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Quote by Finley Peter Dunne

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Finley Peter Dunne
Finley Peter Dunne

Finley Peter Dunne was an American humorist, journalist, and radio personality renowned for his satirical and witty observations on American society and politics. Born on July 10, 1867, in Chicago, Illinois, Dunne spent the majority of his career in New York City. He is most famous for his newspaper column, 'The Gas House Gang,' which featured the character of Mr. Dooley, an Irish-American everyman with a sharp wit. Dunne passed away on April 24, 1936. more

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“In deep self-acceptance grows a compassionate understanding. As one Zen master said when I asked if he ever gets angry, 'Of course I get angry, but then a few minutes later I say to myself, 'What's the use of this,' and I let it go.'”

“In any activity, we have to know what to expect, how to reach our objectives and what capacity we possess for the proposed task. The only people who can say they have renounced the fruit are those who, thus equipped, feel no desire for the results of the conquest, and remain absorbed in combat. You can renounce the fruit, but this renunciation does not mean indifference toward the result.”

“Once, at a seminar, I heard a Westernized lama say that a meditator's state of mind should be like that of a hotel doorman. A doorman lets the guests in, but he doesn't follow them up to their rooms. He lets them out, but he doesn't walk into the street with them to their next appointment. He greets them all, then lets them go on about their business. Meditation is, in its initial stages, simply accustoming oneself to letting thoughts come and go without grasping at their sleeves or putting up a velvet rope to keep them out.”

“When we seek happiness through accumulation, either outside of ourselves-from other people, relationships, or material goods-or from our own self-development, we are missing the essential point. In either case we are trying to find completion. But according to Buddhism, such a strategy is doomed. Completion comes not from adding another piece to ourselves but from surrendering our ideas of perfection.”