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Quotes by Chinese Authors
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."
"If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence."
"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worst when they despise him. But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, 'We did this ourselves.'"
"War is like a fire - if you do not put it out, it will burn itself out."
"The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness."
"Existence is beyond the power of wordsTo define:Terms may be usedBut are none of them absolute.In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,Words came out of the womb of matter;And whether a man dispassionatelySees to the core of lifeOr passionatelySees the surface,The core and the surfaceAre essentially the same,Words making them seem differentOnly to express appearance.If name be needed, wonder names them both:From wonder into wonderExistence opens."
"Stop thinking, and end your problems."
"If you are untrustworthy, people will not trust you."
"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence."
"The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success only comes later."
"Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted."
"He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it."
"If you expect great things of yourself and demand little of others, you'll keep resentment far away."
"If you wish to be out front, then act as if you were behind."
"A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return."
"He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared."
"A good commander is benevolent and unconcerned with fame."
"The heart that gives, gathers."
"For this reason the gentleman will employ a man on a distant mission and observe his degree of loyalty, will employ him close at hand and observe his degree of respect. He will hand him troublesome affairs and observe how well he manages them, will suddenly ask his advice and observe how wisely he answers. He will exact some difficult promise from him and see how well he keeps it, turn over funds to him and see with what benevolence he dispenses them, inform him of the danger he is in and note how faithful he is to his duties. He will get him drunk with wine and observe how well he handles himself, place him in mixed company and see what effect beauty has upon him. By applying these nine tests, you may determine who is the unworthy man."
"If you understand others you are smart.If you understand yourself you are illuminated.If you overcome others you are powerful.If you overcome yourself you have strength.If you know how to be satisfied you are rich.If you can act with vigor, you have a will.If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting.If you die without loss, you are eternal."
"It is when those who are not strong enough have made some moderate amount of progress that they fail and give up..."
"Nothing is more visible than things hidden; Nothing is more manifest than things minute; Therefore, the superior man should be aware of his aloneness."
"We are approaching a new age of synthesis. Knowledge cannot be merely a degree or a skill... it demands a broader vision, capabilities in critical thinking and logical deduction without which we cannot have constructive progress."
"If I raise one corner for someone and he cannot come back with the other three, I do not go on."
"A good traveler leaves no tracks. Good speech lacks fault-finding."
"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses."
"We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness insidethat holds whatever we want.We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner spacethat makes it livable.We work with being, but non-being is what we use."
"Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame, they will order themselves harmoniously."
"The reality of the building does not consist in the roof and walls but in the space within to be lived in."
"Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him."
"Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment."
"In worthy teaching, all things are related."
"If we wish to wrest an advantage from the enemy, we must not fix our minds on that alone, but allow for the possibility of the enemy also doing some harm to us, and let this enter as a factor into our calculations."
"The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger."
"The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself."
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