Home > Author > Ruth Ozeki
1 " I would like to think of my 'ignorance' less as a personal failing and more as a massive cultural trend, an example of doubling, of psychic numbing, that characterizes the end of the millennium. If we can’t act on knowledge, then we can’t survive without ignorance. "
― Ruth Ozeki , My Year of Meats
2 " In my heart, I am American, and I believe I have a free will and can take charge of my own destiny. "
― Ruth Ozeki , A Tale for the Time Being
3 " We place such crazy importance on physical appearance in our image-obsessed culture, on youth and beauty to define our sense of self-worth, that aging, by default, becomes a kind of defect, something secret and corrosive and shameful. "
― Ruth Ozeki , The Face
4 " By changing our history and our memory, they try to erase all our shame. "
5 " Patience was part of his nature, and he accepted his lot as a short-lived mammal, scurrying in and out amid the roots of the giants. "
6 " Do all kids have to worry about their parents’ mental health? The way society is set up, parents are supposed to be the grown-up ones and look after the kids, but a lot of times it’s the other way around. "
7 " True freedom comes from being unknown. "
8 " She missed the built environment of New York City. It was only in an urban landscape, amid straight lines and architecture, that she could situate herself in human time and history. She missed people. She missed human intrigue, drama and power struggles. She needed her own species, not to talk to, necessarily, but just to be among, as a bystander in a crowd or an anonymous witness. "
9 " There's so much to write. Where should I start?I texted my old Jiko this question, and she wrote me back this:'You should start where you are "
10 " In your diary, you quoted old Jiko saying something about not-knowing, how not-knowing is the most intimate way, or did I just dream that?Anyway, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I think maybe it's true, even though I don't really like uncertainty. I'd much rather 'know', but then again, not-knowing keeps all the possibilities open. It keeps all the worlds alive. "
11 " An unfinished book. left unattended, turns feral, and she would need all her focus, will and ruthless determination to tame it again. "
12 " For the time beingWords scatterAre they fallen leaves? "
13 " As I bathe myselfI pray with all beingsthat we can purify body and mindand clean ourselves inside and out. "
14 " To study the self is to forget the self. Maybe if you sat enough zazen, your sense of being a solid, singular self would dissolve and you could forget about it. What a relief. You could just hang out happily as part of an open-ended quantum array. "
15 " Zazen is better than a home. Zazen is a home that you can't ever lose. "
16 " How much can you really trust the promise of a suicidal father? "
17 " I have a pretty good memory, but memories are time beings, too, like cherry blossoms or ginkgo leaves; for a while they are beautiful, and then they fade and die. "
18 " The only time they ever throw anything away is when it's really and truly broken, and then they make a big deal about it. They save up all their bent pins and broken sewing needles and once a year they do a whole memorial service for them, chanting and then sticking them into a block of tofu so they will have a nice soft place to rest. Jiko says that everything has a spirit, even if it is old and useless, and we must console and honor the things that have served us well. "
19 " The past is weird. I mean, does it really exist ? It feels like it exists, but where is it ? And if it did exists, but doesn’t now, then where did it go ? "
20 " How much can you really trust the promise of a suicidal farther? "
