Michael Ondaatje Quotes

Go and lie down in the dark... for hours... and don't move. I'm locking the door now

The word must be heard in silence; there must be darkness to see the stars.

The flame of the diya, or lamp, reminds us that light will ultimately triumph over darkness.

Where music thundered let the mind be still, Where the will triumphed let there be no will, What light revealed, now let the dark fulfill.

He got right down in the dark between heartbeats, and rested there. And then he saw that another one wasn't going to come. That's it. That's the last. He looked at the dark. I would like to take this opportunity, he said, to pray for another human being.

The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.

Stop, stop. Do not speak. The ultimate truth is not even to think.

Virtue could see to do what virtue would By her own radiant light, though sun and moon Were in the flat sea sunk. And Wisdom's self Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude, Where with her best nurse Contemplation She plumes her feathers and lets grow her wings, That in the various bustle of resort Were all-to ruffled, and sometimes impair'd. He that has light within his own clear breast May sit i' th' centre and enjoy bright day; But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the midday sun.

Either all lights are turned off or one inner light is missing.

The master action, to move forward is a form of inaction; being still and quiet.

Let thy light shine, then, in dark places.

Silence has a regenerative power of its own. It is always sacred. It always returns you home.

Do not fight the darkness, let the light in and the darkness will disappear.

Inner silence is not just the absence of thoughts. No! Silence is the blossoming of our indomitable inner will. Silence is our inner wisdom-light.

One way to access the field is through the daily practice of silence, meditation, and non-judgment. Spending time in nature will also give you access to the qualities inherent in the field: infinite creativity, freedom, and bliss.

Close your eyes and stare into the dark.

Silence is like nightfall. Objects are lost in it insensibly.

There is a way to master silence Control its curves, inhabit its dark corners And listen to the hiss of time outside

The world is quieter now. It is never quiet, but it can get quieter. What strange creatures we are, to find silence peaceful, when permanent silence is the thing we most dread. Nighttime is not that. Nighttime still rustles, still creaks and whispers and trembles in its throat. It is not darkness we fear, but our own helplessness within it. How merciful to have been granted the other senses.

I believe there is a time for meditation in cathedrals of our own.

Thoughts shut up want air, And spoil, like bales unopen'd to the sun.

There is a light within each person, and it lights up the whole universe. If it does not shine, there is darkness.

I said some words to the close and holy darkness and then I slept.