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Quote by Elizabeth Smart

“Thus every quarter-hour it puts the taste of death in my mouth, and shows me, but not gently, how I go whoring after oblivion.”

Book:By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept

Work

By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept

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Author

Elizabeth Smart

Elizabeth Smart is an American author renowned for her young adult novels. Born on November 3, 1987, she has gained acclaim for her compelling storytelling and relatable characters. Her books frequently explore themes of identity, family, and personal development. more

“We must not even evade it, as the Indians do, by myths and meaningless words, such as reabsorption in Brahman, or the Nirvana of the Buddhists. On the contrary, we freely acknowledge that what remains after the complete abolition of the will is, for all who are still full of the will, assuredly nothing. But also conversely, to those in whom the will has turned and denied itself, this very real world with all its suns and galaxies, is—nothing”

Will Oblivion Nothing

Author:Arthur Schopenhauer

“Added to all this is the universal dread of reality. We "pale-faces" have it, all of us, although we are seldom, and most of us never, conscious of it. It is the spiritual weakness of the "Late" man of the higher civilizations, who lives in his cities cut off from the peasant and the soil and thereby from the natural experiencing of destiny, time, and death. He has become too wide awake, too accustomed to ponder perpetually over yesterday and tomorrow, and cannot bear that which he sees and is forced to see: the relentless course of things, senseless chance, and real history striding pitilessly through the centuries into which the individual with his tiny scrap of private life is irrevocably born at the appointed place. That is what he longs to forget, refute, or contest. He takes flight from history into solitude, into imaginary far-away systems, into some faith or another, or into suicide. Like a grotesque ostrich he buries his head in hopes, ideals, and cowardly optimism: it is so, but it ought not to be, therefore it is otherwise. We sing in the woods at night because we are afraid.”

Death Oblivion Organism

Book:The Hour of Decision: Germany and World-Historical Evolution

Source: The Hour of Decision: Germany and World-Historical Evolution

“First of all, Buddhism is neither pessimistic nor optimistic. If anything at all, it is realistic, for it takes a realistic view of life and the world. It looks at things objectively (yathābhūtam). It does not falsely lull you into living in a fool's paradise, nor does it frighten and agonize you with all kinds of imaginary fears and sins. It tells you exactly and objectively what you are and what the world around you is, and shows you the way to perfect freedom, peace, tranquility and happiness.”

Philosophy Truth Religion Buddhism Balance Objectivity Objectivism Middle Way Middle Path The Middle Path The Middle Way

Book:What the Buddha Taught

Source: What the Buddha Taught

“I consider this is really the heart of England,’ said Clifford to Connie, as he sat there in the dim February sunshine. ‘Do you?’ she said, seating herself in her blue knitted dress, on a stump by the path. ‘I do! this is the old England, the heart of it; and I intend to keep it intact.’ ‘Oh yes!’ said Connie. But, as she said it she heard the eleven-o’clock hooters at Stacks Gate colliery. Clifford was too used to the sound to notice.”