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The Sacrament of the Goddess QUOTES

The Sacrament of the Goddess QUOTES

1 " And this is a Buddhist country?” said Matt, “This is a country of lovingkindness and compassion? Hah. I think the Americans would call this ‘tough love.’ ”
“That is the paradox of Buddhism,” said Ranjit, “As a young doctor I would see these violent things and wonder why they happened, knowing that it was not something that Buddhists should do. Then I realized we are not born Buddhist. All the focus on channeling anger and dealing with hardship did not emanate from these people…. It was a lesson to these people. We are a land of Buddhists because we need to hear the lessons of Buddha, not because we follow Buddha.”

-spoken by Ranjit, the surgeon, after an episode of violence.... "

― Joe Niemczura , The Sacrament of the Goddess

2 " Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took part in a range of risk-taking adventures when they were younger, and finally became wise when they reflected upon their lives in old age. There is only one problem.”

“Which is?”

“Risk-taking is a way to die young. It is dangerous and you may forfeit the opportunity to grow old. An early death is not a sure path to wisdom in old age,” Ranjit said, running his finger around the inside of the pipe bowl, “and if you survive without reflecting, then you simply become an old degenerate. "

― Joe Niemczura , The Sacrament of the Goddess

3 " Every woman deserves the simple dignity of dying in a bed with clean sheets and an electric light at hand.'

-spoken by Sara, the missionary doctor, during a moment of indignation. "

― Joe Niemczura , The Sacrament of the Goddess

4 " To transport this way along bouncy mountain roads is not the way to die. Every woman deserves the simple dignity of dying in a bed with clean sheets and an electric light at hand. They wanted me to participate in a horrible abomination. I simply will not countenance the lack of respect for the poor mother of those boys. Imagine how she would feel if she woke up and saw her sons piled at her side."
-spoken by Sara to Matt regarding a victim of Amanita Phalloides [poisoning "

― Joe Niemczura , The Sacrament of the Goddess

5 " Close your eyes, Matt, and focus on third eye, the second chakra of your being. Open third eye and you will feel energy of other river as it flows. And energy of Goddess.”

He closed his eyes. He could sense the energy of the woman next to him and the power of desire. He felt warmth and a sense of belonging here. But that was all. "

― Joe Niemczura , The Sacrament of the Goddess

6 " You bring fresh eyes, Matt. For us, something crazy may happen, and we all say 'Oh my' at the time, but the next week some new crazy thing happens that wipes the memory clean. And we go on to the next. La-di-da. I guess we just forgot about that other incident until now."

- spoken by Sara, the missionary doctor, to Matt.
(from The Sacrament of the Goddess, 2014) "

― Joe Niemczura , The Sacrament of the Goddess

7 " That night, Sushila went to the puja room when she arrived home. Her house was small, with only a few rooms, but there had always been a puja room as long as she could remember. It was in the northeast corner of the house, and Sushila once asked her mother why they did not have a fancier bigger puja room.
“We are small people and we will be happy with small gods. It is not the size of the space used for worship that matters,” said her mother. “It is the size of your heart that matters. You can learn the lessons of Buddha and the Goddess in a prison, you do not need even this humble puja room. There are people in this town who are happy with much less than what we have. "

― Joe Niemczura , The Sacrament of the Goddess

8 " She knew the old rule about crowd events in Nepal. If it was a religious event, those with the most fervor would be at the center of the crowd, and to take in the flavor of the event, you wished to get closest to that group; but if it was a political event or a bandh, locate the group with the most fervor and get as far away from them as you possibly can. "

― Joe Niemczura , The Sacrament of the Goddess