carlos castaneda

"Death is the only wise advisor that we have.  Whenever you feel, as you always do, that everything is going wrong and you're about to be annihilated, turn to your death and ask if that is so.  Your death will tell you that you're wrong; that nothing really matters outside its touch.  Your death will tell you, 'I haven't touched you yet."

"In a world where death is the hunter, my friend, there is no time for regrets or doubts.  There is only time for decisions."

"The dying sun will glow on you without burning, as it has done today.  The wind will be soft and mellow and your hilltop will tremble.  As you reach the end of your dance you will look at the sun, for you will never see it again in waking or in dreaming, and then your death will point to the south.  To the vastness."

"Malicious acts are performed by people for personal gain …  Sorcerers, though, have an ulterior purpose for their acts, which has nothing to do with personal gain.  The fact that they enjoy their acts does not count as gain.  Rather, it is a condition of their character.  The average man acts only if there is a chance for profit.  Warriors say they act not for profit but for the spirit."

"Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge.  A warrior cannot complain or regret anything.  His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad.  Challenges are simply challenges."

"The trick is in what one emphasizes.  We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong.  The amount of work is the same."

peter matthiessen

In this very breath that we take now lies the secret that all great teachers try to tell us.

tennessee williams

once you fully apprehend the vacuity of a life without struggle, you are equipped with the basic means of salvation

tao teh ching

The universe is sacred.
You cannot improve it.
If you try to change it,
you will ruin it.
If you try to hold it,
you will lose it.

henry miller

life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly

tilopa's song of mahamudra

do naught with the body but relax;
shut firm the mouth and silent remain;
empty your mind and think of naught.
like a hollow bamboo, rest at ease your body.