A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 'Universe', a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

Everyone is aware of the difficult and menacing situation in which human society -- shrunk into one community with a common fate - now finds itself, but only a…

I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.

I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.

Technology is destructive only in the hands of people who do not realize that they are one and the same process as the universe.

I believe that the unity of man as opposed to other living things derives from the fact that man is the conscious life of himself. Man is conscious of himself,…

Perhaps I am just a hopeless rationalist, but isn't fascination as comforting as solace? Isn't nature immeasurably more interesting for its complexities and it…