“Those who think that the rewarding things in life are somewhere over the rainbow ‘burn their toast a lot,’ said Pooh”

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.

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.

Now, scholars can be very useful and necessary, in their own dull and unamusing way. They provide a lot of information. It’s just that there is Something More, and that Something More is what life is really all about.

As any old Taoist walking out of the woods can tell you, simple-minded does not necessarily mean stupid.

If people were superior to animals, they’d take good care of them,” said Pooh.

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.

The Universe knows what it’s doing. So don’t develop a big ego, and don’t be afraid.

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.

Enjoy the simple, the natural and the plain. Along with that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work.

From the Taoist point of view, the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness.

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.

A clever mind is not a heart. Knowledge doesn’t really care, wisdom does.

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.

Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet.

Reality is what one makes it. And the more negative reality one nurtures and creates, the more of it one has.

The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not.