"The first undeniable reality is that every living thing dies, and the second undeniable reality is that we suffer throughout our lives because we don't understand death. The truth derived from these two points is the importance of clarifying the matter of birth and death. The third undeniable reality is that all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in my head simply arise haphazardly, by chance. And the conclusion we can derive from that is not to hold on to all that comes up in our head. That is what we are doing when we sit zazen."

Source : Kosho Uchiyama, Tom Wright, Jisho Warner (2004). “Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice”, p.11, Simon and Schuster

Kosho Uchiyama

#Death Quotes #Truth Quotes #Reality Quotes

“I write fiction because it's a way of making statements I can disown.”
“God has a way of telling you when to change your strings.”
“Twenty seconds before a race, there's absolute focus. The key thing is to achieve relaxation, but at the same to have absolute total control. You've got to find the balance between being totally ready to go and being really at peace with yourself as well.”
“Only two countries in this hemisphere are not democratic, but many countries in both Central and South America, and in the Caribbean, are really fragile democracies.”
“I think then I may safely conclude and I firmly believe that American slavery is not only not a sin but especially commanded by God through Moses and approved by Christ through His Apostles.”

Source : David Christy, Albert Taylor Bledsoe, William Harper, Thornton Stringfellow, James Henry Hammond (1860). “Cotton is king”, p.636
“I believe strongly that we need to get beyond rhetoric, beyond industry and environmentalists fighting with each other, and seriously solve problems.”

Source : "The Complete Gale Norton Interview". Interview with Alex Pasquariello, www.hcn.org. May 24, 2004.
“I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly,”
“Although no one said so, intuitively I knew they were my celestial welcoming committee. It was as if they had all gathered just outside heaven's gate, waiting for me. The first person I recognized was Joe Kulbeth, my grandfather. He looked exactly as I remembered him, with his shock of white hair. ...as I stared into his face, an ecstatic bliss overwhelmed me. ... I couldn't get past the joy of our reunion. How either of us reached heaven seemed irrelevant.”

Source : Don Piper, Cecil Murphey (2015). “90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life”, p.27, Baker Books

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