The fact that my songs take a long time to write is no guarantee of their excellence.

Well, for one thing, in the tradition of Zen that I've practiced, there is no prayerful worship and there is no affirmation of a deity.

I don't even hate books anymore.

My reputation as a ladies' man was a joke that caused me to laugh bitterly through the ten thousand nights I spent alone.

I cannot understand why my arm is not a lilac tree.

When you stop thinking about yourself all the time, a certain sense of repose overtakes you.

Love is a fire/It burns everyone/It disfigures everyone/It is the world's excuse for being ugly.