In Buddhism there is no place for using effort. Just be ordinary and nothing special. Eat your food, move your bowels, pass water, and when you’re tired go and lie down. The ignorant will laugh at me, but the wise will understand.

Completeness, the now, is an absence of the conscious mind to strive to divide that which is indivisible.

Only sober moderation lasts, and that persists through all time. Only the midpart of anything is preserved because the pendulum of life must have balance, and the midpart is the balance.

All in all, the goal of my planning and doing is to find the true meaning of life – peace of mind. In order to achieve this peace of mind, the teaching of detachment of Taoism and Zen proved to be valuable.

Remember never to assert your self against nature; never be in frontal opposition to any problems, but to control it by swinging with it.

The mark of genius is the capacity to see and to express what is simple, simply! The really great Zen artist states the utmost in the minimum of lines or effort.

Matter and energy, Yang and Yin, heaven and earth, are conceived of as essentially one or as two coexistent poles of one indivisible whole.

The Chinese conceived the entire universe as activated by two principles, the Yang and the Yin, the positive and the negative, and they considered that nothing that exists, either animate or so-called inanimate, does so except by virtue of the ceaseless interplay of these two forces.

The law of non-interference with nature is a basic principle of Taoism [stating] that one should be in harmony with, not rebellion against, the fundamental laws of the universe.

The world is full of people who are determined to be somebody or give trouble. They want to get ahead to stand out. Such ambition has no use for a man of Tao, who rejects all forms of self-assertiveness and competition.

There will be calmness when one is free from external objects and is not perturbed.

When one wishes to expand, one must first contract. When one wishes to be strong, one must first be weak. When one wishes to take, one must first give. Everything in this world has the alternative of existence and nonexistence (positive and negative).

Are they not trouble enough in themselves without adding the aggravation of worry to them?

Your child is ill you say, or you cannot pay the rent? Very well, accept these facts and face them.

Serene, detached from all results, ready to fight or run, to win or lose, and always ready to laugh at all things, take whatever comes.

There is “what is” only when there is no comparison at all, and to live with what is, is to be peaceful.

Stand at the neutral point between negative and positive, no longer directing one’s mind to anything.

Preserve yourself by following the natural bends of things and don’t interfere.

Only actions give to life its strength, as only moderation gives it its charm.

Your mental attitude determines what you make of it, either a stepping stone or stumbling block.

“Your mess can become your ministry if you will have a positive attitude and decide to let everything you go through prepare you for what is ahead.” 

“A bad attitude is like a flat tire. If you don’t change it, you won’t go anywhere.”

“is unwise to refuse to face reality; however if our reality is negative we can still have a positive attitude toward it.” 

“All of us have the privilege and responsibility of choosing our attitudes, no matter what circumstances or situations we find ourselves in. The key word here is choosing. Attitudes don’t just happen; they are the products of our choices.”