THE AMERICAN TELEVISION SERIES "Babylon 5" is an above average science fiction program, which has since been canceled but can still be viewed on the Sci-Fi cable channel. In a previous issue, Hundred Mountain printed a cool quote spoken by one of the characters, one that seemed to echo Buddhist teachings on karma:

"I used to think that life was unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse, if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe."

But we misidentified the speaker in the quote, which came from an episode titled "A Late Delivery From Avalon." Faithful "Babylon 5" viewer Jill Gillham e-mailed to say that the character's name was actually Marcus. In fact-checking the quote at a "Babylon 5" fan's quote website, she came up with a whole bunch of other Buddhist-flavored quotes. She writes in her e-mail:

["Babylon 5" was a show] you had pay attention to follow, and one that did its best to make you think about the world, universe, whatever. I found it was interesting that the series creator (and writer for 95 percent of the episodes) was a stated atheist, but the show had one of the most respectful treatments of religion and faith that I've ever seen on TV. The show also has a decidedly sharp sense of humor."

What follows are the fruits of Jill's research and a bounty of uncharacteristically insightful TV insight from the show, which was created by Michael Straczynski, who executive produced the series along with Doug Netter. For even more quotes, visit the "Babylon 5" quote compendium website from which these quotes were gathered: www.cs.tut.fi/~albert/Quotes/B5-quotes.html

"You can't turn away from death simply because you're afraid of what might happen without you. That's not enough! You're not embracing life. You're fleeing death. And so you're caught in between, unable to go forward or backward. Your friends need what you can be when you are no longer afraid, when you know who you are and why you are and what you want, when you are no longer looking for reasons to live, but can simply be."

-- Lorien to Sheridan in Babylon 5: "Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?"

"In here, Mr Garibaldi, you can not hide from yourself. Everything out there has only one purpose, to distract us from ourselves, what is truly important. There are no distractions in here. We can learn much from silence."

-- G'Kar to Garibaldi in Babylon 5: "Messages from Earth"

"Our thoughts form the universe, they always matter."

-- G'Kar to Zack in Babylon 5: "The Hour of the Wolf"

"Everything is illusion, Mr. Garibaldi. Concepts [constructs] of language, light, metaphor; nothing is real."

-- Wade to Garibaldi in Babylon 5: "The Exercise of Vital Powers"

"The next time .. the next time .. you want a revelation .. could you possibly find a way .. that isn't .. quite so .. uncomfortable?"

-- Marcus to Neroon in Babylon 5: "Grey 17 is Missing"

"Faith sustains us in the hour when reason tells us that we can not continue, that the whole of our whole lives is without meaning."

-- Brother Alwyn in Babylon 5: "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars"

"Breen. You've managed to import breen from homeworld. How?"
"It .. isn't actually breen."
"But the smell, the taste..."
"It's an Earth food. They are called Swedish meatballs. It's a strange thing, but every sentient race has its own version of these Swedish meatballs. I suspect it's one of those great universal mysteries which will either never get explained or which will drive you mad if you ever learned the truth."

-- Na'kal and G'Kar in Babylon 5: "Walkabout"

"Captain. If I were you, I would quit while I was ahead. Back on Minbar, there was a saying among the other rangers. Only way to get a straight answer from Ranger One was to look every reply in a mirror while hanging upside-down from the ceiling."
"Did it work?"
"Oddly enough, yes. Or, after a while you passed out and had a vision. Either one, the result was pretty much the same."

-- Marcus and Sheridan in Babylon 5: "War Without End No. 1"

"Ready?"
"Why do your people always ask if someone is ready right before you are going to do something massively unwise?"
"Tradition."

-- Sinclair and Delenn in Babylon 5: "War Without End No. 1"

"Every day, here and at home, we are warned about the enemy. But who is the enemy? Is it the alien? Well, we are all alien to one another. Is it the one who believes differently than we do? No, not at all, my friends. The enemy is fear. The enemy is ignorance. The enemy is the one who tells you that you must hate that which is different. Because, in the end, that hate will turn on you. And that same hate will destroy you."

-- Rev. Dexter in Babylon 5: "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place"

"I thought the purpose of filing these reports was to provide accurate intelligence."
"Vir, intelligence has nothing to do with politics."

-- Vir and Londo in Babylon 5: "Point of No Return"

You must understand, Ta'Lon, I have had a revelation."
"What kind of revelation?"
"Most profound and substantial one, Ta'Lon. The kind of revelation that transforms your mind, .. your soul, .. your heart, .. even your flesh. So that you are a new creature. We born in the instant of understanding."

-- G'Kar and Ta'Lon in Babylon 5: "Point of No Return"

"It is very hard to explain. We do not believe in any individual god or gods. But rather, we believe that the soul is a -- what is a good term -- a non-localized phenomenon."

-- Delenn in Babylon 5: "Passing Through Gethsemane"

"We believe that the universe itself is conscious in a way we can never truly understand. It is engaged in a search for meaning. So it .. breaks itself apart, investing its own consciousness in every form of life."

-- Delenn to Brother Edward in Babylon 5: "Passing Through Gethsemane"

"We are the universe, trying to understand itself."

-- Delenn to Brother Edward in Babylon 5: "Passing Through Gethsemane"

"I can only conclude that I'm paying off karma at a vastly accelerated rate."

-- Ivanova in Babylon 5: "Points of Departure"

"Universe puts us in places where we can learn. They are never easy places, but they are right. Wherever we are, it's the right place .. and the right time. Pain that sometimes comes is part of the process of constantly being born."

-- Delenn to Sheridan in Babylon 5: "A Distant Star"

"Vir, do you believe in fate?"
"Well, actually, I believe there are currents in the Universe. Eddies and tides that pull us one way or the other. Some we have to fight, some we have to embrace. Unfortunately, the currents that we have to fight look exactly like the currents we have to embrace. The currents that we think are the one that's gonna make us stronger, they are the ones that are going to destroy us. And the ones that we think are going to destroy us, they are the ones that are going to make us stronger. Now, the other current--"
"Vir! Yes or no?"
"Yes! You know, somewhat, why?"

-- Londo and Vir in Babylon 5: "The Geometry of Shadows"

"The time I learned to really appreciate mornings was during the three years I spent being taught by Jesuits. We used to get up at five o'clock every morning for sunrise mass, then one hour of meditation before class. We'd sit, quiet, in peace. Breathing in, breathing out. Breathing in, breathing out. Breathing in, breathing out."

-- Ivanova and Sinclair in Babylon 5: "Babylon Squared"

"Then the tragedy is greater than I thought. Without forgiveness you can not mourn, and without mourning you can never let go of the pain."

-- Rabbi Yossel Koslov to Ivanova in Babylon 5: "TKO"

"The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote."

-- Kosh to M'ola in Babylon 5: "Believers"

"The universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest."

-- G'Kar to Garibaldi in Babylon 5: "Survivors"

"Then I will tell you a great secret, Captain. Perhaps the greatest of all time. The molecules of your body are the same molecules that make up this station and the nebula outside, that burn inside the stars themselves. We are starstuff, we are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out. As we have both learned, sometimes the universe requires a change of perspective."

-- Delenn to Sheridan in Babylon 5: "A Distant Star"

"Ah! He has become one with his inner self!"
"He's passed out."
"That too."

-- Vir and Garibaldi in Babylon 5: "The Parliament of Dreams"

"I've never understood that. Why does the universe give us puzzles with no answers?"
"Pay back, maybe?"

-- G'Kar and Franklin in Babylon 5: "The Wheel of Fire"

"Faith manages."

-- Lennier to Delenn in Babylon 5:"Confessions and Lamentations"

"We put you in this position, G'Kar. Our reverence is our gift to you, and you are responsible to us. You owe us. Without us .. you are nothing."
"Then I am nothing. Good day."

-- A Narn and G'Kar in Babylon 5: "Objects in Motion"

"What does the candle represent?"
"Life."
"Whose life?"
"All life, every life. We're all born as molecules in the hearts of a billion stars, molecules that do not understand politics, policies and differences. In a billion years we, foolish molecules forget who we are and where we came from. Desperate acts of ego. We give ourselves names, fight over lines on maps. And pretend our light is better than everyone else's. The flame reminds us of the piece of those stars that live inside us. A spark that tells us: you should know better. The flame also reminds us that life is precious, as each flame is unique. When it goes out, it's gone forever. And there will never be another quite like it. So many candles will go out tonight. I wonder some days if we
can see anything at all."

-- Sheridan and Delenn in Babylon 5: "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder"

"Why? What's inside there?"
"One moment of perfect beauty."

-- Sheridan and Kosh in Babylon 5: "There All the Honor Lies"

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