Path To Enlightment Quotes

How deaf and stupid I have been, he thought, walking on quickly. When anyone reads anything which he wishes to study, he does not despise the letters and punctuation marks, and call them illusion, chance and worthless shells, but he reads them, he studies and loves them, letter by letter. But I, who wished to read the book of the world and of my own nature, did presume to despise the letters and signs. I called the world of appearances, illusion. I called my eyes and tongue, chance. Now it is over; I have awakened. ~ Hermann Hesse

There is a contemptibly quiet path for all those who are afraid of the blows and clamor of opposing forces. There is no honorable fighting for a man who is not ready to forget that he has a head to be battered and a name to be bespattered. Truth wants no champion who is not as ready to be struck as to strike for her. ~ J.G. Holland

Here is my gift, little princess: that you will always see a path through difficulties, and you will always find the courage to take it. ~ K. Eason

The heart is the path to wisdom because it dares to be vulnerable in the presence of power ~ Terry Tempest Williams

You are therefore able to run on this path, on which God is found above all vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell, speech, sense, rationality, and intellect. It is found as none of these, but rather above everything as God of gods and King of all kings. Indeed, the King of the world of the intellect is the King of kings and Lord of lords in the universe. ~ Nicholas Of Cusa

Mistress to these footprints
Lover to the wake of where
He has just passed,
for the path he wanders
is between us all.

The sweet taste of loss
feeds every mountain stream,
Failing ice down to seas
warm as blood
threading thin our dreams.

For where he leads her
has lost its bones,
And the trail he walks
is flesh without life
and the sea remembers nothing. ~ Steven Erikson

But do you think our futures are already determined for us?"
"Why are you asking all of this? What's going on?"
I let out a small laugh. "Remember when we were in the hallway?" He nodded. "Well, Thirteen tried telling me that I couldn't escape my fate and that there was no point in fighting the inevitable."
"Do you think it is inevitable?" he asked.
"Me?" I scoffed. "No. Nothing is ever guaranteed. One minor adjustment can alter everything. Nothing is ever set in stone. As of right now, we're all on one path: we're all stuck inside of this hell that we're trying to escape, and it may seem like the outcome has already been determined for us, but it hasn't. The smallest of things could change everything. A death. Deception. Anything could force us to follow another path, and you know what? We determine that path, not fate."
"What path do you see yourself on?" Colton hopped up onto the computer desk, tucking his hands underneath his thighs.
"I see us starting new lives outside of this place, far from McVeigh and his men," I answered honestly. "But I know not all of us will make it out of here. There is still more pain to come our way, but there is also happiness if we allow for it. ~ Nicole Sobon

It's very, very hard to affect culture. And you can get surprised thinking you're farther down the path of change than you really are because, frankly, most of us like the way things are. ~ Carol Bartz

There was one path across Boston Commons that a young man must not ask a young woman to take unless he meant business. Which path was that? she asked Holmes. "Ah," she remembered the elderly doctor saying, "if I were only fifty years younger I would show you. ~ Katherine Paterson

[I]nfectious disease is merely a disagreeable instance of a widely prevalent tendency of all living creatures to save themselves the bother of building, by their own efforts, the things they require. Whenever they find it possible to take advantage of the constructive labors of others, this is the path of least resistance. The plant does the work with its roots and its green leaves. The cow eats the plant. Man eats both of them; and bacteria (or investment bankers) eat the man ... ~ Hans Zinsser

Sometimes the path to a more beautiful relationship with people we love requires a willingness to accede to non-evil requests that we do not consider to be wise. Why? Since we have authority to grant the request, a withholding of the request can be misinterpreted and damage the relationship irreparably. The decision to put aside our misgivings and grant the non-evil request can, however, enable the other person come to a realization of the wisdom of our opinion and our love for them, resulting in the most beautiful relationships we can imagine. ~ Oghenovo Obrimah

Now there's something I understand a little better. Hate, sadness, even joy. to be able to share it with another person ... Naruto Uzumaki from fighting him i learned that. he knew pain like i did and then he taught me that you can change your path. I wish that one day i can be needed by someone. Not as a frightening weapon ... But as the sand's Kazekage. ~ Masashi Kishimoto

Achilles too staggered a moment. He felt his soul change colour. Blood pooled at his feet, and though he continued to stand upright and triumphant in the sun, his spirit set off on its own downward path and approached the boarders of an unknown region. ~ David Malouf

Opportunities in life come by creation, not by chance. You yourself, either now or in the past (including the past of former lives), have created all opportunities that arise in your path. Since you have earned them, use them to the best advantage. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda

Drug cartels have taken the driver's seat, training our young
men and women on how best to self destruct, while the larger
community watches on helplessly as these bands of renegades lead
our people towards the path of self annihilation ~ Oche Otorkpa

They were not brave enough to accept her as she came.
She made her own path where she found herself,
she followed it to her own people. ~ Tina J. Richardson

The sorcerer's creatures harried her, dragging at her skirts and tangling in her hair, as Lilith gripped the axe handle firmly and walked down the cobblestone path to the kitchen. ~ Georgina Anne Taylor

No man who is resolved to make the most of himself can spare time for personal contention, still less can he afford to take the consequences, including the vitiation of his temper and the loss of self control, yield to larger things to which you show no more than equal rights, and yield to lesser ones though clearly your own, better give your path to a dog, than be bitten by him in contesting for the right, not even killing the dog, will cure the bite ~ Abraham Lincoln

For the past several years, I've been harboring a fantasy, a last political crusade for the baby-boom generation. We, who started on the path of righteousness, marching for civil rights and against the war in Vietnam, need to find an appropriately high-minded approach to life's exit ramp. ~ Joe Klein

Teach those only willing to listen and listen to those only willing to teach ~ Justin Southwick

Did you know Grandfather would give the poems to me?" I ask.
"We thought he might," my mother says.
"Why didn't you stop him?"
"We didn't want to take away your choices," my mother says.
"But Grandfather never did tell me about the Rising," I say.
"I think he wanted you to find your own way," my mother says. She smiles. "In that way, he was a true rebel. I think that's why he chose that argument with your father as his favorite memory. Though he was upset when the fight happened, later he came to see that your father was strong in choosing his own path, and he admired him for it. ~ Ally Condie

Lots of things happen in our lives without any apparent justification. but whatever happens to us,takes us one step ahead in the path of self realisation.
The truth is we all are travellers in the life's eternal journey, to meet for a short while,to care and share but we tend to forget that nothing lasts forever.
if only we could cultivate a sense of detachment,life would have been much easier. ~ Chitralekha Paul

I intend to follow the path of virtue. It will not be overcrowded. ~ Lloyd Alexander

The silence between them was dark water. He could not cross it. He couldn't walk the line between the decency she deserved and the violence this path demanded. If he tried, it might get them both killed. He could only be who he truly was--a boy who had no comfort to offer. So he would give her what he could. ~ Leigh Bardugo

Love allows freedom for the beloved, even the freedom to leave. It surely grants the freedom to make mistakes, or to make decisions that bring out challenging situations. Challenges are part of this life simulation game after all. Love doesn't judge the person by their choices and deeds. Love says: "I trust and respect that you will eventually find your path on your own, whatever it may be. You don't need to agree with me - I love your 'yes' and I love your 'no.' I may get upset at you, but I still love you. You use your free will to do what you believe to be right. You live your life, with your choices and their results. It's just an additional honor and fun to have you in my life while we both enjoy it. ~ Akemi G

Above all, as a Hindu I belong to the only major religion in the world that does not claim to be the only true religion. I find it immensely congenial to be able to face my fellow human beings of other faiths without being burdened by the conviction that I am embarked upon a "true path" that they have missed. ~ Shashi Tharoor

I find, in all the writings of women, a strange muffled quality, as if the living word, as it left the lips, had been hastily suppressed and another substituted, one which would conform to some pattern imposed from without. […] I am trying, from the living urge of my own life, to force open channels of communication so far mostly closed. […] To press out naked into the dark spaces of life is perhaps to build a small part of the path along which others like myself wish to travel. ~ Julie Phillips

I have a Disability yes that's true, but all that really means is I may have to take a slightly different path than you. ~ Robert M. Hensel

It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end. ~ Rick Warren

I search the chaos - through a knot of Resistance fighters descending on a pair of legionnaires, past a Mask fighting off ten rebels at once, to the rubble of the tunnel, where my mother stands. An old Scholar slave trying to escape the havoc makes the mistake of crossing her path. She plunges her scim into his heart with a casual brutality. When she yanks the blade out, she doesn't look at the slave. Instead, she stares at me. As if we are connected, as if she knows my every thought, her gaze slices across the square. She smiles. ~ Sabaa Tahir

I cannot shield you from the challenges you will face. You will know great loss and danger, but also great joy. You may doubt your instincts in the years to come, but your feet have been walking this path since the moment you were born. ~ Deborah Harkness

God's Word had the power to light our way and to clear the debris that had covered the path so we can walk in it. ~ Lisa Bevere

If New Mexican voters believe the path to create American jobs is keeping taxes low, then they have an option. That's my campaign. ~ Heather Wilson

Sometimes societies become too stupid to survive. A nation that takes Barack Obama's current rhetorical flourishes seriously is certainly well advanced along that dismal path. ~ Mark Steyn

Sure, genetics do play a role in alcholism. You're more likely to be an alcoholic if one or both of your parents are also alcoholics. But that's just one part of the equation; the other part is your behavior. You can't become an alcoholic if you never take a drink. So if you know you're predisposed to addiction because of your family history, then just don't get started, and you'll never find yourself on that path.
Same with any other type of 'family curse.' If you parents smoke, don't pick up a cigarette. If your parents are obese, work hard to exercise and eat right so you don't follow in their foosteps. But some people find it easier to play the victim. They do whatever bad habits they want to because they think they have a built-in defense - I grew up this way. ~ Gaby Rodriguez

Boy, you resolve not to go down the path of a Dark Lord and the universe starts messing with you the instant the Hat comes off your head. Some days it just doesn't pay to fight destiny. Maybe I'll wait until tomorrow to start on my resolution to not be a Dark Lord. ~ Eliezer Yudkowsky

Which path do you intend to take, Nell?' said the Constable, sounding very interested. 'Conformity or rebellion?'
Neither one. Both ways are simple-minded - they are only for people who cannot cope with contradiction and ambiguity. ~ Neal Stephenson

The left is back, and it's the only path we have to get out of the spot to which the right has sunken us. Socialism builds and capitalism destroys. ~ Hugo Chavez

How many times have answers been so simple and yet someone is determined to take the path of thorns instead of roses?" "It's not earned." "That's a very human thing to say." "An inclination I can't help." "It's not about things that are earned, but just things as they are. ~ Roshani Chokshi

The best way to solve a problem is not to think of it as a problem but just as a difficulty or a challenge. Technically, the obstacle is the same, but you'll be able to approach it with a positive attitude that sharpens the mind and beats a path towards more solutions in the future. ~ A.G. Roemmers

It is one thing to see the forward path and another to be able to take it. But it is better to have an ambitious plan than none at all. ~ Winston S. Churchill

One by one, as they march, our comrades vanish from our sight. Be it ours to shed sunshine on their path, to lighten their sorrows by the balm of sympathy, to give them the pure joy of a never-tiring affection. - Bertrand Russell ~ Sandeep Jauhar

Perhaps her faults and follies, the unhappiness she had suffered, were not entirely vain if she could follow the path that now she dimly discerned before her, not the path that kind funny old Waddington had spoken of that led nowhither, but the path those dear nuns at the convent followed so humbly, the path that led to peace. ~ W. Somerset Maugham

My pen glides effortlessly; while my imaginary character speaks.

Each taking turn to tell their story.

Inspiration took me on a journey; along a path i knew nothing about, then i experienced writers block.

Stock in my thought, unable to fuel the burning desire of my pen i stare at the wall in search of inspiration. ~ Tim Templer

This state of affairs is not inevitable. Humans were able to employ science and law to transform common holdings into a commodity and then into capital; we also have the ability to reverse this path, transforming some of our now overabundant capital into renewed commons. ~ Fritjof Capra

How lucky country children are in these natural delights that lie ready to their hand! Every season and every plant offers changing joys. As they meander along the lane that leads to our school all kinds of natural toys present themselves for their diversion. The seedpods of stitchwort hang ready for delightful popping between thumb and finger, and later the bladder campion offers a larger, if less crisp, globe to burst. In the autumn, acorns, beechnuts, and conkers bedizen their path, with all their manifold possibilities of fun. In the summer, there is an assortment of honeys to be sucked from bindweed flowers, held fragile and fragrant to hungry lips, and the tiny funnels of honeysuckle and clover blossoms to taste. ~ Miss Read

I strongly believe that nothing is more spiritual than living at our highest potential while serving others. I believe that the more closely aligned we are to "spirit" the more fully we will give ourselves in service to the world. As such, my "spiritual path" is the path that leads me to a more complete manifestation of my unique Bodhisattvic duties. ~ Brian Johnson