Alan

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”
― Jorge Luis Borges

“The big challenge of our time is to make sure that when our hearts break [amidst climate catastrophe] we stay open and connected and curious rather than coming up with stories to justify ourselves being violent to others that we have othered more than those closest to us.”
― Jem Bendell

“Bhikkhus, the teaching is merely a vehicle to describe the truth. Don’t mistake it for the truth itself. A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. The finger is needed to know where to look for the moon, but if you mistake the finger for the moon itself, you will never know the real moon. The teaching is like a raft that carries you to the other shore. The raft is needed, but the raft is not the other shore. An intelligent person would not carry the raft around on his head after making it across to the other shore. Bhikkhus, my teaching is the raft which can help you cross to the other shore beyond birth and death. Use the raft to cross to the other shore, but don’t hang onto it as your property. Do not
become caught in the teaching. You must be able to let it go.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha

“My brother. Our perpetual encore -
he riddles my father with red silk scarves before sawing him in half
with a steak knife. Now we have two fathers,
one who weeps anytime he hears the word Presto!
The other who drags his feet down the hall at night.
Neither has the stomach for steak anymore.”
― Natalie Díaz, When My Brother Was an Aztec