| Greetings
to you, my most noble student. Thank you for visiting my page. Below
are seeds of wisdom, I hope that you will find the time to explore
these words, and from their wisdom, find contentment. Remember that
it is you and only you who can make yourself happy and rich in body
and spirit. Practice with diligence and patience and you will find
peace.
On this page you will find the ages-old wisdom of Aesop, the time-honored teachings of Lao Tzu, the philosophies of Zen, ancient proverbs of the East as well as more recent knowledge from Western culture. These teachings serve to illustrate that wisdom holds no boundaries, be they seeds grown in the East or West. I humbly propose to you that the wizened individual holds no prejudices, but keeps the mind ever an open receptacle. In this, we strive to lift the veils from our eyes and find contentment. In contentment, we are rich. This is True. It is our duty to attempt to grasp the oft breezy caress within these words and build them into a foundation of knowledge as mighty as the great oak. In doing so we gain the ultimate power, the power of wisdom. Knowledge is mighty, but without wisdom, it is brandished like a club. It is wisdom we seek here. It gives me great pleasure to offer these insights to you, and I trust that they will help you along your path. At times, the knowledge herein may seem foreign to you... contradictory to what you believe... I ask that you consider this wisdom with patience and understanding. I also ask that you review these words with diligence. Although you may have read these passages numerous times in the past, time has a way of unlocking doors within our minds. New enlightenment will come with frequent study. This is as it should be. We are all students in and of life. Let us study together. I bid you peace and contentment until we meet once again. |
One day, the fleet-footed Hare was teasing the slow-moving Tortoise for her lack of speed. The Tortoise frowned for a moment and then challenged the Hare to a race. The Hare laughed, looking at the proposal as a joke, and thus accepted the challenge. The race began, and as expected, the quick Hare immediately took a large lead. At the half-way point in the course, the Hare could barely see the Tortoise far off in the distance behind him, and so he leaped into a field of tall grass and began to nibble and play, enjoying himself and giggling over the audacity of the Tortoise to challenge him in the first place. As the Hare frolicked in the field, he grew weary in the afternoon heat and decided to take a quick nap; for even if the Tortoise gained the lead while he slept, he could easily make up the difference with his terrific speed. And thus the Hare fell fast asleep and dreamed of his great victory against his plodding (not to mention slow-witted) opponent. Meanwhile, the Tortoise maintained her pace, unwavering and unresting, straight towards the finish line. The Hare finally awoke from his nap with a start, and he was shocked to find that the Tortoise was nowhere in sight, behind on in front. Off bounded the Hare with all the speed he could muster, but when he arrived at the finish line, he discovered that the Tortoise was already there, waiting for his arrival with a smile on her face. Moral: Slow and steady wins the race. |
| Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. |
| Ability
is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. |
| A bird does not sing because it has an answer - it sings because it has a song. |
| A
closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood. - Chinese Proverb - |
| Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. |
| A cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. |
| A
drop of ink may make a million think. |
| Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't. |
| A
fair face may fade, but a beautiful soul lasts forever. |
| A friend is one who knows who you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you become, and still gently invites you to grow. |
| A goal properly set is halfway reached. A goal without a plan is just a wish. |
| All
sunshine makes a desert. |
| "All
of your dreams will come true, if you have the courage to pursue
them." - Walt Disney - |
| "A
long life may not be good enough, but a good life is long enough." - Benjamin Franklin - |
| An angry person is seldom reasonable, a reasonable person is seldom angry. |
| It
is always in season for old men to learn. |
| Behind
every able person, there are always other able people. |
| A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a person perfected without trials. |
| You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair. |
| Better
a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one. |
| Sow
much, reap much; sow little, reap little. |
| If
I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.
|
| Learning
is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. |
| It
is later than you think. |
| Great
souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes. |
| "If
you doubt that you can accomplish something, then you can't accomplish
it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough
enough to follow through." - Rosalynn Carter - |
| "Once
learning solidifies, all is over with." - Alfred North Whitehead - |
| "The
man who is too old to learn was probably always too old to learn." - Henry S. Haskins - |
| Whoever
cares to learn will always find a teacher. - German Proverb - |
| Not
to know is bad, not to wish to know is worse. - African Proverb - |
| One
can pay back a loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those
who are kind. - Malayan Proverb - |
| "Knowledge
rests not upon truth alone, but upon error as well." - Carl Jung - |
| "The
less a man knows, the more sure he is that he knows everything."
- Joyce Cary - |
| "The
more one penetrates the realm of knowledge the more puzzling everything
becomes." - Henry Miller - |
| Time
goes from present to past. |
| Nothing
comes from outside your mind. |
| When your effort becomes pure, your body and mind become pure. |
| When there is no gaining idea in what you do, then you do something. |
| In
ancient times, when each of man's limbs and organs did not work
together as peacefully as they do these days, and each had a will
of its own, a struggle occurred. The limbs and organs began to criticize
the Stomach for enjoying a life of idleness and luxury, while the
rest of the body spent all of their time working to feed the belly.
So the limbs and organs decided to cut off the Stomach's supplies
in the future. The Hands were no longer to carry food to the Mouth,
nor would the mouth receive any food, nor the Teeth chew any. They
had not followed this scheme for starving the Stomach for very long
when they all began, one by one, to fail and flag. The entire body
began to pine away. Finally the limbs and organs realized that the
Stomach, as cumbersome and as useless as it seemed, had an important
function of its own. The rest of the body could no more do without
the Stomach than it could do without them. If they wanted to keep
the whole body in a healthy state, they had to work together, each
to its individual talent, for the greater good of all. MORAL: Only by working together can the greatest good be achieved. |
| Four
bulls were such great friends that they spent all of their time
together. The Lion always watched them with hungry longing in his
eyes, but he knew that he could never capture a bull with his allies
about him. The Lion decided to set the friends against one another.
So each morning the big cat would drink with a different bull, and
tell him lies about what the other bulls had been saying about him.
After a few days of this, the bulls began to quarrel with one another,
to the Lion's delight. Shortly, the Lion managed to make the bulls
so angry with each other that their circle was broken, and they
began to walk alone, without their friends to assist them. When
they strayed far away from each other, the Lion fell upon them singly,
and killed each one in turn. MORAL: The quarrels of friends are the opportunities of enemies. |
| One
evening, a boy whose job was to look after some goats, gathered
them together to lead them home from the pasture. The most prized
of the goats stubbornly stayed on the meadow munching tall grass.
No matter how much the boy called to the goat, she would not heed
him. The boy became enraged at this, and he picked up a stone and
hurled it with all his might at the animal. The rock struck soundly
on one of the precious goat's horns, and broke it off in the middle.
The boy was mortified at what he had done, and fearful of what his
Master would do to him when he saw how the goat had been treated.
The child threw himself at the feet of the goat and begged her not
to tell their Master what he had done. "Hmph!" replied the goat,
"Even if I were to say nothing, my horn is sure to tell the tale!"
MORAL: Facts speak louder than words. |
| There
is no crime greater than having too many desires; There is no disaster greater than not being content; There is no misfortune greater than being covetous. |
| To
hold fast to the submissive is called strength. |
| Straightforward
words Seem paradoxical. |
| Highest
good is like water. Because water excels in benefiting the myriad creatures without contending with them and settles where none would like to be, it comes close to the way. |
| Two
crabs were walking along a beach, a mother and her young child.
"My child!" exclaimed the Mother Crab, "Why do you walk sideways
like that? Why do you not walk straight like the other creatures
on this beach?" to which the young crab replied, "Well, mother...
it appears to me that I walk exactly as you do. Go first and show
me how, and I will gladly follow!" Moral: It is better to teach by example than by words. |
| A
fox being chased by some hunters came upon a man chopping wood.
He begged the man to shelter him, and the man offered the fox refuge
in his cabin. Shortly, the hunters arrived and asked the man if
he had seen the fox. The wood cutter stated that he had not, but
as he did so he pointed to his cabin with a wink. The hunters, confused
by this, went off. As soon as they were out of sight, the fox bounded
in the other direction. "So, this is how you thank me for sheltering
you, my friend?" the woodsman called to the fox. "Hah! If you had
spoken with your fingers as you did with your tongue, I would not
have left without thanking you properly! Friend? Indeed! Hah!"
Moral: Actions speak louder than words. |
| A
crow spent many hours decorating himself with feathers that had
fallen from the peacocks. When he was finished, the crow visited
the colorful birds and strutted about proudly, attempting to pass
himself off as one of their kind. Insulted by his actions, the peacocks
ran the crow off. When he returned to his village, the other crows
laughed at him and demanded that he go live among the peacocks,
since he so desired to be one. Moral: Be content with what nature has given you, or be prepared to earn contempt for trying to be what you are not. |
| In
the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind, there are few. |
| Be
grateful for the weeds you have in your mind, because eventually they will enrich your practice. |
| Your
mind and body have great power to accept things as they are, whether agreeable or disagreeable. |
| A
man and a woman were arguing over which gender was of superior character.
As they walked and quarreled they happened upon a statue of a man
holding up the Earth. "See there!" exclaimed the man, "Surely men
are superior to women, as this artwork depicts a man holding up
the world!" The woman regarded the statue for a moment and said
"That proves nothing at all, for if it had been sculpted by a woman,
she would have made a woman holding up the weight of the world!"
Moral: Consider the source of the evidence before believing it. |
| A
man who claimed to be a Psychic and Wizard made a small fortune
in the marketplace by pretending to know what was in store for the
people who paid him for his services. He would tell them of romance
or illness, fortune or famine, all with the authority of one who
knows. One day, while he was proclaiming a couple's future, a man
broke through the crowd and declared that the Wizard's house was
on fire! At this news, the Wizard ran off as fast as he could, with
the crowd quick at his heels. When they arrived at the home, they
found that it was not burning at all. The man from the crowd stepped
forward, and to the delight of the people, asked the Wizard, "How
is it that someone who so cleverly tells other people's fortunes
can know so little of his own?"
Moral: Those who practice deception are often most easily deceived. |
| One
day, while the Donkey and Rooster were having lunch together in
the meadow, a mountain lion came upon them. The Rooster started
to crow madly, and frightened the startled lion away. The Donkey,
assuming that it was he that had frightened off the big cat, gave
chase and mocked the lion as they ran. After a few minutes, the
pair had raced beyond the calls of the Rooster, at which point the
lion turned on the Donkey and made lunch of him! Moral: Presumption begins in ignorance and ends in ruin. |
| Know
contentment And you will suffer no disgrace; Know when to stop And you will meet with no danger. |
| The
way that is bright seems dull; The way that leads forward seems to lead backward. |
| The
violent will not come to a natural end. |
| Those
who are of good faith I have faith in. Those who are lacking in good faith I also have faith in. In doing so I gain in good faith. |
| The
further one goes, the less one knows. |
| The
Grasshopper had spent his entire summer singing, dancing and playing.
He had even went so far along in his merriment to taunt and tease
his friend the Ant, who had spent her days and nights gathering
food. "Ho there, Ant!" the Grasshopper had laughed, "What a fine day it is to dance! And yet you waste the time by doing chores! Do you not know how to enjoy life?" The Ant, tired from her work, nonetheless shook her head and continued. "I'm working," she said as she continued her tasks "There will be plenty of time to sing and dance when the chores are finished." To this statement the Grasshopper merely laughed and danced some more. "You collect more food than you can possibly eat in a day! The world is plentiful, dear Ant! Do not be so greedy!" he cried as he spun himself in circles. The Ant shook her head sadly and continued her tasks. She worked diligently as summer turned to fall and then to winter. As the snow fell and the blizzards raged, the Ant found comfort in her home stocked well with food and supplies. One day a knock came on her door, and she was surprised to find the Grasshopper outside, half-starved and freezing. "Please, dear Ant," he begged "Please give me some food and shelter!" The Ant looked upon him and said "Grasshopper, I worked very hard all summer long and gathered enough supplies to feed and shelter myself for the winter, but I fear that I do not have enough for you as well... what did you do all summer long?" To this the once merry Grasshopper replied "I sang and danced and played, all through the days and into the nights! It was a wonderful time!" The Ant shook her head mournfully and said "If it was so enjoyable a thing to be doing, perhaps you should continue to do so now." The Grasshopper, shivering and weak, cried "I cannot! I am too cold and hungry! Have mercy, dear Ant! I will repay you in kind tenfold this summer!"
The Ant, seeing that the Grasshopper had learned his lesson, invited
him in and gave him food and shelter. She had worked harder than
she had admitted, just in case an emergency such as this might
occur, and had ample supplies for the both of them. Moral: Do not neglect the future in times of plenty, for tomorrow you may find that you need what you have wasted today. |
| A
dog, carrying a bone in his mouth that he had stolen from the kitchen
of his master, came upon a small pond. Looking into the pool, he
saw a reflection of himself, which he mistakenly thought was another
dog also carrying a bone. A bone as fine as the one that the dog
currently had! Thinking that he would very much like to have both
bones, the dog thought to scare this other dog off by barking at
him. Growling and gnashing he let out a terrible howl, and as he
did so, he dropped his bone into the pond, losing it in the murky
depths. Moral: Be content with what you have. |
| It
is wisdom which is seeking for wisdom. |
| One
who lives each day lives a full life. |
| If you lose the spirit of repetition, your practice will become quite difficult. |
| If your practice is good, you may become proud of it. What you do is good, but something more is added to it. Pride is extra. Right effort is to get rid of something extra. |
| An
old man living in a destitute and barren town buried all of his
money at the base of a tree in his back yard. Each night, he would
lift the cover on his treasure and delight upon his possession of
it. One brightly lit eve, a thief happened upon the old man as he
gloated to himself about his great riches. After the miser had gone
to sleep, the thief removed the cover and took all of the old man's
treasure. The next night the old man, finding his treasure gone,
cursed and spat and shook with rage. A curious neighbor came by
to inquire what had upset the aged one so, and upon hearing the
story, said "Since you did not spend this money anyway, you have
not really lost anything. Go each night and pretend that the money
is still there, and you will be as well off as ever." Moral: The value in money is not in having it, but in using it wisely. |
| One
who knows contentment is rich. |