What is sickness? What is health? Both are distractions. Put them both aside and go forward. Huston Smith More Quotes by Huston Smith More Quotes From Huston Smith As the twentieth century began, science equaled a materialistic worldview. As the twenty-first century began, the worldview of science, at least of physics and astronomy, may have traded place with that of religion. Consider Einstein's famous equation E = mc2. Nothing of matter dies but continues on in another form, elsewhere. The church divines and theologians for two thousand years have devised arguments and "proofs" of immortality but nothing equal to this. Huston Smith twoyearsreligion As known unknowns become known; unknown unknowns proliferate; the larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder. Huston Smith shorelinewonderislands ...primal people see the objects of this world not (or not only) as solid but as open windows to their divine source. Huston Smith peoplewindowworld Modernity sees humanity as having ascended from what is inferior to it - life begins in slime and ends in intelligence - whereas traditional cultures see it as descended from its superiors. As the anthropologist Marshall Sahlins put the matter: We are the only people who assume that we have ascended from apes. Everybody else take it for granted that they are descended from gods. Huston Smith humanitypeoplereligion I am profoundly moved and persuaded by the near-death experience. Huston Smith near-death-experiencenear-deathmoved Modern science agrees that the universe consists of vibrations, but sound is more than vibration. Distinct from white noise, sound is vibrations in harmonic proportions, and from the billions of vibrations that are possible, the universe shows a startling, overwhelming preference for the few thousand that make harmonic sense.This is because the One, from which all things issue, is beautiful. Huston Smith issueswhitebeautiful It is commonly said and known that each civilization has its own religion. Now my claim is that if we look deeper, the different civilizations were brought into being by the different revelations. Huston Smith differentcivilizationlooks My body was born into the - baptized in the Methodist church, and it will be buried in the Methodist Church. Meanwhile, I have a soul. And my soul cannot be confined to any human institution. Huston Smith baptized-inchurchsoul As human beings we are made to surpass ourselves and are truly ourselves only when transcending ourselves. Huston Smith humansmadeinspirational When there are miles to go before we sleep, altered traits are more important than altered states. Huston Smith statesimportantsleep When I read the Upanishads, which are part of Vedanta, I found a profundity of worldview that made my Christianity seem like third grade. Huston Smith christianityfoundmade Most mystics do not want to read religious wisdom; they want to be it. A postcard of a beautiful lake is not a beautiful lake, and Sufis may be defined as those who dance in the lake. Huston Smith religiouslakesbeautiful ...but with my clamoring ego solidly in place, I considered the title, 'Memories of a Failed Nobody'. Huston Smith titlesegomemories I have a body and I have a soul. And my body belongs to the faith - in fact, the church - into which it was born, the Methodist Church. Huston Smith churchbodysoul A religion made up solely of heightened religious experiences would not be a religion at all. ...The major religious traditions address the mysteries (with or without entheogens), but they have other business to do: widen understanding, give meaning, provide solace, promote loving-kindness, and connect human being to human being. Huston Smith religiouskindnessgiving If you are drilling for water, it's better to drill one 60-foot well than 10 6-foot wells. Huston Smith drillingfeetwater In nature, the emphasis is in what is rather than what ought to be. Huston Smith emphasisoughtreality The proper response to a great work of art is to enter it as though there were nothing else in the world. Huston Smith great-workworldart ...the single destination of sanctity could admit of so many different avenues leading to it. Huston Smith sanctitydestinationdifferent Entheogens are not to be lightly trifled with... However, if taken with the right attitude and in the proper setting, psychoactive drugs may produce religious experiences. ...it is far less clear that they can produce religious lives. Huston Smith takenreligiousattitude
