Tag: Quote

Chance is the instrument of Providence

What is called chance is the instrument of Providence and the secret agent that counteracts what men call wisdom, and preserves order and regularity, and continuation in the whole, for … I firmly believe, notwithstanding all our complaints, that almost every person upon earth tastes upon the totality more happiness than misery; and therefore if we could correct the world to our fancies, and with the best intentions imaginable, probably we should only produce more misery and confusion.


Horace Walpole (1904). “The letters of Horace Walpole: fourth earl of Orford”

Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu – Chapter 20

Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles.


Is there a difference between yes and no?
Is there a difference between good and evil?
Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!
Other people are contented, enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox.
In spring some go to the park, and climb the terrace,
But I alone am drifting not knowing where I am.
Like a new-born babe before it learns to smile,
I am alone, without a place to go.

Other have more than they need, but I alone have nothing.
I am a fool. Oh, yes! I am confused.
Other men are clear and bright,
But I alone am dim and weak.
Other men are sharp and clever,
But I alone am dull and stupid.
Oh, I drift like the waves of the sea.
Without direction, like the restless wind.

Everyone else is busy,
But I alone am aimless and depressed.
I am different.
I am nourished by the great mother.

(translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English)

Good is the enemy of great

“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.” 


– James C. Collins

Pain is temporary

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?” 


– Lance Armstrong

Spiritual knowledge is fresh


In the Buddhist lineage, knowledge is not handed down like an antique. One teacher experiences the truth of the teachings and hands it down as an inspiration to his students. That inspiration wakens the student who passes it on further. The teachings are seen as always up to date, they are not thought of as “ancient wisdom”.

It is like a recipe for bread. Each baker must apply his general knowledge of how to bake bread, but each time it is cooked completely fresh.

Jane Hope and Borin Van Loon
Introducing Buddha: A graphic guide



How do we come to think of things, rather than of processes in this absolute flux? By shutting our eyes to the successive events. It is an artificial attitude that makes sections in the stream of change and calls them things. When we shall know the truth of things, we shall realize how absurd it is for us to worship isolated products of the incessant series of transformations as though they were eternal and real. Life is no thing or state of a thing, but a continuous movement or change.


– Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan

We can’t comprehend with our human mind the…

We can’t comprehend with our human mind the wisdom of God. Somehow, He can plan out generations, take mistakes, failures, betrayals, closed doors and somehow weave them all together and cause them to work for our good. Only God, in His wisdom, can figure out how to take a mistake from one generation and use it to be a blessing in another generation.

-Joel Osteen

Vishaya in general means that which holds your…

Vishaya in general means that which holds your attention. Here we are talking about that which will grab you and take you into life after life. When is anything considered a vishaya? It is considered a vishaya if you become greedy or infatuated with it. Otherwise it is not a vishaya. Therefore, everything you see in this world is not vishaya but if you become greedy or obsessed with it then it is called vishaya.

-Dadashri

Contact and unity with the soul bring understanding…

Contact and unity with the soul bring understanding and answers your questions. God has so designed us that within each of us there is a special classroom, an inner sanctum, designed for inner communion. Within this classroom, your master teacher expects and awaits you. Seek the presence of this Master Within. No one can enter this classroom except you. The Master is always there.

-Lonnie C. Edwards (Spiritual Laws that govern the Universe)

kāmamaya evāyaṃ puruṣa iti You are what your…

kāmamaya evāyaṃ puruṣa iti
You are what your deep, driving desire is

sa yathākāmo bhavati tatkratur bhavati
As your desire is, so is your will

yatkratur bhavati tat karma kurute
As your will is, so is your deed

yat karma kurute tad abhisaṃpadyate
As your deed is, so is your destiny

-Brihadaranyakopanisad 4.4.5

Nobody is superior nobody is inferior but nobody…

Nobody is superior, nobody is inferior, but nobody is equal either. People are simply unique, incomparable. You are you, I am I. I have to contribute my potential to life; you have to contribute your potential to life. I have to discover my own being; you have to discover your own being.

-Osho

The law of karma blessed ones is not…

The law of karma, blessed ones, is not intended to act as a lash, to tear apart the souls of men. The law of karma is intended to instruct and to cause mankind to approach the throne of grace without fear, with the clearness of mind and being that will render them able to receive the pure vibratory action of Almighty God.

-Annice Booth, The Path to Your Ascension