--- title: "1 Death star Quotes By Mark Epstein" description: "1 Death star quotes by Mark Epstein. Plus more from Mark Epstein and more Death star sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/mark-epstein-15760_absurd_if-things-do-not-exist-as-fixed-independ_1056215.png" --- > [If things do not exist as fixed, independent entities, then how can they die? Our notion of death as the sudden expiration of that which was once so real starts to unwind. If things do not exist in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/if-things-do-not-exist-as-fixed-independent-entities-then-how-can/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/mark-epstein-15760_absurd_if-things-do-not-exist-as-fixed-independ_1056215.png) ## More by Mark Epstein > [Anger is sign that something needs to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/anger-is-sign-that-something-needs-to-change/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [Anxiety and desire are two, often conflicting, orientations to the unknown. Both are tilted toward the future. Desire implies a willingness, or a need,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/anxiety-and-desire-are-two-often-conflicting-orientations-to-the/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [“the Buddha may well have been the original psychoanalyst, or, at least, the first to use the mode of analytic inquiry that Freud was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/the-buddha-may-well-have-been-the-original-psychoanalyst-or-at-least/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [The willingness to face traumas - be they large, small, primitive or fresh - is the key to healing from them. They may never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/the-willingness-to-face-traumas-be-they-large-small-primitive-or/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [One of the age-old truths about love is that while it offers unparalleled opportunities for union and the lifting of ego boundaries, it also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/one-of-the-age-old-truths-about-love-is-that-while-it-offers/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [The central premise of this book is that the Western psychological notion of what it means to have a self is flawed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/the-central-premise-of-this-book-is-that-the-western-psychological/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [“In making a path like the Buddha, we discover our own capacities for relationship. Doing this is like feeling our way in the dark.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/in-making-a-path-like-the-buddha-we-discover-our-own-capacities-for/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [“The teaching of the sexual tantras all come down to one point. Although desire, of whatever shape or form, seeks completion, there is another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/the-teaching-of-the-sexual-tantras-all-come-down-to-one-point/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [The picture we present to ourselves of who we think we ought to be obscures who we really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/the-picture-we-present-to-ourselves-of-who-we-think-we-ought-to-be/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [“A recently deceased American Zen master and navy veteran, John Daido Loori, used to say that those who think Buddhism is just about stillness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/a-recently-deceased-american-zen-master-and-navy-veteran-john-daido/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [“The early parent-child environment, the balance between being and doing, lives on in the mind. Mindfulness offers an opportunity to see these patterns clearly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/the-early-parent-child-environment-the-balance-between-being-and/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [If things do not exist as fixed, independent entities, then how can they die? Our notion of death as the sudden expiration of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/if-things-do-not-exist-as-fixed-independent-entities-then-how-can/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [There is a yearning that is as spiritual as it is sensual. Even when it degenerates into addiction, there is something salvageable from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/there-is-a-yearning-that-is-as-spiritual-as-it-is-sensual-even-when/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [In building a path through the self to the far shore of awareness, we have to carefully pick our way through our own wilderness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/in-building-a-path-through-the-self-to-the-far-shore-of-awareness-we/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) > [“With some gratitude, I realized that my awareness was now stronger than my neurosis. This did not mean that things would never go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/with-some-gratitude-i-realized-that-my-awareness-was-now-stronger/) [Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-star/mark-epstein/#itemlist", "name": "1 Death star Quotes By Mark Epstein", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If things do not exist as fixed, independent entities, then how can they die? Our notion of death as the sudden expiration of that which was once so real starts to unwind. If things do not exist in their own right and are flickering rather than static, then we can no longer fear their ultimate demise. We may fear their instability, or their emptiness, but the looming threat of death starts to seem absurd. Things are constantly dying, we find. Or rather, they are constantly in flux, arising and passing away with each moment of consciousness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Epstein" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/if-things-do-not-exist-as-fixed-independent-entities-then-how-can/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/mark-epstein-15760_absurd_if-things-do-not-exist-as-fixed-independ_1056215.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/mark-epstein-15760_absurd_if-things-do-not-exist-as-fixed-independ_1056215.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/mark-epstein-15760_absurd_if-things-do-not-exist-as-fixed-independ_1056215.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If things do not exist as fixed, independent entities, then how can they die? Our notion of death as the…” — Mark Epstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-star/mark-epstein/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-star/mark-epstein/", "name": "Death star Quotes by Mark Epstein", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-star/mark-epstein/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/mark-epstein-15760_absurd_if-things-do-not-exist-as-fixed-independ_1056215.png" }, "description": "1 Death star quotes by Mark Epstein. Plus more from Mark Epstein and more Death star sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-star/mark-epstein/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-star/mark-epstein/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Death Star", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-star/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Mark Epstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-star/mark-epstein/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```