“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.
BENJAMIN HOFFThe 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.
More Benjamin Hoff Quotes
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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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No matter how useful we may be, sometimes it takes us a while to recognize our own value.
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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.
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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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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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While Eeyore frets … … and Piglet hesitates … and Rabbit calculates … and Owl pontificates …Pooh just is.
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There is more to knowing than just being correct
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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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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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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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It is very hard to be brave,” said Piglet, sniffing slightly, “when you’re only a Very Small Animal.” Rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: “It is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us.
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The main problem with this great obsession for saving time is very simple: you can’t save time. You can only spend it. But you can spend it wisely or foolishly.
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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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The masters of life know the way, for they listen to the voice within them, the voice of wisdom and simplicity, the voice that reasons beyond cleverness and knows beyond knowledge.
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A clever mind is not a heart. Knowledge doesn’t really care, wisdom does.
BENJAMIN HOFF