The world was beautiful when looked at in this way-without any seeking, so simple, so childlike.

Every important cultural gesture comes down to a morality, a model for human behavior concentrated into a gesture.

It was morning; through the high window I saw the pure, bright blue of the sky as it hovered cheerfully over the long roofs of the neighboring houses. It too seemed full of joy, as if it had special plans, and had put on its finest clothes for the occasion.

He lost his Self a thousand times and for days on end he dwelt in non-being. But although the paths took him away from Self, in the end they always led back to it. Although Siddhartha fled from the Self a thousand times, dwelt in nothing, dwelt in animal and stone, the return was inevitable; the hour was inevitable when he would again find himself in sunshine or in moonlight, in shadow or in rain, and was again Self and Siddhartha, again felt the torment of the onerous life cycle.

Those who cannot think or take responsibility for themselves need, and clamor for, a leader.

Love is stronger than violence.

Happiness is love, nothing else. A man who is capable of love is happy.