To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

Evil-doers who denounce the wise resemble a person who spits against the sky; the spittle will never reach the sky, but comes down on himself. Evil-doers again resemble a man who stirs the dust against the wind; the dust is never raised without doing him injury. Thus, the wise will never be hurt, but the curse is sure to destroy the evil-doers themselves.

If one man kills a hundred men, and another man masters himself, the second man is the much greater warrior.

What is evil? Killing is evil, lying is evil, slandering is evil, abuse is evil, gossip is evil, envy is evil, hatred is evil, to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things are evil. And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil, illusion is the root of evil.

The grudge you hold on to is like a hot coal that you intend to throw at someone, only you're the one who gets burned.

Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it.

True and lasting inner peace can never be found in external things. It can only be found within in. And then, once we find and nurture it with ourselves, it radiates outward.