The Hindu scriptures, like the Buddhist, dwell ... on withdrawal from the realm of pleasure. The spiritually mature man is one who... "abandons desires," who "has lost desires for joys," who "withdraws, as a tortoise his limbs from all sides, his senses from the objects of sense." Hence the ideal man as depicted in the Bhagavad Gita: a man of discipline, who acts without worrying about the fruits of his action, a man who is unmoved by acclaim and by criticism.... That Hinduism and Buddhism sound so much alike is not shocking. The Buddha was born a Hindu. But he carried the theme of sensory indifference further, boiling it down to a severe maxim--life is suffering--and placing it in the center of his philosophy.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
With its frame of shaking curls all in disarray, earrings swinging,... make-up smudged by beads of sweat, eyes languid at the end of lovemaking, may the face of the slim girl who's riding on top of you protect you long. What's the use of Vishnu, Shiva, Skanda, and all those other gods?LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
When he bit that bud of her lower lip,... she started, shook a finger, arched her brow, and hissed, "Leave me alone, you fool," her eyes narrowing into slits. Whoever kisses such a haughty woman wins the drink of immortality. Those idiot gods churned the ocean for nothing.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Friend, tell us.... We ask you with good feeling: Why do the bangles on the wrists of every woman grow larger when their lovers leave home?LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »