The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not.
BENJAMIN HOFFA way of life that keeps saying ‘Around the next corner, above the next step,’ works against the natural order of things and makes it so difficult to be happy and good.
More Benjamin Hoff Quotes
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When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun.
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Modern man’s difficulties, dangerous beliefs and feelings of loneliness, spiritual emptiness,and personal weakness are caused by his illusions about, and separation from, the natural world.
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When you know and respect your Inner Nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don’t belong.
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One sometimes gets the impression that those intimidating words are there to keep us from understanding. That way, the scholars can appear Superior, and will not likely be suspected of Not Knowing Something.
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Through working in harmony with life’s circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may percieve as negative into something positive.
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In the Age of Perfect Virtue, men lived among the animals and birds as members of one large family. There were no distinctions between superior and inferior to separate one man or species from another. All retained their natural Virtue and lived in a state of pure simplicity.
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As any old Taoist walking out of the woods can tell you, simple-minded does not necessarily mean stupid.
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Pooh is able to accomplish what he does because he is simpleminded.
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The play-it-safe pessimists of the world never accomplish much of anything, because they don’t look clearly and objectively at situations, they don’t recognize or believe in their own abilities to overcome even the smallest amount of risk.
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From the Taoist point of view, the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness.
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The Infinite Universal Power is more than just a narrow-minded gatekeeper to a spiritual County Club.
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Treat gain and loss the same.’ Don’t be Intimidated. Don’t make a Big Deal of anything – just accept things as they come to you.
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Wisdom, Happiness, and Courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond sight at the end of a straight line; they’re part of a continuous cycle that begins right here. They’re not only the ending, but the beginning as well.
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Do you really want to be happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you’ve got.
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To Buddha, the second figure in the painting, life on earth was bitter, filled with attachments and desires that led to suffering.
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When we give up our images of self-importance and our ideas of what should be, we can help things become what they need to be.
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Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet.
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Reality is what one makes it. And the more negative reality one nurtures and creates, the more of it one has.
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Without difficulties, life would be like a stream without rocks and curves – about as interesting as concrete. Without problems, there can be no personal growth, no group achievement, no progress of humanity. But what mattes about problems is what one does with them.
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While Eeyore frets … … and Piglet hesitates … and Rabbit calculates … and Owl pontificates …Pooh just is.
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Lots of people talk to animals… Not very many listen, though… That’s the problem.
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Knowledge and Experience do not necessarily speak the same language.
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Sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of The Vinegar Tasters.
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If people were superior to animals, they’d take good care of them,” said Pooh.
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It means that Tao doesn’t force or interfere with things, but lets them work in their own way, to produce results naturally. Then whatever needs to be done is done.
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A well-frog cannot imagine the ocean, nor can a summer insect conceive of ice. How then can a scholar understand the Tao? He is restricted by his own learning.
BENJAMIN HOFF