We are all flawed and creatures of our times. Is it fair to judge us by the unknown standards of the future?

Advances in medicine and agriculture have saved vastly more lives than have been lost in all the wars in history.

But I try not to think with my gut. If I'm serious about understanding the world, thinking with anything besides my brain, as tempting as that might be, is likely to get me into trouble.

Avoidable human misery is more often caused not so much by stupidity as by ignorance, particularly our ignorance about ourselves.

If we long to believe that the stars rise and set for us, that we are the reason there is a Universe, does science do us a disservice in deflating our conceits?

Science is a way to call the bluff of those who only pretend to knowledge. It is a bulwark against mysticism, against superstition, against religion misapplied to where it has no business being.

It is morally as bad not to care whether a thing is true or not, so long as it makes you feel good, as it is not to care how you got your money as long as you have got it.

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

Claims that cannot be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value the may have in inspiring us or in exciting our sense of wonder.

Liberation from superstition is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for science.

All science asks is to employ the same levels of skepticism we use in buying a used car or in judging the quality of analgesics or beer from their television commercials.

Know that the true dharma emerges of itself [during the practice of zazen], clearing away hindrances and distractions.

Existence is governed by its own law. Here, the things impermanent by natureare bound to meet their end. Hence, with the passage of time, not only Ravana'sLanka but "Krishna's" Dwarka also sinks.

You´re not perceiving what's out there. You're perceiving whatever your brain tells you.

Bringing more large sporting events to Africa would help the continent develop sports policies and at the same time optimize its peoples' chances of achieving competitive success.

I'm called the Godfather [of Ecstacy] because I published for the first time information about its effects in man. I feel content with the title. MDMA is a beautiful drug.

If you have character, endeavor, personality, courage and the capacity for concentrated labor, you will do what is your destiny – and, perhaps, even do it well.

I remember the feeling. Whenever my father got so absorbed in a book that we might have been in visible I felt like taking a pair of scissors and cutting it up.

And well historically it's never been a good thing to compare yourself to biblical characters.

Rules are not bad, but they can't save anyone.

I'm personally asking each and every single Boston resident to look after their neighbor.