Life comes from the earth and life returns to the earth.

Cherish that which is within you, and shut off that which is without; for much knowledge is a curse.

We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.

All existing things are really one. We regard those that are beautiful and rare as valuable, and those that are ugly as foul and rotten The foul and rotten may come to be transformed into what is rare and valuable, and the rare and valuable into what is foul and rotten.

Those who seek to satisfy the mind of man by hampering it with ceremonies and music and affecting charity and devotion have lost their original nature.

Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.

I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?

Rewards and punishment is the lowest form of education.

I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.

Those who realize their folly are not true fools.

Life comes from the earth and life returns to the earth.

Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious.

Men honor what lies within the sphere of their knowledge, but do not realize how dependent they are on what lies beyond it.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.

I know the joy of fishes in the river through my own joy, as I go walking along the same river.

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him?

To lead others, one must find one’s own direction.

Do not struggle. Go with the flow of things, and you will find yourself at one with the mysterious unity of the Universe.

We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening.

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?

Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home.

Eyes that are blind have no way to tell the loveliness of faces and features eyes with no pupils have no way to tell the beauty of colored and embroidered silks.

Cherish that which is within you and shut off what which is without for much knowledge is a curse.

We cling to our own point of view as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence like autumn and winter they gradually pass away.

The sage embraces things. Ordinary men discriminate amongst them and parade their discriminations before others. So I say those who discriminate fail to see.

Easy is right. Begin right and you are easy. Continue easy and you are right. The right way to go easy is to forget the right way and forget that the going is easy.

Only he who has no use for the empire is fit to be entrusted with it.

A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean.

You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog, the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, the creature of a season.

Human life is limited, but knowledge is limitless. To drive the limited in pursuit of the limitless is fatal; and to presume that one really knows is fatal indeed!

Take care of your body, then the rest will automatically become stronger.

Men of this world all rejoice in others being like themselves, and object to others not being like themselves.

Good order results spontaneously when things are let alone.

To examine oneself makes good use of sight.

The petty thief is imprisoned but the big thief becomes a feudal lord.

The French are the wittiest, the most charming, and up to the present, at all events, the least musical race on Earth.

My life has been a continuous fulfillment of dreams. It appears that everything I saw and did has a new, and perhaps, more significant meaning, every time I see it. The earth is good. It is a privilege to live thereon.

I believe as human beings we are out of balance, out of synch with the earth.

We are put on this earth to have a good time. This makes other people feel good. And the cycle continues.

All men are by nature equal, made all of the same earth by one Workman; and however we deceive ourselves, as dear unto God is the poor peasant as the mighty prince.

Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen... yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.

You know, if you hang around this earth long enough you really see how things come full circle.

With a firm and steadfast mind one should hold under all conditions, that everywhere the earth is below and the sky above, and to the energetic man, every region is his fatherland.

A time will come when men will stretch out their eyes. They should see planets like our Earth.

When I say artist I mean the man who is building things - creating molding the earth - whether it be the plains of the west - or the iron ore of Penn. It's all a big game of construction - some with a brush - some with a shovel - some choose a pen.

Long after this wonderful event in the Earth's history, when the human species was spread over a good deal of Asia, Europe, and Africa, migration to the American continents began in attempts to find new feeding grounds and unoccupied areas for hunting and fishing.

My object will be, first, to show by what connections the history of the fossil bones of land animals is linked to the theory of the earth and why they have a particular importance in this respect.

I just did a picture book called The Wildest Brother on Earth, and you will find both of my children in there.

A good businessman never makes a contract unless he's sure he can carry it through, yet every fool on earth is perfectly willing to sign a marriage contract without considering whether he can live up to it or not.