Leo Tolstoy
Translated by
Dmitry Fadeyev
The less we are accustomed to, the less we have to lose.
Temperance, in the nobler sense, does not mean a subdued and imperfect energy; it does not mean a stopping short in any good thing, as in Love or in Faith; but it means the power which governs the most intense energy, and prevents its acting in any way but as it ought.
— John Ruskin
As smoke drives bees out of a hive, so does gluttony drive out spiritual gifts and intellectual perfection.
— Basil of Caesarea
It is a great blessing to have the things that we desire, but it is an even greater blessing to desire nothing except for what we already have.
— Menedemus
A moth flies into the flame of a lamp without being aware of the pain of getting burned, and a fish swallows a worm on a hook without being aware of any danger; but we, on the other hand, do not part with sensuous pleasures while knowing full well that they are wrapped in a web of misfortune. Such is the bottomless abyss of recklessness.
— Hindu saying
Our desires are like small children who are always restless and always asking their mother for one thing or another, never finding satisfaction in anything. The more you yield to them, the more annoying they become.
— From “Devout Thoughts”
Who is wise? The one who learns something from everyone.
Who is strong? The one who has self-control.
Who is rich? The one who is satisfied with his lot.
— The Talmud
That which a human being has renounced cannot cause him suffering. The one who has destroyed in himself pride, which says “I” and “mine,” has crossed over into the highest world.
— The Kural
The more you hurry, the less time you have.
No one ever repented of eating too little.
Nature requires little, imagination requires a lot.
Pleasure gives rise to sadness, pleasure gives rise to fear; the one who is free from pleasure is free from both sadness and fear.
— The Dhammapada
The sacred joy of the first steps of liberation is more glorious than to rule the earth, more beautiful than to ascend to the heavens, more glorious than to be master of the universe.
— The Dhammapada
A growth of one’s needs is not, as is often thought, an improvement, but, on the contrary: the more a person limits his needs, the greater his consciousness of his human dignity, which also makes him freer, braver and, most important, more capable of serving God and the people.