inspiring quotes

92 items found

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donotdestroy:

The sun and moon had always shone; the rivers had always flowed and
the bees had hummed, but in previous times all this had been nothing to
Siddhartha but a fleeting and illusive veil before his eyes, regarded
with distrust, condemned to be disregarded and ostracized from the
thoughts, because it was not reality, because reality lay on the other
side of the visible. But now his thoughts lingered on this side; he saw
and recognized the visible and he sought his place in this world. He did
not seek reality; his goal was not on any other side. The world was
beautiful when looked at in this way—without any seeking, so simple, so
childlike. The moon and the stars were beautiful, the brook, the shore,
the forest and the rock, the goat and the golden beetle, the flower and
the butterfly were beautiful. It was beautiful and pleasant to go
through the world like that, so childlike, so awakened, so concerned
with the immediate, without any distrust. …

All this had always been and he had never seen it; he was never
present. Now he was present and belonged to it. Through his eyes he saw
light and shadows; through his mind he was aware of moon and stars.

—Siddhartha (novel) pp. 45-46 by Hermann Hesse

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donotdestroy:

Real Prosperity

A rich man asked Sengai to write something for the continued prosperity of his family so that it might be treasured from generation to generation.

Sengai obtained a large sheet of paper and wrote: “Father dies, son dies, grandson dies.”

The rich man became angry. “I asked you to write something for the happiness of my family! Why do you make such a joke of this?”

“No joke is intended,” explained Sengai. “If before you yourself die your son should die, this would grieve you greatly. If your grandson should pass away before your son, both of you would be broken-hearted. If your family, generation after generation, passes away in the order I have named, it will be the natural course of life. I call this real prosperity.” 

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donotdestroy:

Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

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“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

Jack Lewis Hiller
Martin Luther King Jr.
1960
gelatin silver print

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“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by
the content of their character.”— Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The sun and moon had always shone; the rivers had always flowed and
the bees had hummed, but in previous times all this had been nothing to
Siddhartha but a fleeting and illusive veil before his eyes, regarded
with distrust, condemned to be disregarded and ostracized from the
thoughts, because it was not reality, because reality lay on the other
side of the visible. But now his thoughts lingered on this side; he saw
and recognized the visible and he sought his place in this world. He did
not seek reality; his goal was not on any other side. The world was
beautiful when looked at in this way—without any seeking, so simple, so
childlike. The moon and the stars were beautiful, the brook, the shore,
the forest and the rock, the goat and the golden beetle, the flower and
the butterfly were beautiful. It was beautiful and pleasant to go
through the world like that, so childlike, so awakened, so concerned
with the immediate, without any distrust. …

All this had always been and he had never seen it; he was never
present. Now he was present and belonged to it. Through his eyes he saw
light and shadows; through his mind he was aware of moon and stars.

—Siddhartha (novel) pp. 45-46 by Hermann Hesse

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The teaching which you have heard, however, is not my opinion, and
its goal is not to explain the world to those who are thirsty for
knowledge. Its goal is quite different; its goal is salvation from
suffering. That is what Gotama teaches, nothing else.

I have never seen a man look and smile, sit and walk like that, he
thought. I, also, would like to look and smile, sit and walk like that,
so free, so worthy, so restrained, so candid, so childlike and
mysterious. A man only looks and walks like that when he has conquered
his self. I also will conquer my self.

—Siddhartha (novel) p. 35 by Hermann Hesse

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