We're not at war with all Muslims, we're at war with a subset of Islam that believes in killing in the name of religion, as jihadis do.
In part, art completes what nature cannot elaborate; and in part it imitates nature.
Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.
Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.
Only an armed people can be truly free. Only an unarmed people can ever be enslaved.
The most important relationship we can all have is the one you have with yourself, the most important journey you can take is one of self-discovery. To know yourself, you must spend time with yourself, you must not be afraid to be alone. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
Be a free thinker and don't accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in.
I hate it when something I've had published "inspires" some nut to imitate what I've written, or some teacher gets fired for having her students read one of my stories or novels.
Both life and death manifest in every moment of existence. Our human body appears and disappears moment by moment, without cease, and this ceaseless arising and passing away is what we experience as time and being. They are not separate. They are one thing, and in even a fraction of a second, we have the opportunity to choose, and to turn the course of our action either toward the attainment of truth or away from it. Each instant is utterly critical to the whole world.
Once you wrestke Rikki Atakki, an hour later you want to wrestle him again.
Whenever I've been well-known or hitting the press, I've always had to get my credit card out to prove I'm Damien Hirst.