Pain and happiness are simply conditions of the ego. Forget the ego.
Interpretation
Pain and happiness are temporary states influenced by the ego, and by letting go of the ego, one can find peace.
This quote from Laozi suggests that both pain and happiness are perceptions created by the ego, which can be a source of suffering. By transcending the ego, one can achieve a more profound sense of inner peace and understanding, free from the fluctuations of external circumstances.
In practice
In a meditation workshop, to emphasize the importance of letting go, someone might say, 'Remember, as Laozi said, pain and happiness are simply conditions of the ego. Forget the ego.'
If you understand others you are smart._x000D_ If you understand yourself you are illuminated._x000D_ If you overcome others you are powerful._x000D_ If you overcome yourself you have strength._x000D_ If you know how to be satisfied you are rich._x000D_ If you can act with vigor, you have a will._x000D_ If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting._x000D_ If you die without loss, you are eternal.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.
In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.
Rule your mind with serenity rather than with force and manipulation.
The punitive use of force tends to generate hostility and to reinforce resistance to the very behavior we are seeking.
Men and women were created for something great, for infinity. Nothing else will ever be enough.
Memory weaves and traps us at the same time according to a scheme in which we do not participate: we should never speak of our memory, for it is anything but ours; it works on its own terms, it assists us while deceiving us or perhaps deceives up to assist us.
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse- the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
With all their faults, trade-unions have done more for humanity than any other organization of men that ever existed.
The apparent multiplication of gods is bewildering at the first glance, but you soon discover that they are the same GOD. There is always one uttermost God who defies personification. This makes Hinduism the most tolerant religion in the world, because its one transcendent God includes all possible gods. In fact Hinduism is so elastic and so subtle that the most profound Methodist, and crudest idolater, are equally at home with it.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.