“Write hard and clear about what hurts.”

Sometimes you don’t just want to risk making mistakes; you actually want to make them – if only to give you something clear and detailed to fix.

Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.

Government cannot close its eyes to the pollution of waters, to the erosion of soil, to the slashing of forests any more than it can close its eyes to the need for slum clearance and schools.

If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s.

If you put a spoonful of salt in a cup of water it tastes very salty. If you put a spoonful of salt in a lake of fresh water the taste is still pure and clear. Peace comes when our hearts are open like the sky, vast as the ocean.

When your consciousness has become ripe in true zazen-pure like clear water, like a serene mountain lake, not moved by any wind-then anything may serve as a medium for realization.

There is clearly much left to be done, and whatever else we are going to do, we had better get on with it.

So, for instance, let me make this clear: You know I signed a statement. I will not raise taxes on anybody. I don’t want to raise taxes on the American people.