In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water.
Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.
This is because there is nothing that can take its place.
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

If the laws do not serve a man,
abolish the laws, not the man.

Most smiles are started
by another smile.

Don't lose the peace of years
by seeking the rapture of moments.

The weak can never forgive.
Forgiveness is the attribute
of the strong.

Never lose the chance of
saying a kind word.

To be happy, do not add
to your possessions but
subtract from your desires.

Find yourself,
know yourself,
be yourself.

An eye for an eye only ends
up making the whole world blind.

This will also pass away.

When you create peace in your mind,
you will find it in your life.

DON'T QUIT

Don't quit when the tide is lowest,
it's just about to turn;
Don't quit over doubts and questions,
there's something you may learn.

Don't quit when the night is darkest,
For it's just a while 'til dawn;

Don't quit when you've run the farthest
For the race is almost won.

Don't quit when the hill is steepest,
For your goal is almost nigh;

Don't quit for you're not a failure
Until you fail to try.

If you must doubt, try doubting your doubts
rather than your beliefs.

Forgiveness sets you free.

Truth is one, sages call
it by different names.

The religion in your heart should
be visible in your life.

You are what you make of yourself.

Patience is a quality that is most
needed when it is exhausted.

The happiness of your life depends
on the character of your thoughts.

Wise individuals are not always silent
but they know when to be.

Those who sacrifice their conscience to ambition,
burn a picture to obtain the ashes.

In the inner Self there is infinite inspiration.
Open your heart and see.

In wordly life, as well as on the spiritual path,
it is boundless love and respect that make a person
feel very light and happy all the time.
Love and respect transform ordinary life into a
garden of paradise.

The shadows are behind you
if you walk towards the light.

A fool always finds some greater fool to admire him.

Nicholas Boileau (1636-1711)

Much knowledge of divine things is lost to us through want of faith.

Heraclitus (B.C. 535-475)

Everything changes, nothing remains without change.

Buddha (B.C. 568-488)

It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already
knows.

Epictetus (c.55-c.135)

Look around the habitable world, how few Know their own good, or
knowing it, pursue.

Dryden (1631-1700)

Only that in you which is me can hear what I'm saying.

Baba Ram Dass (b.1931)

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time
to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.

Oscar Wilde (1856-1900)

A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public
opinion.

Chinese Proverb

What a curious phenomenon it is that you can get men to die for the
liberty of the world who will not make the little sacrifice that is
needed to free themselves from their own individual bondage.

Bruce Barton (1886-1967)

I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or
whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.

Chuang-tzu (c.369-c.286 BC)

Your candle loses nothing by
lighting anothers candle.

Demand not that events should happen as you wish, but wish them to
happen as they do, and you will go on well.

Epictetus (50-138 A.D.)

Asuan jal seech seech, prem bael boe,
aab to bael phal gaie anand phal hoi.
- Meera
(I sowed the vine of love and nurtured it with
my tears - now it had grown and has the fruits
of bliss on it)

There is not enough darkness in the whole world
to put out the light of even one little candle.

The more I see of man,
the more I love my dog.

They talked about and about
I came out of the same door I went in.

It was six men of Indonisian,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy the mind.

The first approached the elephant,
And, happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl;
`God bless me! but the elephant
Is very like a wall!'

The second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried: `Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an elephant
Is very like a spear!'

The third approached the animal,
And, happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spoke:
`I see', quoth he,' the elephant
Is very like a snake!'

The fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee:
`What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,' quoth he;
`This clear enough the elephant
Is very like a tree!'

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: `E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant
Is very like a fan!'

The sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
`I see', quoth he, `the elephant
Is very like a rope!'

And so these man of Indonisian
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong!

For him in vain the envious seasons roll
Who bears eternal summer in his soul.

The mountain and the squirrel
Had a quarrel,
And the former called the latter "Little prig."
Bun replied,
"You are doubtless very big;
But all sorts of things and weather
Must be taken in together
To make up a year
And a sphere.
And I think it no disgrace
To occupy my place.
If I'm not so large as you,
You are not so small as I,
And not half so spry:
I'll not deny you make
A very pretty squirrel track.
Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;
If I cannot carry forests on my back,
Neither can you crack a nut"

Laugh and the world laughs with you,
Weep and you weep alone:
For this brave old earth must borrow its mirth,
It has sorrow enough of its own.
Sing and the hills will answer,
Sigh! it is lost in the air.
The echos do bound a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.
Rejoice and men will seek you,
Grieve and they turn and go:
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not want your woe.
Be glad and your friends are many,
Be sad and you lose them all.
There is none to decline your nectared drink,
But alone you must drink life's gall
Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by;
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no one can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordy train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

He prayeth best who loveth best,
Both man, and bird and beast
He prayeth well who loveth well
All things both great and small.

He who plants kindness
gathers love.

Even This Will Pass Away
------------------------

Once in Persia reigned a king,
Who upon a signet ring
Carved a maxim strange and wise,
When held before his eyes,
Gave him counsel at a glance,
For every change and chance:
Solemn words and these were they:
"EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY"

Trains of camel through the sand
Brought him gems from Samarcand;
Fleets of galleys over the seas
Brought him pearls to rival these,
But he counted little gain,
Treasures of the mine or main;
"What is wealth?" the king would say,
"EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY".

Mid the pleasures of his court
At the zenith of their sport,
When the palms of all his guests
Burned with clapping at his jests,
Seated midst the figs and wine,
Said the king: Ah, friends of mine,
Pleasure comes but not to stay,
"EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY".

Woman, fairest ever seen
Was the bride he crowned as queen
Pillowed on the marriage-bed
Whispering to his soul he said
Though no monarch ever pressed
Fairer bosom to his breast,
Mortal flesh is only clay!
"EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY".

Fighting on the furious field,
Once a javelin pierced his shield,
Soldiers with a loud lament
Bore him bleeding to his tortured side,
"Pain is hard to bear," he cried,
But with patience, day by day,
"EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY".

Towering in a public square
Forty cubits in the air,
And the king disguised, unknown,
Gazed upon his sculptured name,
And he pondered, What is fame?
Fame is but a slow decay!
"EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY".

Struck with palsy, sore and old,
Waiting at the gates of gold,
Said he with his dying breath
"Life is done, but that is Death?"
Then an answer to the king
Fell a sunbeam on his ring;
Showing by a heavenly ray,
"EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY".

So many sects so many creeds,
So many paths that winde and winde,
While just the art of being kind
Is all the sad world needs.

The Olive Tree
--------------

Said and ancient hermit bending
Half in prayer upon his knee,
"Oil I need for midnight watching,
I desire an olive tree".

Then he took a tender sapling,
Planted it before his cave,
Spread his trembling hands above it,
As his benison he gave.

But he thought, the rain it needeth,
That the root may drink and swell,
"God! I pray thee send Thy showers"
So a gently shower fell.

"Lord! I ask for beams of summer
Cherishing this little child."
Then the dripping clouds divided,
And the sun looked down and smiled.

"Send it frost to brace its tissues,
O my God!" the hermit cried,
The plant was bright and hoary,
But at evensong it died.

Went the hermit to a brother
Sitting in his rocky cell;
"Thou an olive tree possesseth;
How is this, my brother tell?"

"I have planted one and prayed,
Now for sunshine, now for rain,
God hath granted each petition,
Yet my olive tree hath slain!"

Said the other, "I entrusted
To its God my little tree;
He who made knew what it needed
Better than a man like me.

Laid I on Him no conditions,
Fixed no ways and means; so I
Wonder not my olive thriveth,
While thy olive tree did die."

The Turkey and The Ant
----------------------

A turkey, tried of common food,
Forsook the barn, and sought the wood,
Behind her ran an infant train
Collecting here and there a grain.
`Draw near, my birds', the mother cries,
This hill delicious fare supplies.
Behold the bush negro race--
See, millions blacken all the place!
Fear not; like me with freedom eat;
An ant is most delightful meat.
How blest, how envied, were our life
Could we but `scape the poulterer's knife!
But man, cursed man, on turkey preys
And Christmas shortens all our days.
Sometimes with oysters we combine,
Sometimes assist the savoury chine,
From the low peasant to the Lord,
The turkey smokes on every board.
Some men for gluttony are crust,
Of the seven deadly sins the worst.
An ant, who climbed beyond her reach,
Thus answered from a neighbouring beech;
`Ere you remark another's sin,
Bud thy own conscience look within;
Control thy more voracious bill,
Nor, for a breakfast nations kill'.

The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich
as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg
in the streets, and to steal bread.
- Anatole France, Crainquebille

The laws of God, the laws of man,
He may keep that will and can;
Not I: let God and man decree
Laws for themselves and not for me.
- A.E.Housnam, Last Poems

Across the fields of yesterday
He sometimes comes to me,
A little lad just back from play-
The lad I used to be.
- T.S.Jones,Jr. Sometimes

He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout
But Love and I had the wit to win.
We drew a circle that took him in.
- Edwin Markham, Outwitted

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand;
Make the mighty ocean,
And the pleasant land.

As a bird flies from its cage,
Never turning to look at the grain it is leaving behind,
Nor at the jewelled fingers that fed it,
Discarding them, because, though beautiful,
They were the cause of its bondage;
Leaving the music which was daily played before it,
Flying higher and higher,
Never looking back at the grain -
So must the soul of man
Fly into the sky of love of God and the Guru.

Everyday holds the
possibility of miracles.

Just like the magnificent glory of the sun is
reflected in the serene fullness of the moon.
Similarly the joy and happiness in our hearts
should be reflected in our lives.

Life is like a mirror -
we get the best results
when we smile at it.

The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.

They were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear ?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself ?

The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present,
and can welcome all things.

What is rooted is easy to nourish.
What is recent is easy to correct.
What is brittle is easy to break.
What is small is easy to scatter.

Prevent trouble before it arises.
Put things in order before they exist.
The giant pine tree
grows from a tiny sprout.
The journey of a thousand miles
starts from beneath your feet.

Rushing into action, you fail.
Trying to grasp things, you lose them.
Forcing a project to completion,
you ruin what was almost ripe.

Therefore the Master takes action
by letting things take their course.
He remains as calm at the end
as at the beginning.
He has nothing,
thus has nothing to lose.
What he desires is non-desire;
what he learns is to unlearn.
He simply reminds people
of who they have always been.
He cares about nothing
but the Tao.
Thus he can care
for all things.

True words aren't eloquent;
eloquent words aren't true.
Wise men don't need
to prove their point;
men who need to prove
their point aren't wise.

The Master has no possessions.
The more he does for others,
the happier he is.
The more he gives to others,
the wealthier he is.

The Tao nourishes
by not forcing.
By not dominating,
the Master leads.

There is enough for every man's need but not
enough for even one man's greed.

Broken Dreams

As children bring their broken toys
with tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God
because he was my friend.
But then instead of leaving him
in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
with ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
"How can you be so slow ?"
"My child" he said,
"What could I do, You never did let go."

Many a doctrine is like a window pane, I see truth through it,
but it divides me from the truth
- Kahlil Gibran

When you let me take, I'm grateful,
When you let me give, I'm blessed.

Fly, fly little wing
Fly beyond imagining
The softest cloud, the whitest dove
Upon the wind of heaven's love
Past the planets and the stars
Leave this lonely world of ours
Escape the sorrow and the pain
And fly again

Fly, fly precious one
Your endless journey has begun
Take your gently happiness
Far too beautiful for this
Cross over to the other shore
There is peace forevermore
But hold this mem'ry bittersweet
Until we meet

Fly, fly do not fear
Don't waste a breath, don't shed a tear
Your heart is pure, your soul is free
Be on your way, don't wait for me
Above the universe you'll climb
On beyond the hands of time
The moon will rise, the sun will set
But I won't forget

Fly, fly little wing
Fly where only angels sing
Fly away the time is right
Go now, find the light

- "Fly" (sung by Celine Dion)

It is better to light a candle
than to curse the darkness.

Love believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
(1 Corinthians 13)

True love is knowing that even when
you are alone, you will never be lonely again.

To release a person from the expectations we
have of them is to really love them.

Peace of Mind
-------------

Peace of mind is a treasure,
of greater worth than gold;
More precious than a jewel,
and if this prize you hold;
You're rich beyond all telling,
For even if time may prove unkind,
it cannot rob you of the treasures,
Of a peaceful mind.

People are lonely today
because they build walls
instead of bridges.
Reach out to someone today!

When you help someone up a steep hill
you get closer the top yourself.

Peace comes not from the absence
of conflict in life but from the
ability to cope with it.

Never answer an angry word with
an angry word. It's the second
one that makes the quarrel.

It is a big thing to do
a little thing well.

A little love, a little trust,
A soft impulse, a sudden dream,
And life as dry as desert dust
Is sweeter than a mountain stream.

Temper takes you to trouble.
Pride keeps you there.

A successful man is one who can lay
a firm foundation with the bricks
that others throw at him.

Two or three minutes - two or three hours,
What do they mean in this life of ours ?
Not very much if but counted as time,
but minutes of gold and hours sublime,
If only we'll use them once in a while
To make somebody happy - make someone smile.
A minute may dry a lad's tears,
A hour sweep aside trouble of years.
Minutes of my time may bring to an end
Hopelessness somewhere, and bring me a friend.

Every revolution was first a
thought in one man's mind.

If the laws do not server the men,
change the laws, not the men.

My life is my message.
- Gandhi

Pleasant thoughts make
pleasant lives.

The longest journey begins
with a single step.

To profit from good advice requires
more wisdom than to give it.

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

You are sowing the flowers
of tomorrow in the seeds of today.

Happiness will never come to those
who fail to appreciate what they already have.

Keep your head and your heart going in the right direction
and you'll not have to worry about your feet.

The way to gain a good reputation is to
endeavor to be what you desire to appear.

How beautiful a day can be
when kindness touches it.

Knowledge is proud that it knows so much;
wisdom is humble that it knows no more.

Freedom is a sure possession of only
those who have the courage to defend it.

Joy is not in things,
it is in us.

The miracle is this ...
the more we share the more we have.

Peace is never denied to the peaceful.

Great achievements begin
with small opportunities.

Some succeed because they are destined to,
but most succeed because they are determined to.

Today's preparation determines tomorrow's achievement.

We can give advice but we can't give
the wisdom to profit by it.

" We must support friends even in their mistakes; however,
it must be the friend and not the mistake we are supporting. "
-- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Faith keeps the man
who keeps the faith.

Temper gets people into trouble,
but pride keeps them there.

Never underestimate the
power of a kind word.

This above all: to thine
own self be true.

Individuals with clenched fists
cannot shake hands.

The courage to speak must be matched by the wisdom to listen.

True love begins,
when nothing is expected in return.

People whose main concern is
their own happiness seldom find it.

Advice is like the snow;
the softer it falls the longer it dwells upon,
and the deeper it sinks into the mind.

You must speak to be heard but sometimes
you have to be silent to be appreciated.

Truth often hurts, but it's the lie that leaves the scars.

One person with courage makes a majority.

Have patience. If you pluck the
blossoms, you must do without the fruit.

If you cannot find happiness along the way,
you will not find it at the end of the road.

Forgiveness is a funny thing.
It warms the heart and cools the sting.

There is no one luckier than
he who thinks he is.

If you get up one time more
than you fall, you will make it through.

Those who bring sunshine to the
lives of others cannot keep it
from themselves.

The kindest people are those
who forgive and forget.

The best advice is only as good
as the use we make of it.

Hope sees the invisible,
feels the intangible and
achieves the impossible.

Those who remember the past with a clear
conscience need have no fear of the future.

Anyone who angers you conquers you.

True dignity is never gained by place,
and never lost when honors are withdrawn.

Some people speak from experience;
others, from experience do not speak.

The best way to say something is to say it,
unless remaining silent will say it better.

The first great gift we can
bestow on others is good example.

What can't be done by advice can often be done by example.

He is no fool who gives what
he cannot keep to gain what
he cannot lose.

The only way to have a friend is to be one.

The best kind of pride is that which
compels a person to do their best work - even when no one is looking.

What we frankly give, forever is our own.

The heart sees what is
invisible to the eye.

Remember the tea kettle! Though up to
its neck in hot water, it continues to sing.

Still waters run deep.

What we see depends on what were looking for.

Laughing at yourself gives you a lot to smile about.

Faith sees the invisible,
believes the incredible,
and receives the impossible.

When it is dark enough,
you can see the stars.

You are rich when you are
content with what you have.

The rose perfumes even the hand that crushes it.

This will also pass away.

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand;
Make the mighty ocean,
and the pleasant land.

Peace is when time doesn't matter as it passes by.

Be great in the little things.

Be what you wish others to become.

Love doesn't try to see through others,
but to see others through.

FOOTPRINTS

One night a man had a dream.
He dreamed he was walking along
the beach with the Lord. Across the
sky flashed scenes from his life. For
each scene, he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life
flashed before him, he looked back
at the footprints in the sand. He
noticed that many times along the
path of his life there was only one
set of footprints. He also noticed that
it happened at the very lowest and
saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the Lord about it. "Lord,
You said that once I decided to
follow you, You'd walk with me all
the way. But I have noticed that
during the most troublesome times
in my life, there is only one set of
footprints. I don't understand why
when i needed You most You would
leave me."

The Lord replied, "My son, My
precious child, I love you and would
never leave you. During your times
of trial and suffering, when you see
only one set of footprints, it was
then that i carried you."

THE DIFFERENCE

I got up early this morning
And rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,
And heavier came each task;
"Why doesn't God help me?"
I wondered.
He answered, "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty,
But the day toiled on gray on bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me.
He said, "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into God's presence;
I used all my keys in the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"My child, you didn't knock."

I woke up early this morning,
And paused before entering this day;
I had so much to accomplish
That i had to take time to pray.

Your smile is the most
important thing your wear.

We can always live on less when
we have more to live for.

There is no future in any job. The future lies in the
man who holds the job.
- Dr. George Crane

Joyful thoughts create a joyful world.

Courtesy costs nothing yet it
buys things that are priceless.

Always look for the good in people.

Every experience in your life
is an opportunity for growth.

Make the mistakes of yesterday
your lessons for today.

If you use time to improve yourself
you will not have time to criticize others.

The most important person to
be honest with is yourself.

Find peace within yourself and
you will not have to seek it elsewhere.

Choice, not chance
determines destiny.