Never depend on the admiration of others. There is no strength in it. Personal merit cannot be derived from an external source. It is not to be found in your personal associations, nor can it be found in the regard of other people. It is a fact of life that other people, even people who love you, will not necessarily agree with your ideas, understand you, or share your enthusiasms. Grow up! Who cares what other people think about you!

emptiness is the first door of liberation. what is emptiness? that nothing, no one, ever, is filled with presence or being, that all is part of everything else: the tree is the rain, the soil, the sunshine, the gardener, the hill, the countryside, the planet and so on. it and we are not separate. there are two levels of truth, one of convenient, conventional, designation such as man, woman, boy, girl, baby. there is the ultimate truth of no designation, no symbol, no words, no discrimination. we interbe with so much it is impossible to name or divide ourselves as separate. at this point he finds parallels with Henri Bergson, life-force as equivalent to elan vital...

It is possible to learn to sit in peace, breath in peace and walk in peace. To be at peace is an art we cultivate with daily mindful practice. Nobel Peace Prize nominee, internationally renowned Zen master and bestselling author Thich Nhat Hanh shares his mindful techniques in mastering the art of living. The wise person knows it is fruitless to project hopes and fears on the future. This only leads to forming melodramatic representations in your mind and wasting time. At the same time, one shouldn't passively acquiesce to the future and what it holds. Simply doing nothing does not avoid risk, but heightens it.

Sometimes in your relationships, you may fall into unwholesome habits. You may forget to be grateful and engaged. As the weeds grow in your garden and in theirs, both of you will suffer. But it is never too late to cut away the weeds and to plant new seeds again. Cînd vei încerca oare bucuria că ești un om simplu? Cînd vei prețui cu adevărat măreția pe care ți-o dă demnitatea [unui adevărat înțelept]? Cînd vei gusta mulțumirea produsă de cunoaștere? Things themselves don't hurt or hinder us. Nor do other people. How we view these things is another matter. It is our attitudes and reactions that give us trouble. Therefore even death is no big deal in and of itself. It is our notion of death, our idea that it is terrible, that terrifies us. There are so many different ways to think about death. Scrutinize your notions about death—and everything else. Are they really true? Are they doing you any good? Don't dread death or pain; dread the fear of death or pain.

Un păianjen se mîndrește că a vînat o muscă, un om că a prins un sărman iepure, un altul că a reușit să pescuiască o biată zglăvoacă [pește mic, de culoare cenușie, cu capul turtit, fără solzi, care trăiește în apele de munte, n. m.], un altul că a vînat un porc mistreț, altul fiindcă vînează urși... Dacă ai analiza minuțios felul de a gîndi al fiecărui individ, nu i-ai socoti pe toți niște tîlhari?” ( Către sine, X: 9-11; p.208, traducere de M. Peucescu și D. Burtea - ușor modificată).

You are not alone. You are not an unchanging entity, separate from the universe. You are the same and yet different.Most of what passes for legitimate entertainment is inferior or foolish and only caters to or exploits people's weaknesses. Avoid being one of the mob who indulges in such pastimes. Your life is too short and you have important things to do. Be discriminating about what images and ideas you permit into your mind. If you yourself don't choose what thoughts and images you expose yourself to, someone else will, and their motives may not be the highest. It is the easiest thing in the world to slide imperceptibly into vulgarity. But there's no need for that to happen if you determine not to waste your time and attention on mindless pap. aimlessness is the third door of liberation. what is aimlessness? arriving in the present moment, discover you already are what you want to be, not putting cravings before, chasing, reaching for- not doing nothing but doing only as required, eating breakfast and not all your regrets, anticipations, worries, thoughts. learning to stop. present moment is alone real, neither past nor future, so rest in now. past is no more than memory. future is no more than abstraction... to wait for something is to lose the present... Be aware of your fear, your need for intimacy, your sorrow, your instinct to survive. You are connected with this earth. Be compassionate with your suffering and nourish your love. exceptionally clear, concise, kind. this work is definitely one of the best summaries of buddhism encountered, though it helps to have read and be familiar with certain buddhist assertions. thay- term of affection for teacher- has distilled, has filtered, all the teachings of which i or we might be familiar and offers them in simple not simplified writing. perhaps it only works so well after reading so many Phil-indic-buddhism (94). this could be refresher course. chapters are: emptiness: the wonder of interbeing, signlessness: cloud never dies, aimlessness: resting in god, impermanence: now is the time, non-craving: you have enough, letting go: transformation and healing: nirvana is now...

These were to questions with which Epictetus was obsessed and this book envelops his life-long earned wisdom to answer them.

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Ceea ce frapează în preceptele celor doi filosofi stoici este simplitatea lor, bunul simț, naturalețea. Toată lumea exclamă cu grăbire: „Dar știu deja aceste îndemnuri triviale, nu e nevoie să-i citesc pe Epictet, pe Seneca, pe Marcus Aurelius, mă descurc și fără ei...”. Și atunci - mă întreb - de ce nu le urmează? Ce-i împiedică să devină niște „stoici” practicanți?