any book, even the dictionary, because the sound of the rain needs no translation.
You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.
Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.
This is the real secret of life – to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.
The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.
Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.
In matters of style, swim with the current;In matters of principle, stand like a rock.
From the day I arrived, California seemed like an enchanted land.
Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to have any relation.
The industrial value of leisure as a promoter of the consumption of goods, and thus as a stimulant to business have been proved.
History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.
I do not believe, even remotely, that you have to have a partner in your life in order to be whole, in order to be complete, in order to be fulfilled. You just don’t have to.
Smiling is one of the highest forms of meditation.
Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.
Positive anything is better than negative thinking.
In the 80s, when I was a little girl, this whole Midtown area was a different world. These are the streets that I walked, and learned my lessons on, and heard the music, and witnessed disenfranchised people, and people who just had dreams and hopes. Every pimp, every prostitute, every drug dealer, every Broadway dreamer wishing they could be a writer, or a musician, or an actor.
I no longer feel the need of seeking out conscious Americanism. Because we live here and work here, we can be certain that when our music is mature it will also be American in quality.
Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thought that is forever flowing through one’s head.
Do not condemn the judgement of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.
