Don't be smart. Smart is only a polished version of dumb. Try intelligence. It will surely see you through.

For example, the dwarfs found out how to turn lead into gold by doing it the hard way. The difference between that and the easy way is that the hard way works.

Everything makes sense a bit at a time. But when you try to think of it all at once, it comes out wrong.

The sun is simple. A sword is simple. A storm is simple. Behind everything simple is a huge tail of complicated.

The trouble is you can shut your eyes but you can’t shut your mind.

Om rubed his head. This wasn't god-like thinking. It seemed simpler when you were up here. It was all a game. You forgot that it wasn't a game down there. People died. Bits got chopped off. We're like eagles up here, he thought. Sometimes we show tortoise how to fly. Then we let go.

Oh, there's plenty of reasons. I just don't know which one.