A person of depth cannot be fully understood through small tasks, but can be entrusted with great responsibilities. A petty person cannot be entrusted with great responsibilities, but can be assessed through small tasks.
— Confucius, Analects of Confucius, Duke Ling of Wei, China, Spring and Autumn Period (5th century BCE)
君子不可小知，而可大受也；小人不可大受，而可小知也
O snail, climb Mount Fuji, but slowly, slowly!
— Kobayashi Issa, Haiku Collection, Japan, Edo Period (1763-1828)
おそいかたつむり そろそろ登れ 富士の山 (Osoi katatsumuri / sorosoro nobore / Fuji no yama)
A life rarely reaches a hundred years, yet we carry a thousand years of worry. The days are short, the nights are painfully long — why not go wandering by candlelight? Seize joy while you can; why wait for tomorrow? The foolish cling to their savings, only to be mocked by future generations. Even the immortal Prince Qiao cannot be matched — so why try?
— Anonymous, Nineteen Old Poems, No. 15, China, Eastern Han Dynasty (2nd century CE)
生年不滿百，常懷千歲憂。 晝短苦夜長，何不秉燭遊。 爲樂當及時，何能待來茲。 愚者愛惜費，但爲後世嗤。 仙人王子喬，難可與等期。
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
— Mahatma Gandhi, Attributed, India, Modern (1869-1948)
Wearing a thin robe, tasting the new wine — resenting how time has been squandered as a guest far from home. I wish spring would linger a while, but spring leaves like a wing in flight — gone without a trace. Where have the flowers gone? Last night's wind and rain buried the beauties of the Chu Palace. Hairpins and ornaments lie fallen, leaving only lingering fragrance.
— Zhou Bangyan, "Six Uglies: After the Roses Wither", China, Song Dynasty (1056–1121 CE)
正單衣試酒，恨客裏、光陰虛擲。願春暫留，春歸如過翼。一去無跡。爲問花何在，夜來風雨，葬楚宮傾國。釵鈿墮處遺香澤。
Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.
— Pema Chodron, Various Teachings, America/Tibetan Buddhist, Modern (1936-)
Green, green is the grass along the riverbank, endless like longing for someone far away. The distance is too great for thoughts to reach, yet last night I saw you in a dream. I dreamed you were beside me, then suddenly woke — and you were in a distant land. Different counties, different places, tossing and turning, unable to meet.
— Anonymous, Yuefu Ballad, "Watering Horses at the Great Wall", China, Eastern Han Dynasty (2nd century CE)
青青河畔草，綿綿思遠道。 遠道不可思，宿昔夢見之。 夢見在我傍，忽覺在他鄉。 他鄉各異縣，展轉不相見。
Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.
— Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings, Japan, Edo Period (1584-1645)
目に見えぬところを観ること (Me ni mienu tokoro wo miru koto)
I have fallen into a dark sea and cannot find the shore. Your sense of honor reaches the clouds — surely you can rescue the living and relieve the suffering. If you would be willing to carry my worn bones home and bury them in a safe resting place, it would be no different from giving me life anew.
— Pu Songling, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, "Nie Xiaoqian", China, Qing Dynasty (1640–1715 CE)
妾墮玄海，求岸不得。郎君義氣干雲，必能拔生救苦。倘肯囊妝朽骨，歸葬安宅，不啻再造。
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles.
— Buddha, Dhammapada, Verse 103, India, 6th-5th century BCE
अत्ताहि अत्तनो नाथो, को हि नाथो परो सिया (Attāhi attano nātho, ko hi nātho paro siyā)
The rocks, piled and cascading downward, resembled cattle and horses drinking at a stream; those jutting upward in angular rows looked like bears climbing a mountain.
— Liu Zongyuan, "Record of the Small Hill West of Gumu Pool", China, Tang Dynasty (773–819 CE)
其嶔然相累而下者，若牛馬之飲於溪；其衝然角列而上者，若熊羆之登於山
Act before things exist; manage them before they become chaotic.
— Laozi, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64, China, Zhou Dynasty (6th century BCE)
為之於未有，治之於未亂
One thought can produce ten thousand things.
— Chinul, Secrets on Cultivating the Mind, Korea, Goryeo Dynasty (1158-1210)
一念能生萬法 (일념능생만법 / Illyeom neungsaeng manbŏp)
In spring, a hundred flowers; in autumn, the moon. In summer, a cool breeze; in winter, snow. If nothing weighs upon your heart, every season is a good season on earth.
— Wumen Huikai, "Every Season Is a Good Season on Earth", China, Song Dynasty (1183–1260 CE)
春有百花秋有月， 夏有涼風冬有雪； 若無閒事掛心頭， 便是人間好時節。
Summer grass — all that remains of warriors' dreams
— Matsuo Basho, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Japan, Edo Period (1644-1694 CE)
夏草や 兵どもが 夢の跡 (natsukusa ya / tsuwamono-domo ga / yume no ato)
A truly great virtue is like a square without corners. The most valuable tools always require long periods of refinement to be created. The loudest sound is one that people cannot hear, like the sound of the Earth rotating. The largest image will be so vast that people cannot see it in its entirety.
— Laozi, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 41, China, Zhou Dynasty (6th century BCE)
大方無隅；大器晚成；大音希聲；大象無形
Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward.
— Vyasa, Bhagavad Gita, 2.47, India, 5th-2nd century BCE
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन (Karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana)
When what once delighted us grows stale, feelings shift with circumstances, and sighs inevitably follow. What once brought joy, in the space of a glance, has already become a relic of the past — yet we still cannot help being moved by it. How much more so when the span of life, long or short, follows the course of change and must in the end come to nothing. The ancients said: "Life and death are a great matter indeed." Is this not cause for grief?
— Wang Xizhi, "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection", China, Eastern Jin Dynasty (303–361 CE)
及其所之既倦，情隨事遷，感慨係之矣。向之所欣，俯仰之間，以（已）為陳跡，猶不能不以之興懷；況脩短隨化，終期於盡。古人云：「死生亦大矣。」豈不痛哉！
Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.
— Thich Nhat Hanh, Various Teachings, Vietnam, Modern (1926-2022)
My belt grows looser day by day, yet I have no regret. For this pursuit, I am willing to grow thin and haggard.
— Liu Yong, "Butterflies Love Flowers", China, Song Dynasty (984–1053 CE)
衣帶漸寬終不悔，為伊消得人憔悴
Spilled water will not return to the tray.
— Japanese Proverb, Folk Wisdom, Japan, Traditional
覆水盆に返らず (Fukusui bon ni kaerazu)
I cannot see the sages of the past; I cannot see the sages yet to come. Contemplating the endless span of heaven and earth, alone, I shed sorrowful tears.
— Chen Ziang, "Song on Ascending Youzhou Tower", China, Tang Dynasty (661–702 CE)
前不見古人， 後不見來者。 念天地之悠悠， 獨愴然而涕下。
He who has no attachments can really love others, for his love is pure and divine.
— Vyasa, Bhagavad Gita, India, 5th-2nd century BCE
निर्ममो निरहंकारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति (Nirmamo nirahaṃkāraḥ sa śāntimadhigacchati)
When doing things, focus on the task at hand, do not worry about the uncertainties of the future, do not dwell on past pains, and do not be entangled by the current external environment. Do what you should do according to your own will at the moment.
— Zeng Guofan, Collected Writings of Zeng Guofan, China, Qing Dynasty (1811–1872 CE)
靈明無著，物來順應，未來不迎，當下不雜，既過不戀，是之謂虛而已矣，是之謂誠而已矣。
When there is a dessert, there should be an appetite.
— Thai Proverb, Folk Wisdom, Thailand, Traditional
A person of true depth is not limited to a single vessel or skill. If you hear the truth in the morning, you can face death that evening without regret.
— Confucius, Analects of Confucius, On Governance, China, Spring and Autumn Period (5th century BCE)
君子不器！朝聞道，夕死足矣！
I do not regard my life as insufficient. Inside the brushwood gate, there is a moon; there are flowers.
— Ryokan, "Sky Above, Great Wind", Japan, Edo Period (1758–1831 CE)
我が庵は 柴門なれど 月と花 (Waga io wa / shimon naredo / tsuki to hana)
The road ahead is long and far-reaching, I will search high and low.
— Qu Yuan, "Encountering Sorrow", China, Warring States Period (c. 340–278 BCE)
路漫漫其修遠兮， 吾將上下而求索。
It is far better to perform one’s natural prescribed duty, though tinged with faults, than to perform another’s prescribed duty, though perfectly.
— Vyasa, Bhagavad Gita, 3.35, India, 5th-2nd century BCE
श्रेयान् स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् (Śreyān svadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt)
When the winds of change blow, some people build walls while others build windmills.
— Chinese Proverb, Folk Wisdom, China, Traditional