Westerners Quotes:

You've never been very generous, you Westerners, toward us Indians. You should have seen that things were changing, albeit slowly. You should have seen that something was happening. Not much, but something.

- Indira Gandhi

source: Source: sangam.org

topic: Should Have, Westerners, Happenings

This, I believe, is the great Western truth: that each of us is a completely unique creature and that, if we are ever to give any gift to the world, it will have to come out of our own experience and fulfillment of our own potentialities, not someone else's.

- Joseph Campbell

source: Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers (2011). “The Power of Myth”, p.186, Anchor

topic: Believe, Unique, Giving, Westerners, This I Believe

Istanbul, a universal beauty where poet and archeologist, diplomat and merchant, princess and sailor, northerner and westerner screams with same admiration. The whole world thinks that this city is the most beautiful place on earth.

- Edmondo De Amicis

source: "Constantinople". Book by Edmondo De Amicis, 1877.

topic: Beautiful, Princess, Thinking, Westerners, Northerners

The “Vasco da Gama's era” ends in a nightmare in which men-Westerners and non-Westerners alike-are bewildered by this confusion and the old fancy of the apprenti sorcier becomes tragically actual.

- Carlo M. Cipolla

source: Carlo M. Cipolla (1966). “Guns, sails and empires: technological innovation and the early phases of European expansion, 1400-1700”

topic: Men, Confusion, Fancy, Westerners

Many Westerners forget that when the Prophet spoke of four wives as the maximum allowable number, he had in mind a reduction to four as compared to the number then often prevailing; moreover, Mohammed specified that a man should acquire more than one wife only if he could treat them all with equal justice - obviously a difficult feat for even the most diligent man to achieve. In effect, then, the Prophet curtailed the number of wives.

- Mohammed Reza Pahlavi

topic: Men, Justice, Wife, Westerners, Equal Justice

The Jews caused us a great injustice, the greatest injustice. They have expelled our people, stolen our land, shed our brothers' blood, and are still shedding blood, and there should be no contact between them and us....we will not agree to meet with them until our problem with the Zionist entity and those Westerners and Christians who support them, is solved.

- Yusuf al-Qaradawi

source: "Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi against Including Jews in Dialogue between Religions". MEMRI TV, May 2004.

topic: Christian, Brother, Blood, Westerners, Shedding Blood

A youth with wings are the assurance of our nation's future. We must start to work right away and make progress so that; if one day Westerners leave their footprints on the moon, we shall place a Turkish one among those.

- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

topic: Moon, Wings, Progress, Westerners

Age is a limit we impose upon ourselves. You know, each time you Westerners celebrate your birthday you build another fence around your minds.

- Robert Riskin

topic: Mind, Age, Limits, Westerners

I lived in Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s. It was, for a Westerner, pretty idyllic. There were the religious police; there were the rules; there were the prayer times. But it was as if we were existing in two separate universes. The Westerners were just allowed to get on with their way of life.

- Robert Lacey

topic: Religious, Prayer, Two, Westerners, Prayer Time

Political correctness is a major defect of the western ethos. Some Western countries have even passed blasphemy laws that would put you in legal hot waters if you say anything negative about Islam. This means that the truth about Islam cannot be said but Muslims are given total freedom to spread their religion with lies. Islam thrives were truth is suppressed. That is one reason that westerners convert to Islam. They are lied to. How do you expect a society to survive when truth is banned and lies are allowed?

- Ali Sina

source: Source: myislam.dk

topic: Country, Lying, Mean, Westerners

We are living in a culture that if you criticize immorality you could be branded as a "bigot". I am going to lose a lot of support just by saying this. I am not a politician and I am not running a popularity contest. My job is to defend our world from Islam. You asked why the westerners convert to Islam and I must tell the truth as I see it. If that offends anyone, let him be offended.

- Ali Sina

source: Source: myislam.dk

topic: Running, Jobs, Our World, Westerners, Popularity Contest

Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him like “only psychological.

- Carl Jung

source: Carl Gustav Jung (1989). “The Collected Works of C. G. Jung: Psychology and religion”

topic: Sound, Psychological, Metaphysical, Westerners

Thai food ain't about simplicity. It's about the juggling of disparate elements to create a harmonious finish. Like a complex musical chord it's got to have a smooth surface but it doesn't matter what's happening underneath. Simplicity isn't the dictum here, at all. Some westerners think it's a jumble of flavours, but to a Thai that's important, it's the complexity they delight in.

- David

topic: Thinking, Simplicity, Musical, Westerners, Thai

In Buddhism we don't really believe in sin and salvation as Westerners would define them. We believe in the limitless possibilities of the present and of future moments.

- Frederick Lenz

topic: Buddhist, Believe, Buddhism, Westerners, Limitless Possibilities

The typical Westerner wishes to be the cause of as many changes as possible in his environment; the typical Chinaman wishes to enjoy as much and as delicately as possible.

- Bertrand Russell

topic: Wish, Typical, Causes, Westerners

They were the first Westerners. The spirit of the West, the modern spirit, is a Greek discovery; and the place of the Greeks is in the modern world.

- Edith Hamilton

source: Edith Hamilton (1987). “The Greek way ; The Roman way”, Random House Value Pub

topic: Discovery, Greek, World, Westerners

If Slumdog Millionaire projects India as a Third World, dirty-underbelly, developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations. It's just that the Slumdog Millionaire idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative Golden Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not.

- Amitabh Bachchan

source: "Slumdogs who seek success". The Independent, News, p. 30, January 16, 2009.

topic: Pain, Dirty, Ideas, Westerners, Developed Nations

The statements of certain western officials show that contrary to their absurd claims, westerners are disqualified, and impetuous, lacking any cultural background.

- Hamid-Reza Assefi

topic: Absurd, Claims, Certain, Westerners, Impetuous

All I can say is that these cult stories are totally untrue, are without any foundation, and trade on a deep bias against Westerners who dare to embrace an Eastern belief-system.

- Frederick Lenz

topic: Buddhism, Foundation, Stories, Westerners

Westerners have aggressive problem-solving minds; Africans experience people.

- Kenneth Kaunda

topic: People, Mind, Problem, Westerners

Like most people, most Westerners anyway, I have a sneaking suspicion I am immortal.

- Mary Cantwell

source: Mary Cantwell (1995). “Manhattan, When I Was Young”, p.112, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

topic: People, Immortality, Immortal, Westerners

Muslims, who have a completely different value system, come to the West, then they should accept that there are certain basic values in the West intrinsic to our culture. Just as I wouldn't suggest that any Westerner walk down the streets of Saudi Arabia in a bikini.

- John Cleese

source: "'Satire Makes People Think'". Interview with Christoph Scheuermann and Barbara Supp, www.spiegel.de. March 30, 2015.

topic: West, Bikinis, Arabia, Value Systems, Saudi Arabia

I just think you Westerners should take over this country if you are so smart.

- Pierre Trudeau

topic: Country, Smart, Thinking, Westerners, Canada Being Great

The pirates are serving a purpose right now. They come from regions which have been completely ignored, and Westerners have tried to destroy these regions by their constant plundering of resources and by the illegal dumping of nuclear waste. The pirates really began in order to discourage these actions - initially. And then the business became lucrative.

- K'naan

source: "K’naan: Straight Outta Mogadishu". Interview with Eamon Kircher-Allen, www.motherjones.com. March/April 2009.

topic: Order, Pirate, Nuclear, Westerners, Nuclear Waste

I am a Westerner. We're not going to change the West by going East. The East has a lot to teach us, but essentially it's like a mirror, saying, hey, can't you see what's here in your own religion, what are you, stupid?

- Matthew Fox

topic: Change, Stupid, Mirrors, Westerners

The Dalai Lama, these days, encourages Westerners not to take up Buddhism, partly because he feels that our roots are deep in other traditions, and we should go deeper into our own traditions rather than just acquiring the surfaces of others.

- Pico Iyer

source: Interview with Felicia M. Tomasko, layoga.com. April 26, 2008.

topic: Buddhism, Roots, Tradition, Westerners

The Dalai Lama acknowledges that he's met Westerners who to some extent are clearly Easterners at heart, and he would never want them not to become Buddhists just because they happened to be born in California.

- Pico Iyer

source: Source: layoga.com

topic: Buddhist, Heart, California, Westerners

The type of Buddhist practices that I talk about in 'The Art of Happiness' have to do with reconditioning one's way of thinking and one's outlook, and one's perception and how one relates to people. That type of thing, any Westerner can practice at any time.

- Howard Cutler

source: "Writer searches for happiness with the Dalai Lama" by Jamie Allen, www.cnn.com.

topic: Buddhist, Art, Thinking, Westerners, Way Of Thinking

The Chinese are generally speaking much more reluctant than Westerners to killing as a means to the rescue of lives.

- Torbjorn Tannsjo

source: Source: www.3ammagazine.com

topic: Mean, Chinese, Killing, Westerners

Perhaps Westerners are in a better position to practice true renunciation than uneducated Orientals because most Western people, by the time they come to the Dharma, have led a pretty full worldly life with lots of sensual pleasures, money and lots of toys to play with. They have seen that the path of accumulation of worldly treasure does not lead to happiness or contentment. That's why they come to the Dharma.

- Tenzin Palmo

source: Source: fpmt.org

topic: Practice, Play, People, Worldly Life, Westerners

In one way I would like to teach, but I have no qualifications to teach Westerners.

- Tenzin Palmo

source: Source: fpmt.org

topic: Way, Teach, Qualifications, Westerners

I think the Westerner approaches his path through his mind. I think the Easterner approaches, largely, although not exclusively, his path through his heart.

- Neale Donald Walsch

source: Source: www.enlighteningtimes.com

topic: Heart, Thinking, Mind, Westerners

I think Easterners have to be dragged kicking and screaming to their mind about God, and I think Westerners have to be dragged kicking and screaming to their heart center about God.

- Neale Donald Walsch

source: Source: www.enlighteningtimes.com

topic: Heart, Thinking, Mind, Westerners

A lot of the book [The Yoga of Max's Discontent] is about karma and rebirth. Things like that are very attuned to my life as an Indian, but when I approach it from a perspective of a Westerner, then I have a skeptical, yet kind of novice view on it. I think that choice really liberated the story to be its own story. A lot of the conclusions that Max reaches on his own are not mine at all. So, I think that allowed the story to take on its own momentum, to have its own propulsive force.

- Karan Bajaj

topic: Karma, Yoga, Book, Westerners

Many Westerners see follow-through and reliability as the most critical factor in how they calculate the trustworthiness of another individual. In some other cultures, who you know and how you're related to other individuals is the most important variable. And for others, it may be as much about your reputation and what others have said about you.

- David Livermore

source: Source: bobmorris.biz

topic: Other Cultures, Important, Variables, Westerners

I think in Baghdad, any westerner, journalist or not, has a big dollar sign on his or her forehead. So, first and foremost, you are a ticket to unimaginable wealth. And that makes any trips out of the safe zones very risky.

- Yaroslav Trofimov

topic: Thinking, Baghdad, Dollars, Westerners

I was the only westerner to succeed in a place that's like a toilet, and you always come out of a toilet with a smell.

- David Reuben

topic: Smell, Toilets, Succeed, Westerners

In many other cultures, and certainly in the Eastern world, there's great value put on being, contemplating, and even withdrawing from the world at certain times or for certain periods of time. But we don't really have that in our culture, so it's difficult for many Westerners to learn how to sit down or lie down and just be quiet without going to sleep. We're just not trained to do it.

- Shakti Gawain

source: "An interview with Shakti Gawain about transformation locally and globally". Lotus Guide interview, lotusguide.com. June 6, 2012.

topic: Lying, Sleep, Other Cultures, Westerners, Withdrawing

The music of the westerner comes from Africa, whether they like it or not. The majority of the instruments of the music, of the pop music, rock and roll, or R&B, hip hop, whatever it is, their roots trace back to Africa. So if you are black, white, yellow, or red, whatever you do, it doesn't matter, because your DNA is back in Africa.

- Angelique Kidjo

topic: Rocks, Dna, Rock And Roll, Westerners

More often than not, Americans and Westerners overestimated the power and capability of the Soviet Union.

- Alexander Haig

topic: Westerners

What geography can give all Middle Westerners, along with the fresh water and topsoil, if they let it, is awe for an Edenic continent stretching forever in all directions. Makes you religious. Takes your breath away.

- Kurt Vonnegut

source: "Vonnegut at 80" by David Hoppe, www.nuvo.net. January 1, 2003.

topic: Religious, Giving, Water, Westerners, Topsoil

Oftentimes Westerners don't really understand fully the values of this particular culture. And I think the jury is still out as to whether democracy can really thrive in Iraq.

- Katie Couric

topic: Thinking, Iraq, Democracy, Jury, Westerners

Americans are much more American than they are Northerners, Southerners, Westerners, or Easterners ... California Chinese, Boston Irish, Wisconsin German, yes, Alabama Negroes, have more in common than they have apart ... The American identity is an exact and provable thing.

- John Steinbeck

topic: Boston, California, Chinese, Westerners, American Identity

Last night the Taliban offered to release eight Westerners if the U.S. promised not to attack. The State Department declined but thanked the Taliban for the offer, saying it really felt good to laugh again.

- Tina Fey

topic: Night, Eight, Laughing, Westerners

Islamic ethics is based on 'limits and proportions,' which means that the answer to an offensive cartoon is a cartoon, not the burning of embassies or the kidnapping of people designated as the enemy. Islam rejects guilt by association. Just as Muslims should not blame all Westerners for the poor taste of a cartoonist who wanted to be offensive, those horrified by the spectacle of rent-a-mob sackings of embassies in the name of Islam should not blame all Muslims for what is an outburst of fascist energy.

- Amir Taheri

topic: Islamic, Mean, Names, Sacking, Westerners

When I'm wandering around the Himalayas, most of the people that I see are Westerners from Germany, California, or the Netherlands, who are wearing sandals, Indian smocks, and are in search of enlightenment, antiquity, peace, and all the things they can't get in the west. Most of the people they meet are Nepali villagers in Lee jeans, Reeboks, and Madonna T-shirts who are looking for the paradise that they associate with Los Angeles - a paradise of material prosperity and abundance.

- Pico Iyer

source: Source: scottlondon.com

topic: Jeans, California, People, Westerners, Netherlands

I believe no-one can insult you without your permission. Shilpa Shetty has paid the price for trying to desperately seek the approval of the West. It is pathetic how we can go on bended knees and lick the boots of Westerners in an effort to be part of their world.

- Mahesh Bhatt

topic: Believe, Effort, Trying, Insults You, Westerners

I created 'The Westerner' because of anger - anger at never-miss sheriffs, always-right marshalls, whitewashed gunfighters ... anger at TV's quick-draw tin gods who stand behind a tin star or ten cents' worth of righteous anger and justify their skill and slaughter with a self-conscious grin or a minute's worth of bad philosophy.

- Sam Peckinpah

topic: Stars, Philosophy, Self, Westerners, Sheriffs

The Westerner is less a person than a continuing adaptation. The West is less a place than a process.

- Wallace Stegner

topic: West, Adaptation, Process, Westerners

There are all these new books out there portraying Asian mothers as scheming, callous, overdriven people indifferent to their kids' true interests. For their part, many Chinese secretly believe that they care more about their children and are willing to sacrifice much more for them than Westerners, who seem perfectly content to let their children turn out badly. I think it's a misunderstanding on both sides. All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. The Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that.

- Amy Chua

topic: Mother, Children, Believe, Different Ideas, Westerners