What has to be given up is not the I, as most mystics suppose: this I is indispensable for any relationship, including the highest, which always presupposes an I and You. Martin Buber More Quotes by Martin Buber More Quotes From Martin Buber When people come to you for help, do not turn them off with pious words, saying, 'Have faith and take your troubles to God.' Act instead as though there were no God, as though there were only one person in the world who could help -- only yourself. Martin Buber have-faithpeopleworld When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them. Martin Buber lovetwopeople I do not accept any absolute formulas for living. No preconceived code can see ahead to everything that can happen in a man's life. As we live, we grow and our beliefs change. They must change. So I think we should live with this constant discovery. We should be open to this adventure in heightened awareness of living. We should stake our whole existence on our willingness to explore and experience. Martin Buber learningadventureknowledge The real struggle is not between East and West, or capitalism and communism, but between education and propaganda. Martin Buber realstruggleeducation A human being becomes whole not in virtue of a relation to himself [only] but rather in virtue of an authentic relation to another human being(s). Martin Buber virtuehumansrelation In spite of all similarities, every living situation has, like a newborn child, a new face, that has never been before and will never come again. It demands of you a reaction that cannot be prepared beforehand. It demands nothing of what is past. It demands presence, responsibility; it demands you. Martin Buber responsibilitychildrenpast Human life and humanity come into being in genuine encounters. The hope for this hour depends upon the renewal of the immediacy of dialogue among human beings. Martin Buber hoursencountershumanity Every person born in this world represents something new, something that never existed before, something original and unique. Martin Buber something-newuniqueworld The true meaning of love one's neighbor is not that it is a command from God which we are to fulfill, but that through it and in it we meet God. Martin Buber meaning-of-lovecommandneighbor All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. Martin Buber freedominspirationaltravel I think no human being can give more than this. Making life possible for the other, if only for a moment. Martin Buber atheismgivingthinking All real living is meeting. Martin Buber life-and-lovemeetingsreal Everything depends on inner change; when this has taken place, then, and only then does the world change. Martin Buber takendoeworld Our relationships live in the space between us which is sacred. Martin Buber sacredspacerelationship Since the primary motive of the evil is disguise, one of the places evil people are most likely to be found is within the church. What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself, as well as from others, than to be a deacon or some other highly visible form of Christian within our culture? ... I do not mean to imply that the evil are anything other than a small minority among the religious or that the religious motives of most people are in any way spurious. I mean only that evil people tend to gravitate toward piety for the disguise and concealment it can offer them. Martin Buber religiouschristianmean Every morning, I shall concern myself anew about the boundary, Between the love-deed-Yes and the power-deed-No, And pressing forward honor reality. We cannot avoid, Using power, Cannot escape the compulsion, To afflict the world, So let us, cautious in diction, And mighty in contradiction, Love powerfully. Martin Buber morninglifereality The atheist staring from his attic window is often nearer to God than the believer caught up in his own false image of God. Martin Buber caughtatheistwindow God made so many different kinds of people; why would God allow only one way to worship? Martin Buber tolerancehumilitypeople When a man has made peace within himself, he will be able to make peace in the whole world. Martin Buber ablemenworld Real faith means holding ourselves open to the unconditional mystery which we encounter in every sphere of our life and which cannot be comprised in any formula. Real faith means the ability to endure life in the face of this mystery. Martin Buber spheresrealmean
