"I am a Westerner. We're not going to change the West by going East. The East has a lot to teach us, but essentially it's like a mirror, saying, hey, can't you see what's here in your own religion, what are you, stupid?"
- Matthew Fox
About this Quote
This quote by Matthew Fox speaks with the idea that the West has much to gain from the East, however that the West ought to not attempt to alter itself by embracing Eastern practices. Rather, Fox recommends that the East resembles a mirror, showing back to the West the worths and mentors that are currently present in its own religion. Fox indicates that the West ought to not be so fast to dismiss its own customs and values, which it must put in the time to recognize and appreciate what it already has. He implies that the West must not be so quick to dismiss its own traditions and values, and that it should take the time to acknowledge and appreciate what it currently has. In essence, Fox is recommending that the West ought to want to its own religion and culture for guidance and motivation, instead of attempting to adopt the practices of the East.
"Well, I think any time you delve into this sort of religion, politics, as you well know, you're going to, you know, touch a few nerves. I wasn't - now - and this is the honest truth"
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite"
"War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity, it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it"
"It's not just the effect of technology on the environment, on religion, on the economic structure, on society, on politics, etc. It's that everything now exists in technology to the point where technology is the new and comprehensive host of nature of life"
"Art is exalted above religion and race. Not a single solitary soul these days believes in the religions of the Assyrians, the Egyptians and the Greeks... Only their art, whenever it was beautiful, stands proud and exalted, rising above all time"
