African

"Heal yourself first before you heal others."

"It is not what you are called, but what you answer to."

Arabian

"The sinning is the best part of repentance."

"Throw a resourceful person into a river, and he will probably come out with a fish in his hand."

Arabic

"It is good to know the truth, but it is better to speak of palm trees."

Ashanti

"You must act as if it is impossible to fail."

Brazilian

"One who does not look ahead remains behind."

Buddhist

"To get to the top of a mountain, keep on climbing."

"Just as a mother protects her child with her own life, in a similar way we should extend an unlimited heart to all beings."

"Do you not seek a light, ye who are surrounded by darkness?"

"When confusion ceases, tranquility comes; when tranquility comes, wisdom appears, and when wisdom appears, reality is seen."

"Better not to begin. Once you begin, better finish it."

Burmese

"Too much talk will include errors."

Cameroon

"No matter how fast a man is, he cannot outrun his shadow."

Chinese

"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever."

"The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out."

"Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

"Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still."

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will avoid one hundred days of sorrow."

"If a man does only what is required of him, he is a slave. If a man does more than is required of him, he is a free man."

"The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth."

"When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other."

"Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes."

"If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world."

"If you want happiness for an hour -- take a nap. If you want happiness for a day -- go fishing. If you want happiness for a month -- get married. If you want happiness for a year -- inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime -- help someone else."

"The woman who tells her age is either too young to have anything to lose or too old to have anything to gain."

"Who knows this morning what will happen tonight?"

"Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own."

"Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come."

"To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous."

"If you can command yourself, you can command the world."

"When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them."

"Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's forehead."

"Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again, and forever again."

"If you want to find out about the road ahead, then ask about it from those coming back."

"The sound stops short, the sense flows on."

Danish

"It is a great art to laugh at your own misfortune."

"A person's character reaches town before the person does."

"The road to a friend's house is never long."

English

"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry."

"Everyone must row with the oars he has."

"A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner."

"The shortest answer is doing."

"A stumble may prevent a fall."

"Be not deceived with the first appearance of things, for show is not substance."

"Never step over one duty to perform another."

Eskimo

"Yesterday is ashes; tomorrow is wood. Only today does the fire burn brightly."

Ethiopian

"If you are going to go where corn grows, take a cutting tool with you."

French

"A sin confessed is half forgiven."

"Work relieves us from three great evils: boredom, vice, and want."

German

"To question as a wise man is the beginning of wisdom."

"You can't direct the wind, but you can adjust your sails."

"Take the world as it is, not as it ought to be."

"God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them."

Greek

"The believer is happy, the doubter is wise."

"Nothing will content him who is not content with a little."

"The heart that loves is always young."

Hebrew

"The heart sees better than the eye."

Hindu

"Help your brother's boat across, and your own will reach the shore."

Indian

"The most beautiful things in the universe are the starry heavens above us and the feeling of duty within us."

Irish

"May the road rise to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields, and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand."

"The most beautiful music is the music of what happens."

"It is a long road which knows no turning."

Italian

"Do good and care not to whom."

"Since the house is on fire, let us warm ourselves."

Japanese

"Beginning is easy--continuing is hard."

"Adversity is the foundation of virtue."

"Pride means the end of wisdom."

"One kind word can warm three winter months."

"Vision without action is a daydream, action without vision is a nightmare."

"Even if you hide yourself from the world, don't lose sight of your real nature."

"Fall seven times, stand up eight."

"Tomorrow's battle is won during today's practice."

"Life is a candle before the wind."

Kikuyu

"When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers."

Latin

"If there is no wind, row."

"Danger can never by overcome without taking risks."

Lithuanian

"Don't be too bold, or you will burn your eyes; but don't be too slow, or you will lose your share."

Maylay

"If you are reluctant to ask the way, you will be lost."

Mongolian

"It is easier to catch an escaped horse than to take back an escaped word."

Native American

"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in a manner so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice."

"If we don't turn around, we just may get where we're going."

Norwegian

"Don't cross the stream to find water."

Persian

"If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a hyacinth."

"Go and wake up your luck."

Puerto Rican

"Do not fear a stain that disappears with water."

Russian

"Pray to God, but keep rowing to shore."

"Many people who have gold in the house are looking for copper outside."

Rwandan

"You can outdistance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you."

Scottish

"Never marry for money. Ye'll borrow it cheaper."

Serbian

"Be humble, for you are made of dung. Be noble, for you are made of stars."

Spanish

"It is not the same thing to talk of bulls as to be in the bullring."

"To the good listener a word is enough."

"More grows in the garden than the gardener knows he has sown."

"God delays, but doesn't forget."

"Pray to God, but hammer away."

"If the sky falls, hold up your hands."

"Better a friendly refusal than an unwilling consent."

"It takes two to quarrel, but only one to end it."

Sufi

"Love the pitcher less, and the water more."

"There wouldn't be such a thing as counterfeit gold if there were no real gold somewhere."

Swedish

"Those who wish to sing always find a song."

"God gives every bird a worm, but he does not throw it into the nest."

"Shared joy is double joy and shared sorrow is half-sorrow."

Syrian

"A little spark can kindle a great fire."

Taoist

"The feet can walk; let them walk. The hands can hold; let them hold. Hear what is heard by your ears; see what is seen by your eyes."

"To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders."

Tibetian

"Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation."

Turkish

"Man is harder than iron, stronger than stone, and more fragile than a rose."

"A heart in love with beauty never grows old."

"Even though you know a thousand things, as the man who knows one."

Ukrainian

"If you chase two hares at the same time, you will catch neither of them."

Yiddish

"Ask advice from everyone, but act with your own mind."

"If triangles had a God, He'd have three sides."

"He that can't endure the bad will not live to see the good."

"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep."

"Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough, but not baked in the same oven."

"If it goes, it goes, don't force it."

Zen

"Ride your horse along the edge of a sword; hide yourself in the middle of the flames."

"One word--to a wise man. One lash--to a bright horse."

"When all things return to the One, even gold loses its value. But when the One returns to all things, even the pebbles sparkle."

"Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day."

"A good explanation: never explain anything."

"Live life as life lives itself."

"When you boil rice, regard the cooking pot as your own head."

"A thousand mountain ranges separate the one who reflects from the one who is truly present."

"Though the bamboo forest is dense, water flows through it freely."

"The ten thousand questions are one question. If you cut through the one question, then the ten thousand questions disappear."

"The ways to the One are as many as the lives of men."

"Hide yourself in each and every thing!"

"Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved."

"Words are the fog one has to see through."

"All questioning is a way of avoiding the real answer which, as Zen tells us, is really known already."

"The most dangerous thing in the world is to think you understand something."

"First thought, best thought."

"All things flow freely, as the fish swims in water."

"The mad mind does not halt. If it halts, it is enlightenment."

"Today is the eighth of the month, tomorrow is the thirteenth."

"When the ordinary person realizes, he is a sage. When a sage understands, he is an ordinary man."

"The ancient teachings illuminate the mind and the mind illuminates the ancient teachings."

"After ecstasy, the laundry."

"Leap and the net will appear."

"What one understands is only half true. What one does not understand is the full truth."

"No one binds you so there is no need to be set free."

"Even in the driest hole one can sometimes find water."

"Doing nothing, but leaving nothing undone."

"Everything is true just as it is: Why dislike it? Why hate it?"

"If you want to make a cart go, do you hit the horse or the cart?"

"Without a rope, people bind themselves."

"Pride flees from the man who penetrates into the self as the light of a campfire before the rays of the sun."

"Awakening to this present instant, we realize the infinite is in the finite of each instant."

"Please do not get caught in that place where you think you know."

"One inch ahead is all darkness."

"Do not be afraid of the true dragon!"

"To understand God is to listen, listen to Jesus and Muhammed and Buddha; but don't get caught up in the names. Listen byond them; listen to God's breath."

"No snowflake falls in an inappropriate place."

"Study the living word, not the read word."

"All times and all places are my livelihood."

"The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced."

"Once the mind is clear, the very word clarity is like a snowflake on a red hot stove."

"Going forward is a matter of ordinariness."

"The fruit drops when it is ripe."

"The knife does not cut itself, the finger does not touch itself, the mind does not know itself, the eye does not see itself."

"The man who's drunk water knows if it's cool or warm."

"The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection. The water has no mind to receive their image."

"One thought follows another without interruption. But if you allow these thoughts to link up to a chain, you put yourself in bondage."

"All this world is in your own mind."

"Flowers in the summer, fires in the fall."

"In your heart, you already know."

"Open your mouth and you're wrong."

"Let go over a cliff, die completely, and then come back to life- after that you cannot be deceived."

"From birth to death it's just like this."

"Paths cannot be taught, they can only be taken."

"Better to see the face than to hear the name."

"Fire can't burn fire."

"You are already complete. You just don't know it."

"On whose door does the moonlight not shine?"

"A general may establish peace, but it is not for the general to seek peace."

"All people have their own living road to heaven. Until they walk on this road, they are like drunkards who cannot tell which way is which."

"There is a man who eats sparingly, but is never hungry. There is a man who is always eating, but is never full."

"If you are trying to aim for it, you are turning away from it."

"One chance, one encounter."

"A superior vessel takes a long time to complete."

Zimbabwean

"If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can sing."

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