The following are quotes from the first seven books I skimmed. I think the quotes mainly speak for themselves, so I will try to limit my contribution to a minimum.
“The Self is everywhere, without a body, without a shape, whole, pure, wise, all knowing, far shining, self-depending, all transcending; in the eternal procession assigning to every period its proper duty.”
– The Upaniṣhads
The Upanishads frequently discuss the relationship of the personal self to the Universal Self. As a panendeist, I found it fascinating to read.
“There are two classes of people, the quitter and the fighter.”
– Bhagavad-Gītā
These words by Krishna are timeless! There are many different ways in which we can fight, but as long as we keep fighting, we never lose. The only way to truly lose in life is to quit.
“He was never without ginger when he ate.”
– Confucius, Analects
Confucius viewed physical health as very important. According to this article: ginger is pungent, removes dampness, and reduces internal heat and fever, so eating a bit of it before meals aids health and digestion. Perhaps I will try adding a little ginger to my daily food regimen.
“Perhaps this is what sets me apart from other people, and if I am wiser it is only in this respect: I do not in fact know about the afterlife, and I don’t think that I know about it.”
– Plato, Last Days of Socrates
Socrates never claimed to have a lot of answers or to be wise. He just asked a lot of questions. In conversations with others, whatever else I try to be, I strive to retain humility and non-defensiveness in my speech. The principal times I lose my composure are when others claim certainty and then tell me I am arrogant for refusing to validate it.
“And what shall be their education? Can we find a better than the traditional sort?—and this has two divisions, gymnastic for the body, and music for the soul.”
– Plato, Republic
Many people today view music as ancillary to a thorough education. Plato disagrees! The Classical Education Model had two main divisions: the verbal arts (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and the mathematical arts (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy), with music as the seventh subject. Sometimes music was placed with the verbal arts; at other times, it was placed with the mathematical arts. It bridges both worlds.
“Happiness… we choose always for its own sake, and never with a view to anything further: whereas honor, pleasure, intellect, in fact every excellence we choose for their own sakes, it is true (because we would choose each of these even if no result were to follow), but we choose them also with a view to happiness, conceiving that through their instrumentality we shall be happy: but no man chooses happiness with a view to them, nor in fact with a view to any other thing whatsoever.”
– Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
I wholeheartedly agree with Aristotle’s understanding of happiness as the Chief Good. Fulfillment or empowerment are related concepts. I believe virtue, however we define it, exists to promote happiness – both for ourselves and those with whom we share our existence.
“A thousand miles’ journey starts with one step.”
– Laozi, Dao De Jing
I have heard and quoted this line many times but never knew it came from the short book on Daoist philosophy. It is a beautifully worded reminder that any endeavor, however impossible it appears upfront, is capable of being accomplished. All we have to do is take it one simple step at a time.
Namaste.