My cousin Elroy spent seven years as an IBM taper staring at THINK signs on the walls before he finally got a good idea: He quit.

Tofu and futons. The adepts of Orientalism seem to spend most of their lives reclining. They can't quite summon the energy to crawl up onto a chair. Even their Yogic exercises are carried out in a prone or sitting position.

Desire, said the Buddha, is the cause of suffering. But without desire, what delight?

Our culture runs on coffee and gasoline, the first often tasting like the second.

The domination of nature leads to the domination of human nature.

Jane Austen: Getting into her books is like getting in bed with a cadaver. Something vital is lacking; namely, life.

I want my body to help fertilize the growth of a cactus or cliff rose or sagebrush or tree.