Italo Calvino Quotes

I'm no Buddhist monk, and I can't say I'm in love with renunciation in itself, or traveling an hour or more to print out an article I've written, or missing out on the N.B.A. Finals. But at some point, I decided that, for me at least, happiness arose out of all I didn't want or need, not all I did.

There is no end to renunciation.

There is a joy in going without things, a fine tang in eliminating the superfluous.

I used to desire many, many things, but now I have just one desire, and that's to get rid of all my other desires.

Possessing by letting go of things was a secret of ownership unknown to youth.

We truly possess only what we are able to renounce; otherwise, we are simply possessed by our possessions.

Freedom is not having everything we crave, it's being able to go without the things we crave and being OK with it.

One part of wisdom is knowing what you don't need anymore and letting it go.

The Tao teaches us to let go of things. Use the 80/20 rule. If you take all your clothes, you'll find out that you only wear 20 percent of them. Take what you have and don't use and circulate it. Give stuff to people who truly need it. After all, we come into this world with nothing; we leave this world with nothing.

I don't believe there is any point in holding on to too many things in life.

With renunciation life begins.

First and foremost, the monk should own nothing in this world, but he should have as his possessions solitude of the body, modesty of bearing, a modulated tone of voice, and a well-ordered manner of speech. He should be without anxiety as to his food and drink, and should eat in silence.

Man must do his part and detach himself from created things.

Oh God, are you supposed to collect things? I don't collect things. I like throwing things away.

Renunciation - that is the great fact we all, individuals and classes, have to learn. In trying to avoid it we bring misery to ourselves and others.

Asceticism doesn't lie in mere words; He is an ascetic who treats everyone alike. Asceticism doesn't lie in visiting burial places; it lies not in wandering about nor in bathing at places of pilgrimage. Asceticism is to remain pure amidst impurities.

I like simplicity almost to the point of being monastic.

I don't like possessions.

I've always had these morals I've sort of put on myself: that excess is bad. I used to be into Buddhism and stuff. I was vegetarian. I was all about shutting things out.

We shall have to practise to lead our life on the basis of our needs, not under the influence of our greed.

I don't hoard things and I don't cling to memories.

The older I get, the more beauty I see in the word renunciation.

I'm pretty brutal about getting rid of stuff. There wasn't anything where I was like, "Oh, I miss that," because usually it's for a good reason.

Renunciation-is a piercing Virtue-The letting go A Presence-for an Expectation-.

Needing nothing really is the ultimate goal. And to have nothing to do with things.