How was it possible for the world to be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time?

She entered a state where prayer and poetry became one and the everyday world seemed full of holiness and significance.

But just as the river is always at the door, so is the world always outside. And it is in the world that we have to live.

...What does the blessing of heaven mean? We know the kirin is just an animal, not a mythical creature." It has become a symbol now.... That is the way human beings deal with the world.

..while I was happy enough to pray to any god, knowing that they were simply different faces created by men, of one indivisible truth.

Don't you know the man whose life you spare will always hate you?

I miss the days when I was alone with my characters and no one else knew them except me.

Death comes suddenly and life is fragile and brief. No one can alter this either by prayers or spells.

The less people think of you, the more they will reveal to you or in your presence.

It's like a spell. It's so strong I can't fight it. Is love always like this?

When illusions are shattered by truth, talent is set free.

As is our enthusiasm, so is our ability.

I can prove anything by statistics except the truth.

What you see in the interview will not get significantly better when the individual is hired.

Some places are like family. They annoy us to no end, especially during the holidays, but we keep coming back for more because we know, deep in our hearts, that our destinies are intertwined.

I don't think anyone wants a movie on time that's not worth your time.

The painter tries to catch the magic of the lights and shadows and passing graces of the human face he paints, but he never wholly succeeds in overtaking the reality.

When a colleague of mine had a notable New York Times book, I said, turn one of the chapters in the collection into a pitch for a novel and sell it to your publisher.

The song 'Humiliation' is kind of about what if, outside of a dinner party or something, I was blown up by a drone missile, out by the pool. What an embarrassing way to go.

Just to keep bad dreams at bay, she took a swig out of a bottle that smelled of apples and happy brain-death.

You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.