The birth of a man is the birth of his sorrow. The longer he lives, the more stupid he becomes, because his anxiety to avoid unavoidable death becomes more and more acute. What bitterness! He lives for what is always out of reach! His thirst for survival in the future makes him incapable of living in the present.

Men of this world all rejoice in others being like themselves, and object to others not being like themselves.

Listening stops with the ears, the mind stops with recognition, but spirit is empty and waits on all things.

You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog, the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, the creature of a season.

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

Heaven is like an egg, and the earth is like the yolk of the egg.

The eye is a menace to clear sight, the ear is a menace to subtle hearing, the mind is a menace to wisdom, every organ of the senses is a menace to its own capacity.