The proper response to a great work of art is to enter it as though there were nothing else in the world. Huston Smith More Quotes by Huston Smith More Quotes From Huston Smith God enters our lives when through our creative interchanges we make history more just. Huston Smith interchangecreativegod The crisis that the world finds itself in as it swings on the hinge of a new millennium is located in something deeper than particular ways of organizing political systems and economies. Huston Smith swingspoliticalworld People are not losing their religious needs, but they are going to three places to get their needs met. One is to conservative churches, which, for all their social benightedness, nevertheless do present their congregations with a different view of reality. Second, they are going to Asian religions. Third, they are going to the New Age, which when I'm feeling cynical I refer to as "New Age frivolity," because some of it is rather flaky. Huston Smith religiousrealitypeople The New Age movement looks like a mixed bag. I see much in it that seems good: It's optimistic; it's enthusiastic; it has the capacity for belief. On the debit side, I think one needs to distinguish between belief and credulity. How deep does New Age go? Has it come to terms with radical evil? More, I am not sure how much social conscience there is in New Age thinking. Huston Smith optimisticevilthinking I would not say that ethical behavior is not possible for the atheist or agnostic. It is. A couple of pretty good examples are Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre. However, I will have to say that if we take the human lot as a whole, these two men must be seen as exceptions. Huston Smith coupleatheistmen I don't have any fear of death. I do, however, have an inordinate fear of becoming dependent on other people. To me, that's the severest test, not death. Huston Smith fear-of-deathpeople the heart of religion is not altered states but altered traits of character. For me, then, the test of a substance's religious worth or validity is not what kind of far-out experience it can produce, but is the life improved by its use? That's the test. Now, on that score, if you remove the "religious cocoon," the experiences don't seem to have much in the way of discernible, traceable effects. Huston Smith religiousheartcharacter Daily the world grows smaller, leaving understanding the only place where peace can find a home. Huston Smith leavingunderstandinghome Imagine a man besottedly in love: he won't waste time speculating whether other women equally merit his affection. Huston Smith wastelovemen It must have been providence that directed Joel Morwood to dig in the right place, for he struck a lode of pure gold, as wide (comprehensive) as it is deep (profound). What he mined from that lode is a spiritual treasure. Huston Smith goldspiritualprofound Ancient wisdom and quantum physicists make unlikely bedfellows: In quantum mechanics the observer determines (or even brings into being) what is observed, and so, too, for the Tiwis, who dissolve the distinction between themselves and the cosmos. In quantum physics, subatomic particles influence each other from a distance, and this tallies with the aboriginal view, in which people, animals, rocks, and trees all weave together in the same interwoven fabric. Huston Smith rocksdistanceanimal The self is too small an object for perpetual enthusiasm. Huston Smith objectsselfenthusiasm We are born in mystery, we live in mystery, and we die in mystery. Huston Smith borndiesmystery I grew up taking it for granted that missionaries were what American boys grew up to be. Huston Smith grantedgrew-upboys Swallow your pride and admit that we all need help at times. Huston Smith pridehelpingneeds Practice giving things away, not just things you don't care about, but things you do like. Huston Smith collaborationpracticegiving If Rumi is the most-read poet in America today, Coleman Barks is in good part responsible. His ear for the truly divine madness in Rumi’s poetry is really remarkable. Huston Smith earstodayamerica ...yesterday and today and tomorrow are not an arrow that shoots from past to present to future; rather all tenses, and sleeping and waking, mix and cohabit in an atemporal duration beyond clocks and calendars. The Aboriginal world began long ago when the Ancestors sang in Dreamtime the cosmic rhythms that give shape to the things we see, and it is the beginning right now, when a living Tiwi sings the Dream songs that continue, or are, the world. Huston Smith dreamsleepsong First of all, my persuasion is what really breeds violence is political differences. But because religion serves as the soul of community, it gets drawn into the fracas and turns up the heat. Huston Smith political-differencescommunitysoul So always, if we look back, concern for face-to-face morality, and its modern emphasis on justice as well, have historically evolved as religious issues. Huston Smith issuesreligiousjustice
