“Man is distinguished from the brute animals in proportion as thought prevails over sense: but in the healthy processes of the mind, a balance is constantly maintained between the impressions from outward objects and the inward operations of the intellect:--for if there be an overbalance in the contemplative faculty, man thereby becomes the creature of mere meditation, and loses his natural power of action.” IfsThinkingMenMindActionProcessLosesNaturalAnimalMeditationObjectsBalanceHealthyCreaturesMereIntellectImpressionOperationsProportionFacultyInwardDistinguishedBrutesContemplative Book:Lectures Upon Shakspeare Source: Lectures Upon Shakspeare
“Where no interest is takes in science, literature and liberal pursuits, mere facts and insignificant criticisms necessarily become the themes of discourse; and minds, strangers alike to activity and meditation, become so limited as to render all intercourse with them at once tasteless and oppressive.” MindFactsCultureLiteratureInterestMeditationActivityCriticismMereStrangerPursuitThemeDiscourseInsignificantIntercourse Author:Madame de Stael
“While we can learn or study techniques for almost anything we might want to accomplish, real understanding is not the mere accumulation of knowledge. Understanding cannot be realized by listening or reading about the realization of others. It must be achieved firsthand via substantive, direct perception in the moment.” WantRealMomentsWisdomMightReadingUnderstandingStudyMeditationListeningPerceptionDirectMereAccomplishTechniqueRealizationBeing RealAccumulation Author:H. E Davey
“The mere notion of photography, when we introduce it into our meditation on the genesis of historical knowledge and its true value, suggests the simple question: Could such and such a fact, as it is narrated here, have been photographed?” Has BeensFactsValuesSimpleMeditationPhotographyHistoricalMereNotionIntroducingGenesisTrue ValueHistorical Knowledge Author:Paul Valery
“If you are a Buddhist, inspire yourself by thinking of the bodhisattva. If you are a Christian, think of the Christ, who came not to be served by others but to serve them in joy, in peace, and in generosity. For these things, these are not mere words, but acts, which go all the way, right up to their last breath. Even their death is a gift, and resurrection is born from this kind of death. (157)” IfsThinkingWayKindChristianLastsJoyPeaceChristBornMeditationInspireBreathsMereBuddhistGenerosityResurrectionBodhisattva Author:Jean Leloup