Huston Smith Quotes

Huston Smith
Huston Smith
American Theologian
Born: May 31, 1919
Died: Dec 30, 2016
God History Life Religion Science Think
Related authors: Ernest Holmes Howard Thurman John Gresham Machen Mary Baker Eddy Mary Daly Reinhold Niebuhr Stanley Hauerwas Tryon Edwards
Whether things turn out for the better depends on what we do. We ought not spend our time masterminding the future, but recognize our marching orders: to do the best we can for history and the planet. Huston Smith
Future Time Best History Better Ought Our Spend Our Time Recognize Out Depends Orders Whether Turn Planet Marching Things
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
Death Me People Fear Other Inordinate Becoming Test However Any Dependent
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
Religion Soul Political First Differences Community Drawn First Of All Because Up Heat Gets Really Breeds Persuasion Turns Serve Violence
Poetry is a special use of language that opens onto the real. The business of the poet is truth telling, which is why in the Celtic tradition no one could be a teacher unless he or she was a poet. Huston Smith
Truth Teacher Business Language Poet Unless Telling Poetry Could Onto No-One He He Or She Opens She Real Tradition Celtic Which Use Special Why
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
Justice Back Evolved Religious Face-To-Face Morality Emphasis Look Concern Well Always Issues Historically Modern
The most powerful moral influence is example. Huston Smith
Example Moral Powerful Most Most Powerful Influence
In order to live man must believe in that for which he lives. Huston Smith
Man Live Believe Must He Order Which Lives
Every society and religion has rules, for both have moral laws. And the essence of morality consists, as in art, of drawing the line somewhere. Huston Smith
Art Religion Somewhere Every Society Rules Consists Drawing Moral Morality Laws Both Line Essence
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
Worldview Made Christianity Seem Part Like Read Grade Which Found Profundity Third
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
Religion Own Claim Brought Civilization Civilizations Look Known Said Revelations Were Being Different Commonly Each Now Deeper
God has to speak to each person in their own language, in their own idioms. Take Spanish, Chinese. You can express the same thought, but to different people you have to use a different language. It's the same in religion. Huston Smith
God Religion You People Speak Language Thought Own Take Idioms Person Same Different Chinese Spanish Different Language Different People Use Each Express
The notion that Western religions are more rigid than those of Asia is overdrawn. Ours is the most permissive society history has ever known - almost the only thing that is forbidden now is to forbid - and Asian teachers and their progeny play up to this propensity by soft-pedaling Hinduism's, Buddhism's, Sufism's rules. Huston Smith
History Society Rules Those Ours Rigid Religions Propensity More Only Almost Buddhism Most Forbid Forbidden Known Hinduism Permissive Western Up Than The Only Thing Asia Asian Notion Teachers Now Ever Play Thing Progeny
You subtract Christianity from Huston Smith, and there is no Huston Smith left. Huston Smith
You Christianity Smith Left Subtract
The Buddha is in me, the Buddha is in you. Live up to it. Huston Smith
Me You Live Buddha Up
At the center of the religious life is a peculiar kind of joy, the prospect of a happy ending that blossoms from necessarily painful ordeals, the promise of human difficulties embraced and overcome. Huston Smith
Life Happy Joy Overcome Ending Life Is A Difficulties Kind Promise Religious Embraced Religious Life Prospect Blossoms Human Center Happy Ending Painful Necessarily Peculiar
The Chinese began with the assumption that the group is the fundamental unit of reality. Individuals? Sure, we can factor them out from their groups, but let us not think that they as individuals have any viability apart from their group. Huston Smith
Reality Group Think Assumption Out Factor Individuals Sure Began Viability Any Apart Chinese Them Us Groups Let Us Unit Fundamental
I am critical of modernity giving science and technology a blank check as if it were the fountain of all truth. That is not true. And I think I may have introduced a word which has now caught on quite a bit, scientism. Science is good. It simply reports a discovery. Huston Smith
Truth Good Technology Science Word Giving Science And Technology Think Bit Critical Introduced Blank Simply True Check Am Caught Were Discovery Reports Quite May Quite A Bit Which Modernity Now Fountain
It's often difficult for us to act compassionately, but sacred art eases the difficulty by ennobling us. Huston Smith
Art Difficult Difficulty Sacred Often Us Act
The modern period adds social ethics to religions agenda, for we now realize that social structures are not like laws of nature. They are human creations, so we are responsible for them. Huston Smith
Nature Ethics Adds Responsible Religions Laws Structures Like Period Modern Human Social Them Agenda Realize Creations Now
In nature, the emphasis is in what is rather than what ought to be. Huston Smith
Nature Ought Rather Emphasis Than
Pure science - this vision of the universe as 15 billion light years across - I am bedazzled and awed by it. Huston Smith
Science Vision Light Pure Universe Am Years Across Billion
I had assumed that Bush's seemingly inflexible policy to support Sharon was for political reasons of his getting elected. But as to whether he really believes his actions are going to hasten the day of the final conflict, I do not know. Huston Smith
Day Conflict Political Assumed Final Hasten Seemingly Had He Support Sharon Know Policy His Getting Going Inflexible Whether Bush Elected Really Reasons Actions Believes
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
World Political Located Ways Crisis Systems Finds Something Economies New Particular Hinge Itself Than Political Systems Organizing Swings Deeper Millennium
Exclusively oral cultures are unencumbered by dead knowledge, dead facts. Libraries, on the other hand, are full of them. Huston Smith
Knowledge Other Libraries Facts Dead Hand Cultures Unencumbered Oral Them Full

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