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Quote by Kamila Shamsie

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Kamila Shamsie
Kamila Shamsie

Kamila Shamsie is a renowned Pakistani novelist whose contemporary fiction has garnered international acclaim. Born in 1973, she is recognized for her insightful narratives that delve into themes of identity, politics, and cultural conflict in the modern world. more

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“When people are sad they usually make such unreasonable requests that, deity though I am, I am unable to fulfill them. Some pray to be made rich overnight. Some covet other people's wives. Some want to kill the people they hate. Some want the rain changed to sunny weather. Some even want the nose they were born with to be a little bigger. Everyone wants something else. They all pray in vain to Buddha and to the gods, even though their requests cannot possibly be granted, thus making nuisances of themselves.”

GodDesirePrayerSadnessJapanBuddha
Book:Five Women Who Loved Love: Amorous Tales from 17th-century Japan
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“The greater one's purity, the more clearly one sees how much one sins; and the more one sins, the more benighted one is, even though one may appear to be pure. Again, the more knowledge one has, the more one thinks oneself ignorant; and the more one is ignorant of one's ignorance and of the shortcomings in one's spiritual knowledge, the more one thinks one knows. The more the spiritual contestant endures afflictions, the more he will defeat the enemy; and, lastly, the more one tries for one day to do something good, the more one is a debtor all the days of one's life, as St Mark has said; for even if the ability and desire to do good are one's own the grace to do it comes from God. It is only because of this grace that we are able to do anything good; when we do it, then, what have we to boast about?”

DesireSinGracePurity
Author:St. Peter of Damascus
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