--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I understand that words can mean…" description: "\"I understand that words can mean different things to different people, and, further, that people can have different relationships with complex abstract..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/quentin-s-crisp-4149_abstract_i-understand-that-words-can-mean-differe_2056193.jpg" --- # I understand that words can mean different things to… ![“I understand that words can mean different things to different people, and, further, that people can have different relationships with complex abstract entities such as Buddhism. To me, anyway, the entity in my life that conflicts with my creativity is Buddhism.” quote by Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/quentin-s-crisp-4149_abstract_i-understand-that-words-can-mean-differe_2056193.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/quentin-s-crisp-4149_abstract_i-understand-that-words-can-mean-differe_2056193.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/quentin-s-crisp-4149_abstract_i-understand-that-words-can-mean-differe_2056193.jpg) > “I understand that words can mean different things to different people, and, further, that people can have different relationships with complex abstract entities such as Buddhism. To me, anyway, the entity in my life that conflicts with my creativity is Buddhism.” [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Buddhism can clash with creative drive for some individuals. **In simple terms:** Buddhism may hinder creativity for some. Key Takeaway Balance belief and creativity. Themes creativity spirituality conflict personal belief Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - creative work - spiritual practice - personal growth Key Concepts mindfulness artistic expression philosophical tension Questions to Reflect On - How does your belief system affect your art? - Can you integrate Buddhist practice without stifling creativity? A Different Perspective Not all find Buddhism restrictive; it can also inspire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Different relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-relationships/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [People may wish to say that the thing that is in conflict with my creativity is not Buddhism - that's fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/people-may-wish-to-say-that-the-thing-that-is-in-conflict-with-my/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [A lot of times, women complain about men around them. It's not always someone else's fault. If you're the common denominator in 57 different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karrine-steffans/a-lot-of-times-women-complain-about-men-around-them-it-s-not-always/) [Karrine Steffans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karrine-steffans/) > [Friendships are different from all other relationships. Unlike acquaintanceship, friendship is based on love. Unlike lovers and married couples, it is free of jealousy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/friendships-are-different-from-all-other-relationships-unlike/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [The rock & roll industry is very incestuous, and we have all been close at one time or another. A lot of beautiful music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/the-rock-roll-industry-is-very-incestuous-and-we-have-all-been-close/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [In my early twenties, I had no idea who I was. And I think that's one reason you should try different relationships. I've had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cobie-smulders/in-my-early-twenties-i-had-no-idea-who-i-was-and-i-think-that-s-one/) [Cobie Smulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cobie-smulders/) > [I think that there is a purity aesthetic, like "I just make art because I'm an artist and I can't help it. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirah/i-think-that-there-is-a-purity-aesthetic-like-i-just-make-art-because/) [Mirah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirah/) > [ \[Julian Albert\] is a CSI investigator; a forensic expert with similar skills to Barry, which gives them a different relationship to, I think, anyone… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-felton/julian-albert-is-a-csi-investigator-a-forensic-expert-with-similar/) [Tom Felton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-felton/) > [If you create a relationship that's based, to some extent, on support and money, it creates an entirely different relationship because people are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-makepeace/if-you-create-a-relationship-that-s-based-to-some-extent-on-support/) Anne Makepeace > [In thinking of light, if we can think about what it can do, and what it is, by thinking about itself, not about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/in-thinking-of-light-if-we-can-think-about-what-it-can-do-and-what-it/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [I think the more depth you build into the characters, and the more you see where they came from, the more fun you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-mcelhenney/i-think-the-more-depth-you-build-into-the-characters-and-the-more-you/) [Rob McElhenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-mcelhenney/) > [I've always been of the mindset that relationships can be different and relationships can go bad with different people. That doesn't mean they're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-vogel/i-ve-always-been-of-the-mindset-that-relationships-can-be-different/) [Frank Vogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-vogel/) > [I am lucky to have three daughters who are completely different. I look at my daughters and I have different relationships with all three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-lucky-to-have-three-daughters-who-are-completely-different-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You have a different relationship to your own personal material than you do to other people's. When you go to the bathroom, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-quinn/you-have-a-different-relationship-to-your-own-personal-material-than/) [Marc Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-quinn/) > [ When the film \[Certified Copy\] was in the Cannes Festival, I realized that the fact of having it shot in a different culture, in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbas-kiarostami/when-the-film-certified-copy-was-in-the-cannes-festival-i-realized/) [Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbas-kiarostami/) > [If you really like a movie these days, you don't watch it once, especially if you're a kid, because you have a different relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-m-kahn/if-you-really-like-a-movie-these-days-you-don-t-watch-it-once/) [Joseph M. Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-m-kahn/) ## More by Quentin S. Crisp > [I have a sense of them being Easter religions, for some reason. Christianity, of course, is a mystery religion, too, and I believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-have-a-sense-of-them-being-easter-religions-for-some-reason/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [ If we do want to do that \[ colonise space to survive, \], then vacuous materialism is not going to be enough for us. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/if-we-do-want-to-do-that-colonise-space-to-survive-then-vacuous/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [I seemed to recall some words from an old Zen master, something like, "My Zen cuts down mountains." My rejection of Buddhism was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-seemed-to-recall-some-words-from-an-old-zen-master-something-like/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [ This is the strange thing about existing in time. As \[Philip\] Larkin puts it, "truly, though our element is time, we are not used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/this-is-the-strange-thing-about-existing-in-time-as-philip-larkin/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [I've never been baptised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-ve-never-been-baptised/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [It would be hard to say that exactly, but antinatalism is a reality in my life, not just an interesting idea. I can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/it-would-be-hard-to-say-that-exactly-but-antinatalism-is-a-reality-in/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [ \[william\] Burroughs, incidentally, took up the slogan that we are "Here to go", which contradicts the tendency in Eastern mysticism to advocate staying where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/william-burroughs-incidentally-took-up-the-slogan-that-we-are-here-to/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [As children in the seventies we were told about nebulous 'strangers'. By definition, we didn't know who these strangers were, and we didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/as-children-in-the-seventies-we-were-told-about-nebulous-strangers-by/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [This is part of the fundamental character of Buddhism that I find problematic - that it is not interested in anything. Hence the 'Fascination'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/this-is-part-of-the-fundamental-character-of-buddhism-that-i-find/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [ I also remember a line from a song by Smog \[Bill Callahan\], which seems to describe the experience of a town-dweller moving to the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-also-remember-a-line-from-a-song-by-smog-bill-callahan-which-seems/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [This strong sense of who I am that I've always had, since I was very young, is what makes me write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/this-strong-sense-of-who-i-am-that-i-ve-always-had-since-i-was-very/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [I like the concept of an anti-muse, though I'm not quite sure what that is. If there is such a thing in my life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-like-the-concept-of-an-anti-muse-though-i-m-not-quite-sure-what/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [ I really think \[William\] Burroughs was onto something here, when he said, "Dreams are a biologic necessity and your lifeline into space." ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-really-think-william-burroughs-was-onto-something-here-when-he-said/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [ \[My muse\] is, in fact, a woman of the world, and precisely because of this, hopes that a diversity of cultures will endure, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/my-muse-is-in-fact-a-woman-of-the-world-and-precisely-because-of-this/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [I do have a muse. I am not sure how to describe her. She can be very elusive. She was born in England but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-do-have-a-muse-i-am-not-sure-how-to-describe-her-she-can-be-very/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) [Explore all 115 Quentin S. Crisp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. 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Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I understand that words can mean different things to different people, and, further, that people can have different relationships with complex abstract entities such as Buddhism. To me, anyway, the entity in my life that conflicts with my creativity is Buddhism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Quentin S. 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