Quotes About Humility

None of us is so much better or wiser than any other than he can destroy a single creature without destroying something of himself.

But the important lesson which he taught me was that if one would be happy he must not raise his head above his neighbor's. "He who raises his head above the heads of others," Mr. Kung said, "will sooner or later be decapitated.

Long ago she had learned that to seem to yield is always stronger than to show resistance, and to acknowledge a fault quickly is always to show an invincible rectitude.

A person who respects herself isn't boastful or pushy but is secure in a way that inspires confidence.

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

Compassionate action starts with seeing yourself when you start to make yourself right and when you start to make yourself wrong. At that point you could just contemplate the fact that there is a larger alternative to either of those, a more tender, shaky kind of place where you could live.

There's a richness to all of the smelly stuff that we so dislike and so little desire. The delightful things—what we love so dearly about ourselves, the places in which we feel some sense of pride or inspiration—these also are our wealth.

If you acknowledge what's happening and refrain from acting, that opens up some space in your mind. Clinging to views and opinions, thinking you're always right and lording it over others, keeps you endlessly stuck.

To think that we can finally get it all together is unrealistic.

IN ORDER to feel compassion for other people, we have to feel compassion for ourselves. In particular, to care about people who are fearful, angry, jealous, overpowered by addictions of all kinds, arrogant, proud, miserly, selfish, mean, you name it—to have compassion and to care for these people means not to run from the pain of finding these things in ourselves.

That we take ourselves so seriously, that we are so absurdly important in our own minds, is a problem. Self-importance is like a prison for us, limiting us to the world of our likes and dislikes. We end up bored to death with ourselves and our world. We end up very dissatisfied.

If we were to come up with one word about each of the troublemakers in our lives, we would find ourselves with a list of descriptions of our own rejected qualities.

What I have realized through practicing is that practice isn't about beng the best horse or the good horse or the poor horse or the worst horse.

Your anger, pride, deceit, and greed should be such that they hurt no one. If they are limited to where they only hurt only you and no one else, then the path of liberation is open.

Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty.

Acquire the art of detachment, the virtue of method, and the quality of thoroughness, but above all the grace of humility.

The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.

Once you take yourself too seriously the art will suffer.

Martial arts is not about fighting; it's about building character.

Karate aims to build character, improve human behavior, and cultivate modesty; it does not, however, guarantee it.

For the choke, there are no 'tough guys'

The humble man makes room for progress; the proud man believes he is already there.

Humility and self-restraint is the True Objective of Kenpo

Humility is the first rule of martial arts. Either you learn humility quickly, or you leave because your ego can't handle losing repeatedly.