21 Quotes by Richard C. Morais

A powerful thing, destiny. You can’t run from it. Not in the end.

But even in hell there are moments when the light reaches you.

And laughter, once again laughter. Heaven on earth, no?

Oh, yes. Yes. Carne rosto. And un piatto di Mussolini.” The perplexed waiter finally retired once we explained Papa wanted a plate of mussels, not the dictator on a dish.

I now believe enlightenment is a simple state: it is the ability to suffer what there is to suffer; it is the ability to enjoy what there is to enjoy. To understand that, truly, is enlightenment. And this is the way it should be, for the Buddha visits us only randomly and in the hours of our greatest need, often when we least expect it, teaching us, in this way, to stand alone and firm in this world.

Go. You are working very hard, Hassan. You deserve some fun. I will take care of Mehtab and your aunt, don’t you worry. The ting about agitated hens, you throw some corn, you cluck over them a bit, and in no time they settle down. So go. I will take care of them. Not to worry.

Hassan, he has the makings of a great chef, it is true, and he has talent beyond anything you and I possess.

But this you must know: the violent murder of a mother- when a boy is at the tender age, when he is just discovering girls- it is a terrible thing. confusingly mixed up with all the things feminine, it leaves a charred residue on the soul, like the black marks found at the bottom of a burned pot. no matter how much you scrub and scrub the pot bottom with steel wool and cleansers, the scars, they are permanent.

Death is fairly quick. That’s what England felt like.