"We are the cosmos made conscious and life is the means by which the universe understands itself."

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings."

"When people ask me if a god created the universe, I tell them that the question itself makes no sense. Time didn’t exist before the big bang, so there is no time for god to make the universe in. It’s like asking directions to the edge of the earth; The Earth is a sphere; it doesn’t have an edge; so looking for it is a futile exercise. We are each free to believe what we want, and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is; there is no god. No one created our universe,and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization; There is probably no heaven, and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe, and for that I am extremely grateful."

"When someone is seeking,” said Siddartha, “It happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose."

"I said "Somebody should do something about that." Then I realized I am somebody."

"Sometimes it's better to stop trying to make sense of things. Life isn't clear cut, there are always gray areas."

"Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts."

"You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth."

"Too late, I found you can't wait to become perfect, you got to go out and fall down and get up with everybody else."

"If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course: We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp."

"It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important."

"My formula for life is very simple: in the morning, wake up; at night, go to sleep. In between I try and occupy myself as best I can."

"What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this -- two things: I crave truth. And I lie."

"Tried living in the real world instead of a shell, but I was bored before I even began."

"Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices."

"Life consists of two days, one for you one against you. So when it's for you don't be proud or reckless, and when it's against you be patient, for both days are test for you."

"The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum."

"It is beautiful, it is endless, it is full and yet seems empty. It hurts us."

"Well, sometimes I worry that my whole life will be based about what's comfortable and easy. I'll care too much about what makes me feel good to ever really reach for anything. And then I worry that even if I do, I won't succeed."

"Holding this soft, small living creature in my lap this way, though, and seeing how it slept with complete trust in me, I felt a warm rush in my chest. I put my hand on the cat's chest and felt his heart beating. The pulse was faint and fast, but his heart, like mine, was ticking off the time allotted to his small body with all the restless earnestness of my own."

"You'll forget it when you're dead, and so will I. When I'm dead, I'm going to forget everything–and I advise you to do the same."

"Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act."