#par

A soldier came to Hakuin and asked "Is there really a paradise and a hell?" "Who are you?" inquired Hakuin. "I am a samurai," the warrior replied. "You, a samurai!" exclaimed Hakuin. "What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? Your face looks like that of a beggar!" The soldier became so angry that he began to draw his sword, but Hakuin continued. "So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably as dull as your head!" As the soldier drew his sword Hakuin remarked "Here open the gates of hell!" At these words, the samurai, perceiving the discipline of the master, sheathed his sword and bowed. "Here open the gates of paradise," said Hakuin ↗

— Hakuin Ekaku

#paradise #warrior #inspirational

I pulled him close. “You can try your best. The only problem is after this is all over with reality is going to be waiting for me.” He took my shirt off and tossed it over his shoulder pulling me down on the couch. He kissed me again, biting at my lip. “Ignorance is bliss. ↗

— Holly Hood

#passion #sexy-men #men

I hate parties. And a wedding is the biggest party of all. All the guests arrived and Orpheus is taking a shower. He's always taking a shower when the guests arrive so he doesn't have to greet them. Then I have to greet them. ↗

— Sarah Ruhl

#men #men-and-women #parties #relationships #showers

A love of classical music is only partially a natural response to hearing the works performed, it also must come about by a decision to listen carefully, to pay close attention, a decision inevitably motivated by the cultural and social prestige of the art. ↗

— Charles Rosen

#also #art #attention #carefully #classical

Humor has been the balm of my life, but it's been reserved for those close to me, not part of the public Lana. ↗

— Lana Turner

#been #close #humor #lana #life

To the brave belong all things. - motto of the Celts and appears in Defender: Intrepid 1 and Hunter: Intrepid 2. ↗

— Chris Allen

#celts #inspiration #interpol #intrepid #paratrooping

Those places where sadness and misery abound are favoured settings for stories of ghosts and apparitions. Calcutta has countless such stories hidden in its darkness, stories that nobody wants to admit they believe but which nevertheless survive in the memory of generations as the only chronicle of the past. It is as if the people who inhabit the streets, inspired by some mysterious wisdom, relalise that the true history of Calcutta has always been written in the invisible tales of its spirits and unspoken curses. ↗

— Carlos Ruiz Zafón

#calcutta #chronicle-of-the-past #darkness #generations #ghosts

I asked Ring Lardner the other day how he writes his short stories, and he said he wrote a few widely separated words or phrases on a piece of paper and then went back and filled in the spaces. ↗

— Harold Ross

#back #day #few #filled #his

My uncle who helped in a big part of raising me from when I was young, had moved from California, and would just tell me these legendary stories of these motorcycle clubs that he was around and that he used to ride with. ↗

— Theo Rossi

#big #california #clubs #had #helped

It was Don Paolo's birthday and all the people of the village were gathered in the piazza to celebrate him. The band played, the wine flowed, the children danced, and, as he stood for a moment alone under the pergola, a little girl approached the the beloved priest. "But Don Paolo, are you not happy?" she asked him. "Of course I am happy," he assured the little girl. "Why, then, aren't you crying? ↗

— Marlena De Blasi

#inspirational #life-philosophy #home