Laws are partly formed for the sake of good men, in order to instruct
them how they may live on friendly terms with one another, and partly
for the sake of those who refuse to be instructed, whose spirit
cannot be subdued, or softened, or hindered from plunging into evil.
Plato
Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its
evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been
honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it
cannot be a bad one.
Thomas Jefferson
Man...is a tame or civilized animal; never the less, he requires
proper instruction and a fortunate nature, and then of all animals he
becomes the most divine and most civilized; but if he be
insufficiently or ill- educated he is the most savage of earthly
creatures.
Plato
Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds
are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on
her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness
even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more
approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.
Thomas Jefferson
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be
ruled by evil men.
Plato
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain
occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.
Thomas Jefferson
"We're all entitled to our own opinions," the late Senator Moynihan used to say.
"We're not entitled to our own facts."
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Brahman creates the game of life by breaking Himself into parts that undergo transformation and extinction.
Yet while he takes on all the roles required by the game, He also always remains free of the game and intact as Brahman.
-Abhinavagupta
Don't cling to your own understanding. Even if you do understand something, you should ask yourself if there might be something you have not fully resolved, or if there may be some higher meaning yet.
-Dogen
When you are annoyed by something you could not avoid, don't aggravate it by useless worry.
- Mendel Lefin, Heshbon HaNefesh
Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart--a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water--I partake of that love offering. Whatever you do, make it an offering to me--the food you eat, the sacrifices you make, the help you give, even your suffering. In this way you will be freed from the bondage of karma, and from its results both pleasant and painful. Then, firm in renunciation and yoga, with your heart free, you will come to me.
-Bhagavad Gita 9:26-28
A monk asked, “The mountains, the rivers, and the great earth-from where did all of these things come forth?”
Tiantai said, “From where did this question come forth?”
Said Uddalaka to Shvetaketu:
"As bees suck nectar from many a flower
And make their honey one, so that no drop
Can say, 'I am from this flower or that,'
All creatures, though one, know not they are
that One.
There is nothing that does not come from
him.
Of everything he is the inmost Self.
He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.
You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that."
-Chandogya Upanishad
The Prophet said: "Do not consider even the smallest good deed as unimportant, even if it's only meeting your brother with a cheerful face."
-Hadith narrated by Abu Dharr, as related by Muslim
I am boundless space.
The world is a clay pot.
This is the truth.
There is nothing to accept,
Nothing to reject,
Nothing to dissolve.
-Ashtavakra Gita 6:1
It is not a virtue to refrain from hurting others, but it is a virtue to bear a hurt patiently.
- Ibn Gabirol, Mibhar HaPeninim
A jubilant heart rejoices upon seeing
those who give without scoffing or scorning.
Deprived of beggars, this vast and verdant Earth would
become uncharitable, a ball for the play of wooden puppets.
-Tirukkural 106: 1057-1058
The truest and highest stage of worship is to see God face to face, and to receive his guidance from his own mouth. Those who attain this highest stage, choose for themselves whatever God chooses for them. Their entire characters are transformed by God. They are God's friends; so they no longer discriminate between people, but regard all people as friends. Wherever they go, they go from God; wherever they arrive, they arrive at God. Whatever they do, they do for God; whatever service they perform, they perform it in God. The self has been truly annihilated.
-Junayd, "Tawhid"
If, in your course, you don't meet
your equal, your better,
then continue your course
firmly,
alone.
There's no fellowship with fools.
-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Although the limitations of the world disappear for one who knows the Self, they are not destroyed, because they continue to exist for others.
-The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2:22
A man should not act as a judge either for someone he loves or for someone he hates. For no man can see the guilt of someone he loves or the good qualities in someone he hates.
- Babylonian Talmud, tractate Ketubbot
When you ride in a boat and watch the shore, you might assume that the shore is moving. But when you keep your eyes closely on the boat, you can see that the boat moves. Similarly, if you examine myriad things with a confused body and mind you might suppose that your mind and nature are permanent. When you practice intimately and return to where you are, it will be clear that nothing at all has unchanging self.
-"Actualizing the Fundamental Point" by Zen Master Dogen
Every selfless act…is born from Brahman, the eternal, infinite Godhead. He is present in every act of service. All life turns on this law … Whoever violates it, indulging his senses for his own pleasure and ignoring the needs of others, has wasted his life. But those who realize the Self are always satisfied. Having found the source of joy and fulfillment, they not longer seek happiness from the external world. They have nothing to gain or lose by any action; neither people nor things can affect their security.
-Bhagavad Gita 3:15-18
Perennial joy or passing pleasure?
This is the choice one is to make always.
The wise recognize these two, but not
The ignorant. The first welcome what leads
To abiding joy, though painful at the time.
The latter run, goaded by their senses,
After what seems immediate pleasure.
-Katha Upanishad
Don't cling to your own understanding. Even if you do understand something, you should ask yourself if there might be something you have not fully resolved, or if there may be some higher meaning yet.
-Dogen
Sometimes a wish is father to the thought