An en is a karmic bond lasting a lifetime. Nowadays many people seem to believe their lives are entirely a matter of choice; but in my day we viewed ourselves as pieces of clay that forever show the fingerprints of everyone who has touched them.

Water is powerful. It can wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron.

At the temple there is a poem called "Loss" carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it.

I tried to continue, but somehow my throat made up its mind to swallow – though I can’t think what I was swallowing, unless it was a little knot of emotion I pushed back down because there was no room in my face for any more.

We human beings have a remarkable way of growing accustomed to things.

After all, when a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom.

No one knows the author of memoir so well like himself.