Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
Gautama BuddhaRead
May we live like the lotus, at home in muddy water.
Interpretation
This quote encourages resilience and grace in challenging situations.
The lotus flower grows beautifully in muddy waters, symbolizing purity and enlightenment despite adversity. By wishing to live like the lotus, the quote expresses the idea of thriving and maintaining one's beauty and peace even when surrounded by difficulties and challenges. It embodies the ability to remain composed and grounded in the midst of life's messiness.
In practice
During a meditation retreat, I shared the quote to inspire others to embrace their challenges.
Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
A kind man who makes good use of wealth is rightly said to possess a great treasure; but the miser who hoards up his riches will have no profit.
There are having flowers in Spring, breezes in Summer, moon in Autumn, snows in Winter. If there is nothing worrying over you, it will be the best seasons at all times.
Make an island of yourself, make yourself your refuge; there is no other refuge. Make truth your island, make truth your refuge; there is no other refuge.
When a wise man is advised of his errors, he will reflect on and improve his conduct. When his misconduct is pointed out, a foolish man will not only disregard the advice but rather repeat the same error.
The tongue like a sharp knife ... Kills without drawing blood.
Anarchists try to identify power structures. They urge those exercising power to justify themselves. This justification does not succeed most of the time.
Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.
A weak soul does not have the endurance to resist the flesh for very long. It grows heavy, becomes flesh itself, and the contest ends. But among responsible men, men who keep their eyes riveted day and night upon the Supreme Duty, the conflict between flesh and spirit breaks out mercilessly and may last until death.
Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.
We are all members of the same flawed species. Putting our moral vision into practice means imposing our will on others. The human lust for power and esteem, coupled with its vulnerability to self-deception and self-righteousness, makes that an invitation to a calamity, all the worse when the power is directed at a goal as quixotic as eradicating human self-interest.
The opinions and beliefs of men follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds.
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