“The thing I want to know is, if you tell your brain not to do stuff... and it keeps doing it anyway, does that mean your mind has a mind of its own? And if it does, then who's in charge here, anyway?”

“It's very simple. Keep your body as clean as possible, your mind as clear as possible. That's all you need. And do it in anyway you can, in your own way. It doesn't matter. That's why I say 'peaceful body, peaceful mind'. And then you'll be useful. You don't have to become a useful person. You will be useful.”

“You must not let fatigue set in," she warns. "That is what my mother said. Let your body work until it is spent, but keep your mind for yourself.""Good advice.""To tell the truth, I do not know this thing called 'mind', what it does or how to use it. It is only a word I have heard.""The mind is nothing you use," I say. "The mind is just there. It is like the wind. You simply feel its movements.”

“We're all prostitutes if you think about it. The whole capitalist system is built on meretriciousness. You sell your body or you sell your mind, and the Cartesian mind/body thing is a fallacy anyway, your mind is just your brain, so it amounts to the same thing really.”

“I hate to think of you stuck here all day every day, doing nothing with that brilliant brain of yours.”“It never was brilliant. Anyway, who keeps these books to see who’s used themselves wisely and who’s wasted?”

“Do you realize how hard it is to keep your mind clear when somebody’s telling you to keep your mind clear?”