Now is the moment for contemplatives. But what a vibrant presence we should have in the world, and in the depth of our silence. Not an escape, but a penetration to the very heart. That is what now I should like to understand and to make understood — and, most of all, to live. Respect for contemplative values in the world will not come because we preach about them, but because in our life of deep silence we are totally human.
Pleasure is one thing; wisdom is another.The first leads to sorrow, though pleasant at the time.The latter, though at first unpleasant, leads to lasting joy.