It was lovely, and tempting, to exert power over men and to shine before others, but power also had its perditions and perils.

When someone seeks," said Siddhartha, "then it easily happens that his eyes see only the thing that he seeks, and he is able to find nothing, to take in nothing because he always thinks only about the thing he is seeking, because he has one goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.

Deeply, he felt the love for the run-away in his heart, like a wound, and he felt at the same time that this wound had not been given to him in order to turn the knife in it, that it had to become a blossom and had to shine. That this wound did not blossom yet, did not shine yet, at this hour, made him sad. Instead of the desired goal, which had drawn him here following the runaway son, there was now emptiness.

I live in my dreams — that's what you sense. Other people live in dreams, but not in their own. That's the difference.

Not in his speech, not in his thoughts, I see his greatness, only in his actions, in his life.

In every truth, the opposite is equally true. For example, a truth can only be expressed and enveloped in words if it is onesided.

In any case, the most lively young people become the best old people, not those who pretend to be as wise as grandfathers while they are still at school.