THE QUOTABLE SPIRIT
Peter Lorie and Manuela D Mascetti, editors
A treasury of religious and spiritual quotations from ancient times to the twentieth century
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"Great becomes the fruit, great the advantage of earnest contemplation, when it is set round with upright conduct." Buddha (563-483 bce), 'The Dialogues'
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"There is no dichotomy between spirit and flesh, no split between Godhead and the World….Spiritual union is found in life within nature, passion, sensuality – through being fully human, fully one's self." Starhawk
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"I say to you, there is not God AND man. But there is God-Man or Man-God. There is the One. However multiplied, however divided, it is forever One." Mikhail Naimy (1889-1988), mystic and author, 'The Book of Mirdad – A Lighthouse and a Haven'
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"The body is affected by everything that is happening around you; it is not separate from what is happening around you. Whatever is happening there, is also happening here." U. G. Krishnamurti (b. 1918), 'Conversations with a Man Called U. G.'
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"If man speaks or acts with a pure mind, joy follows him as his own shadow." The Dhammapada (3rd century bce), 'The Path to Perfection'
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"God created man for immortality and made him the image of his own eternal self." The Wisdom of Solomon, Old Testament Apocrypha
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"All in one and one in all." Wei Lang (ca. 80 bce), philosopher, 'The Sutra'
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"Humility, unostentatiousness, non-injuring, forgiveness, simplicity, purity, steadfastness, self-control; this is declared to be wisdom; what is opposed to this is ignorance." Bhagavad Gita (ca. 500 bce)
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"Throughout this varied and eternal world Soul is the only element." Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), British poet, 'Queen Mab'
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"God has given us no quality that cannot be used for good." Sidney Greenberg, author and social commentator, 'Say Yes to Life'
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"The soul is the mirror of an indestructible universe." G. W. Leibniz (1646-1716), German philosopher, 'The Monadology'
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"May the vision that so many mystic masters of all traditions have had, of a future world free of cruelty and horror, where humanity can live in the ultimate happiness of the nature of mind, come, through all our efforts, to be realized." Sogyal Rinpoche, 'TheTibetan Book of Living and Dying'
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"The law of God and also the way to life is written in our hearts; it lies in no man's supposing, nor in any historical opinion, but in a good will and well doing." Jacob Boehme (1571-1624), 'The Confessions'
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"The whole of Evolution being a process of union (communion) with God, it becomes, in its totality, loving and loveable in the innermost and most ultimate of its developments." Pierre Teilhard deChardin (1881-1955), French priest and paleontologist, 'My Intellectual Position'
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"There is one divine Mind which keeps the universe in order and one providence which governs it." Plutarch (ca. 46-120), Greek biographer, 'Lives'
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"Nothing in the universe exists independently of your own consciousness." Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, poet, 'Old Path White Clouds: The Life Story of the Buddha'
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"There is such a thing as the 'unconscious will' of the higher Self which tends always to bring the personality in line with the over-all purpose of the spiritual Self." Roberto Assagioli, contemporary author, 'Psychosynthesis: A Manual of Principles and Techniques'
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"To the question 'What must I do to free myself?' Zen replies: 'There is nothing you need do since you have never been enslaved and since there is nothing in reality from which you can free yourself." Hubert Benoit, contemporary French philosopher, 'The Supreme Doctrine'
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"Doubt is nothing but a trivial agitation on the surface of the soul, while deep down there is a calm certainty." Francois Mauriac (1885-1970), winner of Nobel Prize for Literature, 1952, 'God and Mammon'
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"These bodies are perishable; but the dwellers in these bodies are eternal, indestructible, and impenetrable." The Bhagavad Gita (ca. 500 bce),
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"Virtues are virtues because they give joy once they are practised. If a virtue does not give joy, it is not a virtue." Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927), Sufi master musician, 'The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan'
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"It is not a question of analysing yourself. It is a question of seeing yourself." Yogaswami (1872-1964), Sri Lankan teacher, 'Positive Thoughts for Daily Meditation'
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"We do not 'come into' this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean 'waves', the universe 'peoples'. Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe." Alan Watts (1915-1973), 'The Book On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are'
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"The Self of all creatures, the One Controller, who makes his one form into many objects is seen by the wise to exist inside them." Katha Upanishad (900-600 bce),
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"One god there is hidden in every creature, the Self of all creatures, and all pervading, abiding in all." Sueta Upanishad (900-600 bce)
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We are gathering together the primary insights of spirituality and bringing them together into one place.
This archive contains 11,754 quotes, taken from 635 references,
organized in terms of 39 primary categories. Quotes are randomized and appear in a different way at every click.
Explore the navigation options to review these insights.
We include
- All major spiritual and religious traditions, from all cultures, and all historical epochs
- Major psychologists, philosophers, writers, scholars and leading religious personalities
- Sources in classical religion as well as voices from new consciousness, esotericism and mysticism
- Choices are guided by the spirit of oneness, love, kindness, inclusion and community
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