Quotes on Sage

How great is the path proper to the Sage! Like overflowing water, it sends forth and nourishes all things, and rises up to the height of heaven. All-complete is its greatness! It embraces the three hundred rules of ceremony, and the three thousand rules of demeanor. It waits for the proper man, and then it is trodden. Hence it is said, 'Only by perfect virtue can the perfect path, in all its courses, be made a fact.'

Rhodora! If the sages ask thee why This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, Then Beauty is its own excuse for being.

Let thine occupations be few, saith the sage, if thou wouldst lead a tranquil life.

The ancient sages never put their teachings in a systematic form. They spoke in paradoxes, for they were afraid of uttering half-truths. They began by talking like fools and ended by making their hearers wise.

The sage is one with the world, and lives in harmony with it.

He (the sage) is good to those who are good. He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue of good.

People turn their eyes and ears to him (the sage), and the sage cares for them like his own children.

If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow them from behind.

The sage acts without taking credit. He accomplishes without dwelling on it. He does not want to display his worth.

The sage does not strive to be great. Thereby he can accomplish the great.

Because he (the Sage) demands no honor, he will never be dishonored.

The sage avoids extremity, excess, and extravagance.

The sage regards things as difficult, and thereby avoids difficulty.

The sage acts by doing nothing.

The sage embraces the one, and is an example to the world.

The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself, Having bestowed all he has on others, he has yet more; having given all he has to others, he is richer still.

To practice magic is to be a quack; to know magic is to be a sage.

So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind; Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily; Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness; Sometimes one is up and sometimes down. Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency.

Do not believe what you have heard Do not believe in tradition because it is handed down many generations Do not believe in anything that has been spoken of many times Do not believe because the written statements come from some old sage Do not believe in conjecture Do not believe in authority, or teachers, or elders But after careful observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and it will benefit one and all, then accept it and live by it.

The small man builds cages for everyone he knows While the sage, who has to duck his head when the moon is low, Keeps dropping keys all night long For the beautiful rowdy prisoners.

Look upon him who shows you your faults as a revealer of treasure: seek his company who checks and chides you, the sage who is wise in reproof: it fares well and not ill with him who seeks such company.