Quotes About Wisdom

I have memories - but only a fool stores his past in the future

God is not being unkind to us by not sharing… the point is that we are not built to understand the big picture, precisely because we live in time and God does not. If we could see the end from the beginning, and understand how a billion lives and a thousand generations and unspeakable sorrows and untold joys are all woven into a tapestry of perfect beauty, then we would be God.

Because God lives forever and I will not, I can experience the several different times of my life knowing that they are part of a bigger picture that I cannot see but which is visible to a good and wise God who sees the whole as beautiful.

I mean that it's all right to go to bed with an asshole but don't ever have a baby with one.

For every subtle and complicated question, there is a perfectly simple and straightforward answer, which is wrong. — H. L. Mencken (slightly rephrased)

In short, [Native Americans] say, the name of savages, which we bestow upon them, would fit ourselves better, since there is nothing in our actions that bears an appearance of wisdom.

Over and over I have set forth the qualities that we Wendat believe ought to define humanity – wisdom, reason, equity, etc. – and demonstrated that the existence of separate material interests knocks all these on the head. A man motivated by interest cannot be a man of reason.

Si potrebbe anche dire che una delle tragedie dell'esistenza umana è il fatto che la violenza è una forma di stupidità alla quale è molto difficile replicare con una risposta intelligente.

They think it unaccountable that one man should have more than another, and that the rich should have more respect than the poor. In short, they say, the name of savages, which we bestow upon them, would fit ourselves better, since there is nothing in our actions that bears an appearance of wisdom.

A legacy of true value is a legacy made of more than money. It's a legacy conceived in wisdom, nurtured by principle, and sustained by character.

We need visions of a future in which we have applied our infinite creativity to the task of living on a finite world, where we have embraced our role, become comfortable and proficient as planet-shapers, and learned to use our technological skills to enhance the survival prospects not just of humanity but of all life on Earth. My name for this vision is Terra Sapiens, or "Wise Earth." A

The body is so beautiful, she says with newly found wonder she senses. So good and so precious. Sweet, this body of ours is sweet. It gives us so much goodness and happiness if we're only good to it, if we only listen to it, because it is so wise. It always knows what we want before we know ourselves, and it knows what's really good for us. If we only understand what it's trying to tell us, our precious body, if we only love it as it is, exactly as it is...

il silenzio preserva la saggezza

Sono saggio soprattutto riguardo alle cose che non so

I used to drink a lot of beer and brandy when I was in my twenties. Today, I read books and my hangovers are worth talking about.

I was amazed at how many fools I ran into until I noticed the common denominator in all those interactions: me." Why

Knowing unconsciously is best; presuming to know what you don't know is sick."34

1992) Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries. Trans. T. Cleary. Boston: Shambhala.

Thomas Merton once elo-quently stated, "To attain ... spiritual wisdom, one must first be liberated from servile dependence on the 'wisdom of speech' (1. Cor. 1:17).

The true men of old were not afraid When they stood alone in their views. They had no mind to fight Tao. They did not try, by their own contriving, To help Tao along. These are the ones we call true men. Minds free, thoughts gone All that came out of them Came quiet, like the four seasons. 24

Alchemists sometimes say that Buddhism starts with fire while Taoism starts with water."134

The true self] rests in direct intuition. Therefore I said: "Better to abandon disputation and seek the true light."60

recorded by Chuang Tzu, but said by Lin Hui: My bond with the child Was the bond of Tao.25

today as then I am a solitary, because I know things and must hint at things which other people do not know, and usually do not even want to know.6