You’d be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are.
BENJAMIN HOFFLike silence after noise, or cool, clear water on a hot, stuffy day, Emptiness cleans out the messy mind and charges up the batteries of spiritual energy. Many people are afraid of Emptiness, however, because it reminds them of Loneliness.
More Benjamin Hoff Quotes
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The surest way to become Tense, Awkward, and Confused is to develop a mind that tries too hard – one that thinks too much.
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Those who think that the rewarding things in life are somewhere over the rainbow ‘burn their toast a lot,’ said Pooh
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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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From the Taoist point of view, the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness.
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Enjoy the simple, the natural and the plain. Along with that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work.
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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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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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“What’s that?” the Unbeliever asked. “Wisdom from the Western Taoist,” I said. “It sounds like something from Winnie-the-Pooh,” he said. “It is,” I said. “That’s not about Taoism,” he said. “Oh, yes it is,” I said.
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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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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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Phonographic. It goes around and around. Sometimes it gets stuck. That’s why I remember things so well.
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Under Confucianism, the use of precisely measured court music, prescribed steps, actions, and phrases all added up to an extremely complex system of rituals, each used for a particular purpose at a particular time.
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We simply need to believe in the power that’s within us, and use it.
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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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No matter how useful we may be, sometimes it takes us a while to recognize our own value.
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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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Cleverness, after all, has its limitations. Its mechanical judgments and clever remarks tend to prove inaccurate with passing time, because it doesn’t look very deeply into things to begin with.
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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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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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Pooh is able to accomplish what he does because he is simpleminded.
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A 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.
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The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not.
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Practically everything from hairstyles to lifestyles is endorsed as some sort of drug to be taken Now for Instant Relief.
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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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“Rabbit’s clever,” said Pooh thoughtfully. “Yes,” said Piglet, “Rabbit’s clever.” “And he has Brain.” “Yes,” said Piglet, “Rabbit has Brain.” There was a long silence. “I suppose,” said Pooh, “that that’s why he never understands anything.”
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Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet.
BENJAMIN HOFF