The wise man knows that it is better to sit on the banks of a remote mountain stream than to be emperor of the whole world.

Those who realise their folly are not true fools.

To have attained to the human form is a source of joy... What an incomparable bliss it is to undergo these countless transitions.

The sage has the sun and moon by his side and the universe under his arm. He blends everything into a harmonious whole. . . . He blends the disparities of ten thousand years into one complete purity. All things are blended like this and mutually involve each other.

The greatest tragedy that can befall a person is the atrophy of his mind.

The Portal of God is nonexistence. All things sprang from nonexistence. Existence could not make existence existence. It must have proceeded from nonexistence, and nonexistence and nothing are one. Herein is the abiding place of the sage.

'I shall have heaven and earth for my coffin and its shell; the sun and moon for my two round symbols of jade, the stars and constellations for my pearls and jewels; and all things assisting as the mourners. Will not the provisions for my funeral be complete? What could you add to them?'