“Smoking is similar to hitting yourself over the head with
a hammer because, when you stop, you feel better”

Source: Silence Speaks, from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass (1977), p.31

The Independent, The Independent, Professor Sidney Morgenbesser: Philosopher celebrated for his withering New York Jewish humour http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/professor-sidney-morgenbesser-550224.html, 6 August 2004. Obituaries – Sidney Morgenbesser, 82, Kibitzing Philosopher, Dies http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/04/obituaries/04morgenbesser.html. The New York Times (September 8, 2004). Some of his students then argued that it may have been unjust, because he had not been proven guilty, but it was not unfair because the others were treated in the same way. The Times, Sidney Morgenbesser: Erudite and influential American linguistic philosopher with the analytical acuity of Spinoza and the blunt wit of Groucho Marx https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sidney-morgenbesser-5cz8gg8qfvm, September 8, 2004. This alternative version is sometimes attributed to Morgenbesser himself.

Silence Speaks, from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass, 1977
Context: Q: Can intellect aid understanding? A: It helps in the beginning but cannot give full enlightenment. The mind is the main instrument to gain enlightenment, but enlightenment is only reached when the mind stops. Q: How can we stop the mind? A: Not hitting it with a hammer. Stop the mind by the mind. (p.31)

1995/8
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Source: Dr Sax

Speaking to police officers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFgjNPiq9Cw at Suffolk County Community College, Long Island (28 July 2017) <br class="br">2010s, 2017, July