Daily Wisdom Archive

Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.

— Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace, Vietnam, Modern (1926-2022)

Modern Read:The breath calms the body; the smile calms the soul.

When facing adversity in life, one should focus on self-improvement and cultivate virtues; when in prosperity, one should leverage one's strengths to benefit society.

— Mencius, Mencius, Exhausting the Heart, China, Warring States Period (4th century BCE)

窮則獨善其身，達則兼善天下

Modern Read:Adversity is the classroom; prosperity is the commencement.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

— Buddha, Sutta Nipata, India, 6th-5th century BCE

यथाहि एकच्चो उरगो जिण्णमत्तचं पहाय (Yathāhi ekacco urago jiṇṇamattacaṃ pahāya)

Modern Read:Shed the old self as often as necessary; renewal is not loss but liberation.

Perseverance brings good fortune.

— I Ching, I Ching, China, Zhou Dynasty (c. 1000 BCE)

貞吉 (Zhēn jí)

Modern Read:Steady effort, over time, bends fate in your favor.

A skilled person leaves no traces in their actions, their words have no imperfections. A skilled mathematician doesn't need to rely on calculations. A skilled craftsman closes without using bolts, yet cannot be opened, ties without using knots, yet cannot be untied. Therefore, the sage is always good at helping people, so no one is abandoned. Always good at saving things, so nothing is abandoned.

— Laozi, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 27, China, Zhou Dynasty (6th century BCE)

善行無轍迹，善言無瑕讁；善數不用籌策；善閉無關楗而不可開，善結無繩約而不可解。是以聖人常善救人，故無棄人；常善救物，故無棄物

Modern Read:The finest surgery leaves no scar.

From the moment you step through the garden gate to the moment you leave, treat your host with the reverence due a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Idle chatter about worldly affairs has no place here.

— Sen no Rikyū, Sen no Rikyū, Tea Teachings, Japan, Azuchi–Momoyama Period (1522–1591 CE)

路地ヘ入ヨリ出ルマデ、一期ニ一度ノ會ノヤウニ、亭主ヲ可敬畏。世間雜談、無用也。

Modern Read:Every gathering is unrepeatable. Treat it accordingly.

In those days, it was calligraphy, painting, music, chess, poetry, wine, and flowers — never without them. Now all seven have been replaced by firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.

— Zhang Can, "Untitled", China, Ming Dynasty

書畫琴棋詩酒花，當年件件不離它；而今七事都更變，柴米油鹽醬醋茶。

Modern Read:Youth plays in seven arts; age works in seven necessities. Both are the whole life.

Sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation.

— Chinul, Secrets on Cultivating the Mind, Korea, Goryeo Dynasty (1158-1210)

돈오점수 (Dono jeomsu)

Modern Read:Epiphany takes a second; practice takes a lifetime.

Keep the worthy close and distance the unworthy — this is why the Former Han flourished. Keep the unworthy close and distance the worthy — this is why the Later Han declined. Whenever the late emperor discussed this with me, he never failed to sigh with deep regret over Emperors Huan and Ling.

— Zhuge Liang, "Memorial on Dispatching the Troops", China, Three Kingdoms Period (181–234 CE)

親賢臣，遠小人，此先漢所以興隆也；親小人，遠賢臣，此後漢所以傾頹也。先帝在時，每與臣論此事，未嘗不歎息痛恨於桓、靈也。

Modern Read:One hiring principle separates rising nations from falling ones.

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)

Modern Read:Echoing Laozi's "Mastering others is strength, but mastering yourself is true power," we are our own greatest challenge.

I asked the woodcutter: where did all these people go? He told me: they are dead and gone, nothing remains. A whole generation has changed like a morning market. This saying is truly not empty. Human life resembles an illusion — in the end, all returns to nothingness.

— Tao Yuanming, "Return to My Garden and Field, No. 4", China, Eastern Jin Dynasty (365–427 CE)

借問採薪者，此人皆焉如？ 薪者向我言，死沒無復余。 一世異朝市，此語真不虛。 人生似幻化，終當歸空無。

Modern Read:Generations pass through a village like shoppers through a morning market.

First learn the ways of the ancients; then put on your own style.

— Matsuo Basho, Teaching, Japan, Edo Period (1644-1694)

古人の跡を学びて、しかも古人の跡を追ふことなかれ (Kojin no ato wo manabite, shikamo kojin no ato wo ou koto nakare)

Modern Read:Honor the tradition, then build your own version.

Thus when Heaven is about to entrust a great mission to a person, it first tests the heart with suffering, exhausts the muscles and bones with toil, starves the body with hunger, empties the purse with poverty, and confounds every undertaking — all to stir the will, toughen the nature, and develop capacities that were previously lacking.

— Mencius, Mencius, Gaozi Part Two, China, Warring States Period (4th century BCE)

故天將降大任於是人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，曾益其所不能。

Modern Read:Heaven's job interview is brutal: hardship, hunger, failure — then the mission.

The most fundamental aggression to ourselves is to remain ignorant by not having the courage to look at ourselves honestly.

— Pema Chodron, Various Teachings, America/Tibetan Buddhist, Modern (1936-)

Modern Read:The deepest harm we do to ourselves is refusing to look honestly within.

The mudskipper is a fish that basks in the shallows — stranded on the sand and longing for water, it is too late. Caught in trouble and wishing to be cautious, it is too late. Those who know themselves do not blame others; those who understand fate do not blame heaven. Those who blame others are stuck; those who blame heaven lack ambition. To lose through your own fault yet blame others — is that not utterly misguided?

— Xunzi, Xunzi, On Honor and Disgrace, China, Warring States Period (3rd century BCE)

鯈䱁者 。浮陽之魚也，胠於沙而思水，則無逮矣。挂於患而欲謹，則無益矣。自知者不怨人，知命者不怨天。怨人者窮，怨天者無志。失之己，反之人，豈不迂乎哉。

Modern Read:Blame is a boomerang. It always comes home.

Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom.

— Rabindranath Tagore, Various Writings, India, Modern (1861-1941)

প্রেম দখল দাবি করে না, মুক্তি দেয় (Prem dokhol dābi kore nā, mukti dey)

Modern Read:Echoing Thich Nhat Hanh's "Letting go gives us freedom," true love holds loosely.

People experience joys and sorrows, partings and reunions; the moon waxes and wanes, sometimes full and sometimes incomplete. Throughout history, these things have always been difficult to achieve. May people live long and peacefully, admiring the moon together even from a thousand miles apart.

— Su Shi, "Prelude to Water Melody", China, Song Dynasty (1037–1101 CE)

人有悲歡離合，月有陰晴圓缺，此事古難全。但願人長久，千里共嬋娟

Modern Read:The moon is proof that something can be beautiful and incomplete at the same time.

Not knowing is Buddha.

— Zen Proverb, Zen Teaching, Japan, Traditional

不知是佛 (Fuchi ze butsu)

Modern Read:Certainty is the end of inquiry; openness is the beginning of wisdom.

Do not rely on a face that could topple kingdoms — marry instead a man who truly loves you. While we are both still young, let us not waste our best years.

— Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, "Good Times", China, Tang Dynasty (685–762 CE)

莫倚傾國貌，嫁取個，有情郎。彼此當年少，莫負好時光。

Modern Read:Marry for devotion, not decoration.

The proper course of human life has its foundation in clothing and food. Who can neglect all practical matters yet still seek peace of mind?

— Tao Yuanming, "Harvesting Early Rice at West Field", China, Eastern Jin Dynasty (365–427 CE)

人生歸有道，衣食固其端。 孰是都不營，而以求自安。

Modern Read:Philosophy on an empty stomach is just noise.

Listen to the secret sound, the real sound, which is inside you.

— Kabir, Dohas, India, 15th century (1440-1518)

अंतर की आवाज सुनो, वह असली आवाज है (Antar kī āvāz suno, vah aslī āvāz hai)

Modern Read:The truest music plays within; learn to listen.

Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.

— Laozi, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 56, China, Zhou Dynasty (6th century BCE)

知者不言，言者不知 (Zhī zhě bù yán, yán zhě bù zhī)

Modern Read:The wise are restrained, knowing they cannot possibly articulate every nuance.

You didn't come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean.

— Alan Watts, Various Teachings, England/Eastern, Modern (1915-1973)

Modern Read:You are not a stranger passing through nature; you are nature expressing itself.

Confucius said: a person of integrity has three cautions. In youth, when the blood and spirit are not yet settled, be cautious about desire. In the prime of life, when the blood and spirit are strong and vigorous, be cautious about conflict. In old age, when the blood and spirit have declined, be cautious about greed.

— Confucius, Analects of Confucius, Ji Shi, China, Spring and Autumn Period (5th century BCE)

孔子曰：「君子有三戒：少之時，血氣未定，戒之在色；及其壯也，血氣方剛，戒之在鬥；及其老也，血氣既衰，戒之在得。」

Modern Read:Every age has its own seduction; none of them announce themselves.

Learn about a pine tree from a pine tree, and about bamboo from bamboo.

— Matsuo Basho, Teaching, Japan, Edo Period (1644-1694)

松のことは松に習え、竹のことは竹に習え (Matsu no koto wa matsu ni narae, take no koto wa take ni narae)

Modern Read:See everything as it is; do not impose perceptions upon it.

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。

Modern Read:The search never ends; it only changes altitude.

Set your heart on doing good. Do it over and over again, and you will be filled with joy.

— Buddha, Dhammapada, Verse 118, India, 6th-5th century BCE

पुञ्ञं चे पुरिसो कयिरा, कयिराथेनं पुनप्पुनं (Puññaṃ ce puriso kayirā, kayirāthenaṃ punappunaṃ)

Modern Read:Goodness, repeated, becomes joy—not as reward, but as nature.

Alas! I have sought to understand the hearts of the benevolent ancients, who perhaps differed from both of these perspectives. They were not elated by external gains nor saddened by personal setbacks. When serving in the highest court, they worried for the people; when banished to distant rivers and lakes, they worried for their sovereign. Whether advancing or retreating, they worried. When, then, would they be happy? They would surely say: worry before the world worries; rejoice after the world rejoices.

— Fan Zhongyan, "Record of Yueyang Tower", China, Song Dynasty (989–1052 CE)

嗟夫！予嘗求古仁人之心，或異二者之為，何哉？不以物喜，不以己悲，居廟堂之高，則憂其民；處江湖之遠，則憂其君。是進亦憂，退亦憂，然則何時而樂耶？其必曰「先天下之憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂」歟？噫！微斯人，吾誰與歸？

Modern Read:Carry the burden first; taste the reward last.

In a battle between elephants, the ants get crushed.

— Thai Proverb, Folk Wisdom, Thailand, Traditional

Modern Read:When the powerful clash, the powerless pay the price.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

— Sun Tzu, The Art of War, Chapter 4, China, Zhou Dynasty (544-496 BCE)

勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。

Modern Read:Victory is decided before the battle begins—in the strategy, not on the field.