When the belly is empty, the body becomes spirit; and when it is full, the spirit becomes body.
SaadiRead
Inflict not on an enemy every injury in your power, for he may afterwards become your friend.
Interpretation
Avoid causing harm to your enemies as they could become allies in the future.
This quote suggests a deeper understanding of human relationships, emphasizing that actions taken in hostility can have long-term ramifications. By showing restraint and mercy towards an adversary, one opens the possibility for reconciliation and friendship, indicating the importance of compassion even in conflict.
In practice
In a speech about conflict resolution, one might use this quote to advocate for peaceful negotiations.
When the belly is empty, the body becomes spirit; and when it is full, the spirit becomes body.
A friend whom you have been gaining during your whole life, you ought not to be displeased with in a moment. A stone is many years becoming a ruby - take care that you do not destroy it in an instant against another stone.
The bad fortune of the good turns their faces up to heaven; the good fortune of the bad bows their heads down to the earth.
However much you study, you cannot know without action. A donkey laden with books is neither an intellectual nor a wise man. Empty of essence, what learning has he whether upon him is firewood or book?
Ants, fighting together, will vanquish the lion.
An enemy to whom you show kindness becomes your friend, excepting lust, the indulgence of which increases its enmity.
I'm not perfect. And who knows how many times I've fallen short. We all fall short. That's the amazing thing about the grace of God.
The Buddhaβs principal message that day was that holding on to anything blocks wisdom. Any conclusion that we draw must be let go. The only way to fully understand the bodhichitta teachings, the only way to practice them fully, is to abide in the unconditional openness of the prajna, patiently cutting through all our tendencies to hang on.
God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. This prayer was first printed in a monthly bulletin of the Federal Council of Churches and has become enormously popular. It has been circulated in millions of copies.
Trials make more room for consolation. There is nothing that makes a man have a big heart like a great trial. I always find that little, miserable people, whose hearts are about the size of a grain of mustard seed, never have had much to try them. I have found that those people who have no sympathy for their fellows β who never weep for the sorrows of others β very seldom have had any woes of their own. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles.
We are told, that the black bear is innocent; but I should not like to trust myself with him.
Suppose, my dear Chadd, suppose it is we who are the idiots because we are not afraid of devils in the dark?
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.