Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
Gautama BuddhaRead
The wise man makes an island of himself that no flood can overwhelm.
Interpretation
A wise person remains resilient and self-sufficient, standing strong against life's challenges.
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-reliance and inner strength. A wise individual creates a strong foundation for themselves—like an island—that remains unaffected by external pressures or crises, represented by the flood. This metaphor serves as a reminder to cultivate mental fortitude and personal stability to weather the storms of life.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to encourage self-sufficiency in 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.
Just deeds are the best answer to injurious words.
If we rail and kick against it and grow bitter, we won't change the inevitable; but we will change ourselves. I know. I have tried it. I once refused to accept an inevitable situation with which I was confronted. I played the fool and railed against it, and rebelled. I turned my nights into hells of insomnia. I brought upon myself everything I didn't want. Finally, after a year of self-torture, I had to accept what I knew from the outset I couldn't possible alter.
As the water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it, so a wise man adapts himself to circumstances.
We learn to endure to the end by learning to finish our current responsibilities, and we simply continue doing it all of our lives. We cannot expect to learn endurance in our later years if we have developed the habit of quitting when things get difficult now.
To accept good advice is but to increase one's own ability.
Trust the people -- that is the crucial lesson of history.
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