- “According to Buddhism, there is a commensurate relationship between cause and effect where pain and pleasure are concerned. The immediate cause is karma. Karma means action. Tomorrow’s events depend very much on today’s actions, this year’s events on last year’s, while this century’s events are linked with those of the previous centuries. The actions of previous generations affect the lives of the generations that follow. This is also a kin of karma. However, there is a difference between actions carried out by a group of people or sentient beings jointly, and actions carried out by single person. In individual cases, the actions of the earlier part of one’s life have an effect on the latter part of one’s life.”
- Calmness of mind brings mental tranquility and happiness even in difficult and trying times. Have a calm mind and nothing will shake you.
- The ultimate source of my mental happiness is my peace of mind. Nothing can destroy this except my own anger.”
- No matter how much we try to disengage from our natural environment, our own survival as a species is tied to the survival of the natural environment.
- “Just as we should cultivate more gentle and peaceful relations with our fellow human beings, we should also extend that same kind of attitude towards the natural environment. Morally speaking, we should be concerned for our whole environment. This, however, is not just a question of morality or ethics, but also a question of our own survival. For this generation and for future generations, the environment is very important.
- "As long as the sun shines one does not ask for the moon" - Russian Proverb
- "My barn having burned to the ground, I can now see the moon" - Chinese Proverb
- “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
- "Here are my rules: what can be done with one substance must never be done with another. No two materials are alike. No two sites on earth are alike. No two buildings have the same purpose. The purpose, the site, the material determine the shape. Nothing can be reasonable or beautiful unless it's made by one central idea, and the idea sets every detail. A building is alive, like a man. Its integrity is to follow its own truth, its one single theme, and to serve its own single purpose. A man doesn't borrow pieces of his body. A building doesn't borrow hunks of its soul. Its maker gives it the soul and every wall, window and stairway to express it."
- “Not facing a fire doesn’t put it out.”
- “You do not get milk by beating the cow.” – Robert Heinlein
- “Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
Experience of Prisoner in Solitary confinement:
Before this happen to me I thought the death penalty was for the worst of the worst. I didn't think anyone innocent was there, because I thought there would be overwhelming evidence. 3 1/2 years on death row, I know different. I grew to know some good people on death row in Alabama. Some of them did not commit the crime, like me. Some were in the wrong place but didn't kill anyone. Some may have committed a bad crime, but they were not cold-hearted or selfish. Some were there because their lawyers were not seasoned. Some because the judge overrode the jury.
The solitary confinement on death row was terrible. I still try not to think about it too much. The cell is 8 feet long 6 feet wide with 8 foot ceilings. I was locked inside 23 or 24 hours a day. I have short arms but I can touch both walls at the same time. There was a suicide while I was there, a man who had been on death row about 16 years. I know that being on solitary was part of his suicide. If you are not mentally strong, it breaks you down. All the way down.
