The Right Book,
In the Right Hands,
At the Right Time

The motto of many a librarian... and it just happened to me. I finished the most profound book. Now, I realize that someone else might pick up this same book and either be bored to tears, or not see the value I do, or even hate it. But, for me, Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is that right book.

I just finished reading it on Tuesday. Rather than expound upon what this book did for me, I'll just share some of my favorite passages. If they pique your interest, then track down a copy (or borrow mine) and read it!
--
On time:

He once asked him, "Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?" A bright smile spread over Vasudeva's face. "Yes, Siddhartha," he said. "Is this what you mean? That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere, and the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, nor the shadow of the future?"
--
On parenthood:

...Siddhartha began to realize that no happiness and peace had come to him with his son, only sorrow and trouble. But he loved him and preferred the sorrow and trouble of his love rather than happiness and pleasure without the boy.
--
On learning from one's mistakes:

"Who protected Siddhartha the Samana from Samsara, from sin, greed and folly?... Do you think, my dear friend, that anybody is spared this path? Perhaps your son, because you would like him spared sorrow and pain and disillusionment? But if you were to die ten times for him, you would not alter his destiny in the slightest."
--
On the transmission of wisdom:

"Yes, I have had thoughts and knowledge here and there. Sometimes, for an hour or for a day, I have become aware of knowledge, just as one feels life in one's heart. I have had many thoughts, but it would be difficult for me to tell you about them. But this is one thought that has impressed me, Govinda. Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish."
--
On the interconnectedness of all life:

"This," he said, handling it, "is a stone, and within a certain length of time it will perhaps be soil, and from the soil it will become plant, animal or man. Previously I should have said: This stone is just a stone; it has no value, it belongs to the world of Maya, but perhaps because within the cycle of change it can also become man and spirit, it is also of importance. That is what I should have thought. But now i think: This stone is stone; it is also animal, God and Buddha. I do not respect and love it because it was one thing and will become something else, but because it has already long been everything and always is everything..."
--

OM