Words that change the world.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world"
"Let my message be my life"
Mahatma Gandhi

"Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draws it. Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves."

The Buddha

"Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in."

Leonard Cohen

"Often a man's life is such

that he seldom sees his friends,

like the constellations Shen and Shang

which never share the same sky.

If not this evening, then what evening

should we share this lamp light?"

Du Fu

"Make the universe your companion,

always bearing in mind

the true nature of things -

mountains and rivers,

trees and grasses,

and humanity.

Enjoy the falling blossoms

and the scattering leaves."

Basho, Learn from the Pine

"Since it is all too clear

It takes time to grasp it.

When you understand

that it's foolish to look for fire with fire,

The meal is already cooked."

Wu-men

"We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us."

Albert Einstein

"We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see."

Taoist Proverb

"The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there."

Yasutani Roshi

"In spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you."

Mumon

"I have discovered that all of mans unhappiness derives from only one source, not being able to sit quietly in a room."

Blaise Pascal

"When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen."

Arland Gilbert

"Calm in quietude is not real calm; when you can be calm in the midst of activity, this is the true state of nature. Happiness in comfort is not real happiness; when you can be happy in the midst of hardship, then you see the true potential of the mind."

Huanchu Daoren

"Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself."

Zen Proverb

"Many of our fears are tissue paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them."

Brendan Francis (1923-1964)

"Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you."

Sheng-yen

"I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning."

J.B. Priestly (1894-1984)

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler."

Henry David Thoreau

"Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each."

Henry David Thoreau

"The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green."

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

"Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you."

Mary Tyler Moore

"And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

T.S. Eliot

"Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones."

Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)

"You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet."

Frantz Kafka

"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."

Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

"Proceed as the way unfolds."

Quaker saying

"I wept because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet."

Ancient Persian saying