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I move and have my being in a Zen monastery which I call the world. Around me are all the other monks, the human inhabitants of this planet, many of whom at still ignorant but some of whom I recognise as enlightened in their degree.. In this monastery I am subject to privations, austerities and hard work, with little leisure and long vigils. I move amid beauty and horror.

— The goose is out by William John Gabb (Page 48)

The moral to be drawn from this reflection is, that if we want to see things differently we have first of all to be different. That is why the Buddha said, in effect, “first be what I am and then you will see what I mean”.

— The goose is out by William John Gabb (Page 41)

I told him, a man is only aware of light by seeing the surface which light illuminates; light itself is invisible, Also, he is only aware of self through his senses and emotions and mind; self itself is unknowable. In the same way a man is not conscious of enlightenment save through observation of his actions and thoughts, and by noticing the influence he radiates on the world around him, his impact on the not-self.

— The goose is out by William John Gabb (Page 34)

The goose was to be extricated without harm from the bottle; the solution to my problem was punctually to be presented to the Society. The answer came in triumph, “There, the goose is out!” There, the problem is solved! All I had to do was find a pencil and paper and jot down my notes. I merely had to put in words the thing I didn’t know.

— The goose is out by William John Gabb (Page 33)

If only I might be allowed full freedom of expression before a completely understanding audience, I should say all I need to say not in four lines, but in two words, the words, ‘‘Ah, this!”

— The goose is out by William John Gabb (Page 28)

I now revert to the period subsequent to my cure through reading Troward’s books.

By this time I had become acquainted with a number of the scriptures of the principal religions of the world and commentaries had warned me that their particular value lay in their present meaning for the individual and not in any possible interest they might have as historical documents.

— The goose is out by William John Gabb (Page 22)

1 owe a special debt of gratitude to those lesser psychic lights on the spiritual path because they have conditioned my somewhat sceptical temperament to appreciate that there really are more things in heaven and earth than is admitted by the average individual, and it is for this reason that I now write of them. I used them as stepping-stones to higher thing and others may do the same.

— The goose is out by William John Gabb (Page 21)

I felt suffering in any form to be out of place in an intelligently ordered universe. I was possessed of intelligence, and ipso facto the creator must at least be as intelligent as the creature. Then how could something so obviously unintelligent as suffering appear as no mean spanner in the cosmic works? I read the classic arguments on the subject of the problem of evil and remained unconvinced. Finally, like the country yokel who say his first giraffe, I refused to believe it.

— The goose is out by William John Gabb (Page 13 - 14)

The message is that life is worth living and also worth losing. The book will tell how, and why.

— The goose is out by William John Gabb (Page 3)

Canmol dy wlad a thrig ynddi. Praise your country and live in it.

— A Little Book of Welsh Proverbs (Little Welsh Bookshelf) by W. A. Rose (Page 55)

Godrir buwch o'i phen. A cow is milked from its head.

— A Little Book of Welsh Proverbs (Little Welsh Bookshelf) by W. A. Rose (Page 51)