The Hidden School Quotes

“Paradox is any self-contradictory proposition that, when investigated, may prove to be well-founded or true. Once understood, it opens the gateway to higher wisdom. But how can contradictory principles both be true? As the Buddhist Riddle of Five Truths puts it: “It is right. It is wrong. It is both right and wrong. It is neither right nor wrong. All exist simultaneously.” Charles Dickens expressed the paradox of his era, equally true today, when he wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,” going on to describe that time as one of belief and incredulity, light and darkness, hope and despair. Two opposing statements can each be true depending on the observer: it’s true that spiders are merciless killers from the viewpoint of tiny insects caught in their webs—but for most humans, nearly all spiders are harmless creatures. A story of the Sufi sage Mullah Nasruddin expresses the nature of paradox when he’s asked to arbitrate between two men with opposing views. Hearing the first man, he remarks, “You’re right.” When he hears the second man, he also says, “You’re right.” When a bystander points out, “They can’t both be right,” the mullah scratches his head and says, “You’re right.” Let’s go deeper and consider four central sets of paradoxical truths: * Time is real. It moves from past to present to future. * There is no time, no past, no future—only the eternal present. * You possess free will and can thus take responsibility for your choices. * Free will is an illusion—your choices are influenced, even predetermined, by all that preceded them. * You are, or possess, a separate inner self existing within a body. * No separation exists—you are a part of the same Consciousness shining through billions of eyes. * Death is an inevitable reality you’ll meet at the end of life. * The death of the inner self is an illusion. Life is eternal. Must you choose one assertion and reject the other? Or is there a way to meaningfully resolve and even reconcile such apparent contradictions?”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“Thinking about doing something is the same as not doing it. Our lives are shaped by what we actually do—by rowing our boat. Only effort over time brings results in training and in everyday life.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“Humor, in its highest sense, transcends the momentary tension release of laughter, and expands into a profound sense of ease and a relaxed approach to life’s occasional challenges, large or small. When you view your world through this lens of transcendent humor, as if from a distant peak, you discover that life is a game you can play as if it matters— with a peaceful heart and a warrior’s spirit. You can remain engaged with the world but also rise above it, looking beyond your personal dramas.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“Let’s go deeper and consider four central sets of paradoxical truths: * Time is real. It moves from past to present to future. * There is no time, no past, no future—only the eternal present. * You possess free will and can thus take responsibility for your choices. * Free will is an illusion—your choices are influenced, even predetermined, by all that preceded them. * You are, or possess, a separate inner self existing within a body. * No separation exists—you are a part of the same Consciousness shining through billions of eyes. * Death is an inevitable reality you’ll meet at the end of life. * The death of the inner self is an illusion. Life is eternal. Must you choose one assertion and reject the other? Or is there a way to meaningfully resolve and even reconcile such apparent contradictions?”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“After that, before each practice began, we would sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” “Many children learn this song in my country,” I said, “but few people understand its deeper truths. These truths apply, as you’ll see, not only to acrobatics or t’ai chi training but to all of life. The words ‘Row, row, row your boat’ remind us to build our lives on a foundation of action and effort, not on positive thoughts or feelings. Thinking about doing something is the same as not doing it. Our lives are shaped by what we actually do—by rowing our boat. Only effort over time brings results in training and in everyday life.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“You focused on the goal, not on the obstacle. This is how we face our lives.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“When on a long trek, it’s okay to quit whenever you like, as long as your feet keep moving.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“There is no victory over death; there is only the realization of Who we all really are.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“The poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, experienced this realization early in life: “Since boyhood, by repeating my own name silently, an intense awareness of individuality came, then seemed to dissolve and fade away into boundless being, and this was not a confused state, but clear and sure, utterly beyond words, where death was an almost laughable impossibility.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“Per avere una morte benedetta,
bisogna imparare a vivere.
Per avere una vita benedetta,
bisogna imparare a morire.”
― Dan Millman, Il ritorno del guerriero di pace. La scuola segreta

“Whether theories of science or articles of faith are true may be less important than whether they’re useful.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“sometimes life more closely resembled improvisational comedy than strategic planning.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior

“Life is a sea that brings waves of change, welcome or not. As the warrior-emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Time is a river of passing events. No sooner is one thing brought to sight than it’s swept away, and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” The Buddha, leaving behind both his protected childhood and ascetic renunciation, and having attained illumination, observed, “Everything that begins also ends. Make peace with this and all will be well.”
― Dan Millman, The Hidden School: Return of the Peaceful Warrior