Peter Matthiessen

In order to fulfill yourself, you have to forget yourself. In order to find yourself, you have to lose yourself.

In religion and politics people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.

A miracle is an event which creates faith. That is the purpose and nature of miracles. Frauds deceive. An event which creates faith does not deceive: therefore it is not a fraud, but a miracle.

Faith: not wanting to know what is true.

I believe that our Heavenly Father invented man because he was disappointed in the monkey.

Zazen is an activity that is an extension of the universe. Zazen is not the life of an individual, it’s the universe that’s breathing.

You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t. You get to decide what to worship.

One who conquers himself is greater than another who conquers a thousand times a thousand on the battlefield.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought.

There’s nothing written in the Bible, Old or New testament, that says, If you believe in Me, you ain’t going to have no troubles.

Believe in something larger than yourself…get involved in the big ideas of your time.

If we could get all religions together on a common purpose-the elimination of jealousies and the things that make men covet another’s belongings, we would be a long way toward the goal of outmoding war, depression and poverty.

There is no path to happiness: Happiness is the path.

I’m a good Muslim and I’m only interested in Islam.

The voice of the Lord is the voice of common sense, which is shared by all that is.