Gil Fronsdal Quotes

“One of the things that kills Buddhist spiritual life is excessive seriousness.”

“Those who consider the inessential to be essential And see the essential as inessential Don't reach the essential, Living in the field of wrong intention”

“Gil sat baking in the sun for at least 45 minutes before one of the tour guides noticed him looking listless and leaning to his left side. As she approached him, she noticed that he had a stupid grin on his face.“Are you all right, Mr. Cohen?” she asked as she tried to slowly help him to his feet.His shirt was drenched with sweat and his skin was mostly clammy, signally that he was suffering from the middle stages of heat stroke.“It’s not so bad?” he muttered as he struggled to stand straight up. “What not so bad, Mr. Cohen?” one of the tour guides asked.“Death,” Gil stated in a glazed response.The guide looked at the heat-stricken man who appeared to have amoment of clarity amidst all of the sweat and dehydration. “Why is death not so bad?” she pressed on. Gil took a big swig of Gatorade and replied, “Because life wasn’t so great.”

“I think we would all agree that people should not be jailed for thoughts. But when, if ever, does a thought cross the line and become a crime?”

“When trying to start a company, your enemy isn't criticism, anger or insults. Your enemy is apathy.”

“The knish is a classic example of peasant food evolving into comfort food and even sophisticated fare.”

“Throughout history, Hanukkah was a relatively minor festival, but it's become very popular in America due to its proximity to Christmas.”

“Food is sort of like the Jewish sense of humor, a defense mechanism. It is one of the things that helped the Jews survive through 2,000 years of an often very harsh Diaspora.”

“Man is a complex being: he makes deserts bloom and lakes die.”

“One day, I want enough money to be at the center of a corruption scandal.”