“A man ain’t nothing but a man,” said Baby Suggs. “But a son? Well now, that’s somebody.”
“Even in a palace hall, Law is the lord of all.”
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
“Having made an utter failure of my life, I found myself one day in the midst of my poverty and wretchedness, thinking about the female companions of my youth. As I went over them one by one, examining them and comparing them in my mind's eye, it suddenly came over me that those slips of girls - which is all they were then - were in every way, both morally and intellectually, superior to the 'grave and mustachioed signior' I am now supposed to have become.”
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
“Whereas in this favoured Country, situate in the centremost part of the four continents of the earth, on which it has pleased Heaven to bestow the blessings of everlasting prosperity and peace, we... have, with all due reverence and care, prepared offcies for the salvation of all departed souls, supplicating Heaven and calling upon the Name of the Lord Buddha...Now, earnestly praying and beseeching the Eighteen Guardians of the Sangha, The Warlike Guardians of the Law, and the Twelve Guardians of the Months mercifully to extend their holy compassion towards us, but terribly to blaze forth in divine majesty against the powers of evil, we do solemnly perform for nine and forty days the Great Mass for the purification, deliverance and salvation of all souls on land and on sea.”
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
“I started to question what was being taught—I didn’t get much guidance in medical school or residency on what to do when your patient can’t pay for health insurance or when she has lost childcare for the third time in two months and is being fired from her job. Instead, I was taught to prescribe medications or provide psychotherapy for issues that were clearly systemic. While there is certainly a great need for both of these medical interventions, the lack of attention to the inhumanity of our social policies left me feeling powerless—just like my patients.”
― Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness
― Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness
“Our house has now enjoyed nearly a century of dazzling success. Suppose one day "joy at its height engenders sorrow". And suppose that, in the words of another proverb, "when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter". Will not our reputation as one of the great, cultured households of the age then turn into a hollow mockery?"...Honour and disgrace follow each other in an unending cycle. No human power can arrest that cycle and hold it permanently in one position. What you can do, however, is to plan while we are still prosperous for the kind of heritage that will stand up to the hard times when they come.”
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
Doug’s 2025 Year in Books
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