Simplify and Master
“The more we reduce the size of our world, the more we shall be its master.”
–Jacinto Benavente (Spanish Dramatist who, in 1922, Won the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1866-1954)
The Mind of a Perfect Person
“The mind of a perfect man is like a mirror. It grasps nothing. It expects nothing. It reflects but does not hold. Therefore the Perfect Man can act without effort.”
–Chuang Tzu (Chinese Philosopher, c.369-286 B.C.)
Learning the Truth
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you and when you have thus learned the truth, you will know that all living beings are but a part of Me – and that they are in Me, and are Mine.”
–Bhagavad Gita (Ancient and Sacred Sanskrit Poem Incorporated into the Mahabharata; Ch. 4: 34-35)
Enjoy the World Without Judging It
I just heard that the author of these words has recently moved on. Or as a good friend used to say: “Been promoted!”
“To enjoy the world without judgment is what a realized life is like.”
–Charlotte Joko Beck (American Zen Teacher and Author, 1917-2011)
Don’t Ignore Wrongs Done to Others
“To bear with patience wrongs done to oneself is a mark of perfection, but to bear with patience wrongs done to someone else is a mark of imperfection and even of actual sin.”
–Saint Thomas Aquinas (Italian Dominican Friar, Theologian and Philosopher, 1225-1274)
Climbing On the Shoulders of Your Teachers
“Often nothing keeps the pupil on the move but his faith in his teacher, whose mastery is now beginning to dawn on him ….
How far the pupil will go is not the concern of the teacher and master. Hardly has he shown him the right way when he must let him go on alone.
There is only one thing more he can do to help him endure his loneliness: he turns him away from himself, from the Master, by exhorting him to go further than he himself has done, and to “climb on the shoulders of his teacher.”
–Eugen Herrigel (German Philosopher and Daishakyôdô Practitioner, 1884-1955)
Mastery: The Key to Lasting Self Confidence
“The foundation of lasting self-confidence and self-esteem is excellence, mastery of our work.”
–Brian Tracy (Canadian-born American Author and Expert on Business and Personal Development, 1944-)
Creating Strength in Reserve
“[Work] below your means. If you can handle three elements, handle only two. If you can handle ten, then handle only five. In that way the ones you do handle, you handle with more ease, more mastery, and you create a feeling of strength in reserve.”
–Pablo Picasso (Spanish Artist, 1881-1973)
Unfolding Your Soul
“The rose brings forth fragrance, color, and beautiful structure; so the soul, with its unfoldment, shows personality, atmosphere, and refined manner.”
–Hazrat Inayat Khan (Indian Founder of Universal Sufism and the Sufi Order International, 1882-1927)
Deeply Human Spirituality
“A spiritual person tries less to be godly than to be deeply human.”
–Rev. William Sloan Coffin, Jr. (American Liberal Christian Clergyman and Peace Activist, 1924-2006)
