—The TALMUD
The man who cannot forgive destroys a bridge which he will have to cross, because every person needs forgiveness.
—EDWARD HERBERT
Almost always, when we look deep into our souls, we can find there the same sins which we blame in others. If we do not find a particular sin in our soul, then we should look more closely, and we will find even worse sins there.
A deep river is not troubled if you throw a stone into it. If a religious person is hurt by criticism, then he is not a river but a shallow pool. Forgive others, and then you will receive forgiveness.
—MUSLIH-UD-DlN SAADI
If we can put ourselves into the place of other people, we lessen our pride.
July 31
If Christians would follow the law, there would be no rich and no poor.
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?…. Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
—MATTHEW 19:16, 21
A rich person can be insensitive and completely indifferent to the woes of others.
—The TALMUD
Wealth reminds me of manure in the field. When it is in a big pile it makes a bad smell. But when it is distributed everywhere across the field, it makes the soil fertile.
A person must completely close his eyes on his morals, that in a Christian society so filled with people in need, there are other people who are so proud to have great wealth.
August 1
The intellect can liberate a person; the less of an intellectual life one has, the less liberated one is.
If you wish to do no evil then there is not a single good deed which you cannot do.
—CHINESE WISDOM
A wise person lives in accordance with his desires, because he wants only that which is attainable. Such a person is free.
Diogenes said, “A wise man becomes free when he is ready to die at any moment.” He wrote to the Persian king, “You cannot enslave truly free people, just as you cannot enslave a fish. You may capture them, but you cannot force them to serve; they prefer to die as captives. So, what would it profit you to imprison them?” This is a speech of a really free man, a man who recognizes his own freedom.
—EPICTETUS
We have created a way of life which is contrary to mankind’s moral and physical nature, and yet we want to be free while living this kind of life.
Freedom cannot be achieved by looking for it, but in looking for truth. Freedom should not be a purpose, but a consequence.
Freedom cannot be granted to you by others. Each person can liberate only himelf.
August 2
If you are a material being, then death is the end of everything. But if you are a spiritual being, then the body limits your spiritual being, and death is only a change.
Our body limits the spiritual divine spark which we call our soul. In the way that a vessel gives form to the liquid or gas which is put into it, our body gives form to our spiritual being. If the vessel is broken, that which was in it no longer retains the form it had and flows out. Does it receive a new form? Is it united with other beings? We know nothing of this. After death the soul becomes something different, something indescribable.
Death is one step in a continuous development.
—THEODORE PARKER
Our last day does not bring destruction, only a change.
—MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO
Death is a liberation of the soul from the material personality in which it existed in this world.
For those who live a spiritual life, there is no death.
August 3
We expect rewards for goodness, and punishments for the bad things which we do. Often, they are not immediately forthcoming. Both evil and good exist in the life of the spirit, though, which is outside time, and though we may not see clear indications of reward or punishment, nevertheless, we feel reward or punishment with our conscience.
You should be in a hurry to do good works, even small ones, and to avoid sin. One good thing leads to another, and one sin causes another. The reward for virtue is virtue, and the punishment for vice is more vice.
—The TALMUD
The worst punishment is the understanding that you failed to properly use those good things which were given to you. Do not expect a big punishment. There can be no harder punishment than this remorse.
You seek the cause of evil, and it is only in yourself.
—JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU
Doing good is the only sure path to bliss.
Do not expect some tangible reward for your goodness; your actions are their own reward. In the same way, do not think that you can hope to avoid punishment of your evil acts, for your punishment already lies in your soul. You are mistaken if you think that the pain in your soul was caused by anything else.
August 4
Self-abnegation is not the rejection of your entire self, just the rejection of your animal being.
Every person has within himself the capability to understand the life of all humanity. This capability is hidden deep in the soul, but it exists, and sooner or later, a person will find it.
—EDWARD CARPENTER
The greatest bliss a person can know is the state of complete freedom and happiness that can come only through self-sacrifice and love.
Deny your personality, and you will come to understand the highest good in life: love.
Real life starts with self-sacrifice.
—THOMAS CARLYLE
The more a person gives to other people, and the less he asks for himself, the better for him. The less he gives to others, and the more he wants for himself, the worse for him. Our contemporaries think it the reverse.
Augusts 5
For the most part, false and harmful opinions are distributed and supported by influence. We are too likely to accept the views and thoughts of other people without trying to investigate them deeper and further ourselves. Unimportant people are those who accept other people’s thoughts without developing them themselves.
Your thought is easily influenced by the presence of another soul; a person can be completely free only when he is alone.
Nothing is more harmful than a bad example set by others. They bring into our life notions which never would have occurred to us without an example.
Do not allow yourself to be infected by the mood or spirit of those who abuse you; do not step onto their path.
—MARCUS AURELIUS
A person can easily grow accustomed to living a lie, especially if he sees everyone around him living in the same way.
False ideas which gain currency can easily be recognized by the loud fanfare with which they are accompanied. Real truth does not need any outer embellishments.
The possibility of influencing others causes a person with high morals to be more strict about his words and actions which could influence other people.
August 6
The intellect is the only fit guide for human life.
The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.