🕌Week 2022-04: Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina] - Collected Quotes

"Absence of understanding does not warrant absence of existence." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina]) 

"Anyone who denies the law of non-contradiction should be beaten and burned until he admits that to be beaten is not the same as not to be beaten, and to be burned is not the same as not to be burned." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina])

"Cultivate the self with learning in order to progress and leave all else; for knowledge is an abode of all things. 

The self is like glass, the knowledge, like a lamp, and the wisdom of God, like oil. 

When your self is illuminated - you are alive, and when there is darkness - you are dead."(Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina])

"Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina])

"Further, this power which conceives these ideas does at times gain from sense forms mental, imaginative, and innate in (instinctive to) itself; and in such a case it does this in that it lays before itself the forms that are in the conceiving power and in the remembering (preserving) power, by employing the imaginative and the conjecturing power, and then contemplates them, and finds them to have participated in some forms and to have differed in some other forms; and finds some amongst the forms that are in these powers to be essential and others to be accidental." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina],"A Compendium on the Soul", cca 1010)

"God is knowledge; he is knowing; and he is being known. Since God has knowledge of his own essence, and since God is one, it follows that the essence of God is knowledge. And knowledge means that he knows himself, and is known by himself." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina], "al-Risalat al-Arshiya")

"It is evident that everything which does not exist at first and then exists, is determined by something other than itself." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina])

"Medicine deals with the states of health and disease in the human body. It is a truism of philosophy that a complete knowledge of a thing can only be obtained by elucidating its causes and antecedents, provided, of course, such causes exist. In medicine it is, therefore, necessary that causes of both health and disease should be determined." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina]) 

"Now it is established in the sciences that no knowledge is acquired save through the study of its causes and beginnings, if it has had causes and beginnings; nor completed except by knowledge of its accidents and accompanying essentials." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina]) 

"Pain is a sensation produced by something contrary to the course of nature and this sensation is set up by one of two circumstances: either a very sudden change of the temperament (or the bad effect of a contrary temperament) or a solution of continuity." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina]) 

"Prayer is that which enables the soul to realize its divinity. Through prayer human beings worship absolute truth, and seek an eternal reward. Prayer is the foundation-stone of religion; and religion is the means by which the soul is purified of all that pollutes it. Prayer is the worship of the first cause of all things, the supreme ruler of all the world, the source of all strength. Prayer is the adoration of the one whose being is necessary." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina], "Kitab al-Najat", cca. 1021–1027) 

"The different sorts of madness are innumerable." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina]) 

"The mind (Understanding, Reason) is in fact and deed wholly and solely nothing else than the forms of mentally-grasped things, if these be arrayed in the very mind potentially, and through it they are brought out to effective action; and hence it is said that the mind is in fact and deed at once both understanding and understood. Amongst the properties of the understanding power is this, that it unifies the many and multiplies the one through analysis and synthesis. As to multiplication, it is such as the analysis of one man into essence, body, nourishment-getting, animal, speaking (rational). As to unification of the many, it is such as the composition (synthesis) of this one man out of essence, body, animal, speaking (rational) into one notion which is mankind (human being)."(Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina])

 

"The knowledge of anything, since all things have causes, is not acquired or complete unless it is known by its causes." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina]) 

"When knowledge reaches the specific natures and what is accidental to them, inquiry stops and is not followed by the fleeting knowledge of individuals to which our souls are not at all inclined." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina], "The Physics of The Healing", cca. 1014)

🌀Week 2022-03: Paulo Coelho - Collected Quotes

"Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself." (Paulo Coelho, "The Pilgrimage", 1987)

"Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive. and it has a soul. We are part of that soul, so we rarely recognize that it is working for us." (Paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist", 1988)

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting." (Paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist", 1988)

"People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly."(Paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist", 1988)

"When you cease doubting, you have stopped moving forward." (Paulo Coelho, "Brida", 1990)

"Life takes us by surprise and orders us to move toward the unknown - even when we don't want to and when we think we don't need to." (Paulo Coelho, "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept", 1994)

"The spiritual path can only be traveled through the daily experience of love." (Paulo Coelho, "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept", 1994)

"At every moment of our lives, we all have one foot in a fairy tale and the other in the abyss."(Paulo Coelho, "Eleven Minutes", 2003)

"Life always waits for some crisis to occur before revealing itself at its most brilliant." (Paulo Coelho, "Eleven Minutes", 2003)

"Love is not to be found in someone else, but in ourselves; we simply awaken it. But in order to do that, we need the other person." (Paulo Coelho, "Eleven Minutes", 2003)

"Everyone believes that the main aim in life is to follow a plan. They never ask if that plan is theirs or if it was created by another person. They accumulate experiences, memories, things, other people's ideas, and it is more than they can possibly cope with. And that is why they forget their dreams." (Paulo Coelho, "The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession", 2005)

"We humans have two great problems: the first is knowing when to begin; the second is knowing when to stop." (Paulo Coelho, "The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession", 2005)

"Everyone's looking for the perfect teacher, but although their teachings might be divine, teachers are all too human, and that's something people find hard to accept. Don't confuse the teacher with the lesson, the ritual with the ecstasy, the transmitter of the symbol with the symbol itself." (Paulo Coelho, "The Witch of Portobello: A Novel", 2006) 

"Everyone contributes a word, a sentence, an image, but in the end it all makes sense: the happiness of one becomes the joy of all."(Paulo Coelho, "Aleph", 2011)

"I understand that everything is connected, that all roads meet, and that all rivers flow into the same sea." (Paulo Coelho, "Aleph", 2011)

"If you want to see a rainbow you have to learn to see the rain." (Paulo Coelho, "Aleph", 2011)

"That is what marks out the warrior: the knowledge that willpower and courage are not the same thing. Courage can attract fear and adulation, but willpower requires patience and commitment. Men and women with immense willpower are generally solitary types and give off a kind of coolness. Many people mistakenly think that (they) are cold (people) when nothing could be further from the truth." (Paulo Coelho, "Aleph", 2011)

"Excessive caution destroys the soul and the heart, because living is an act of courage, and an act of courage is always an act of love." (Paulo Coelho, "Manuscript Found in Accra", 2012)

"Love rules, but no one knows where it has its throne; in order to know that secret place, you must first submit to Love." (Paulo Coelho, "Manuscript Found in Accra", 2012)

"Love transforms, Love heals. But sometimes it lays deadly traps and ends up destroying the person who decided to surrender himself completely." (Paulo Coelho, "Manuscript Found in Accra", 2012)

"The act of discovering who we are will force us to accept that we can go further than we think." (Paulo Coelho, "Manuscript Found in Accra", 2012)

"All battles in life serve to teach us something, even the battles we lose." (Paulo Coelho)

"Love is looking at the same mountains from different angles." (Paulo Coelho)

"The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter." (Paulo Coelho, "Veronika Decides to Die", 1998)

🌀Week 2022-02: Hermann Hesse - Collected Quotes

"During deep meditation it is possible to dispel time, to see simultaneously all the past, present, and future, and then everything is good, everything is perfect, everything is Brahman." (Hermann Hesse, "Siddhartha", 1910)

"Passion is always a mystery and unaccountable, and unfortunately there is no doubt that life does not spare its purest children and often it is just the most deserving people who cannot help loving those that destroy them." ("Hermann Hesse, "Gertrude", 1910)

"Every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world's phenomena intersect, only once in this way and never again." (Hermann Hesse, "Demian", 1919)

"Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, be fortified by it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it." (Hermann Hesse, "Siddhartha", 1922)

"Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish... Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it." (Hermann Hesse, "Siddhartha", 1922)

"All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast." (Hermann Hesse, "Narcissus and Goldmund", 1930)

"All interpretation, all psychology, all attempts to make things comprehensible, require the medium of theories, mythologies, and lies." (Hermann Hesse)

"Chaos demands to be recognized and experienced before letting itself be converted into a new order." (Hermann Hesse)

"It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is." (Hermann Hesse)

"Our mind is capable of passing beyond the dividing line we have drawn for it. Beyond the pairs of opposites of which the world consists, other, new insights begin." (Hermann Hesse)

"Seeking means to have a goal; but finding means to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose." (Hermann Hesse)

"Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go." (Herman Hesse)

"There is no reality except the one contained within us." (Herman Hesse)

"Whither will my path yet lead me? This path is stupid, it goes in spirals, perhaps in circles, but whichever way it goes, I will follow it." (Hermann Hesse, "Siddhartha", 1922)

"Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time." (Hermann Hesse)

More quotes from the same author at Quotable Mathematics

🅵Week 2022-01: On Freedom

"Fight against yourself, recover yourself to decency, to modesty, to freedom. And, in the first place, condemn your actions; but when you have condemned them, do not despair of yourself. For both ruin and recovery are from within." (Epictetus, "Discourses", cca. 108)

"A Buddha is someone who finds freedom in good fortune and bad." (Bodhidharma, cca. 6th century)

"An Awakened person is someone who finds freedom in good fortune and bad."(Bodhidharma, cca. 6th century) 

"No-mind does not mean the unconsciousness of wood or tile. It means that when you come into contact with external objects, your mind is immovable and does not get attached to anything. There is total freedom and non-obstruction. You are not defiled by anything. On the other hand, you should not abide in non-defilement either. While you view the body and the mind as a dream and an illusion, you nevertheless do not abide in the emptiness of dreams and illusions. When you reach this state, you have then really achieved no-mind." (Ta-hui Tsung-kao, 12th century)

"This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai: if by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. his whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling." (Yamamoto Tsunetomo, "Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai", cca. 1716)

"Those who practice only in silence/tranquility, cannot establish their [internal] freedom when entering into activity. When they engage into worldy activities, their usual satori (enlightment) will eventually disappear without any trace." (Hakuin Ekaku, "Hitotsu-me Daruma" ["One-Eyed Bodhidharma"], cca. 1760)

"The strength and its functioning vary greatly according to the depth or shallowness of insight, and the corresponding freedom of action. It is for this reason that now as in the past students with the same insight and training differ as to strength and virtue." ((Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp" ["Shumon Mujinto Ron"], cca. 1800)

"Jnana, bhakti, yoga and karma - these are the four paths which lead to spiritual freedom. One must follow the path for which one is best suited. But in this age, special stress should be laid on karma yoga." (Swami Vivekananda, "The Complete Works" Vol. 5, 1907)

"The most important lesson that man can learn from his life is not that there is pain in this world, but that it depends upon him to turn it into good account, that it is possible for him to transmute it into joy... Man's freedom is never in being saved troubles, but it is the freedom to take trouble for his own good, to make the trouble an element in his joy [...] that in pain is symbolised the infinite possibility of perfection, the eternal unfolding of joy." (Rabindranath Tagore, "Sadhana: The Realisation of Life", 1913)

"Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant." (Viktor E Frankl, "Man's Search for Meaning", 1946)

"Freedom and constraint are two aspects of the same necessity, the necessity of being the man you are, and not another. You are free to be that man, but not free to be another."(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Wisdom of the Sands", 1948)

"Religions remain what they are. Zen is meditation. Meditation is the foundation of every religion. People today feel an intense need to go back to the source of religious life, to the pure essence in the depths of themselves which they can discover only through actually experiencing it. They also need to be able to concentrate their minds in order to find the highest wisdom and freedom, which is spiritual in nature, in their efforts to deal with the influences of every description imposed upon them by their environment. Human wisdom alone is not enough, it is not complete. Only universal truth can provide the highest wisdom. Take away the word Zen and put Truth or Order of the Universe in its place." (Taisen Deshimaru, 1981)

"The third point of reference is freedom of perception; it is intent; it is spirit; the somersault of thought into the miraculous; the act of reaching beyond our boundaries and touching the inconceivable." (Carlos Castaneda, "Power of Silence", 1987)

"Aikido technique is structured on circular movement, for harmony is brought about and all conflict resolved through the spirit of the circle. [...] A circle encloses space, and it is from the perfect freedom of this emptiness that ki is born. From the center of this birthplace the creative processes of life are joined with the infinite, immeasurable universe by the Spirit. The Spirit is the Creator, the eternal parent giving birth to all things. [...] Within the circle the ki of the universe is guided in the processes of creation, evolution, and protection." (Morihei Ueshiba, [attributed in Mitsugi Saotome, "The Principles of Aikido", 1989], 1983)

"Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty." (Frank Herbert, "Dune Chronicles: Chapterhouse", 1985)

"We all have beliefs and expectations from our personal experience; it is impossible to live without them. Since we have to make some assumptions, they might as well be ones that allow us freedom, choice and fun in the world, rather than ones that limit us. You often get what you expect to get." (Joseph O'Connor & John Seymour, "Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Psychological Skills for Understanding and Influencing People", 1990)

"By practicing letting go of our reactions we can find the doorway out. Each time we fail to respond to something, we have taken a big step toward freedom. Until we have done that, we are constant victims of our feelings [...]" (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991) 

"Birth and death, decay and rebirth, the cycle of life - all is change. Change is life, and the ability to change is the essential element of growth. The freedom founded upon the realization and acceptance of this truth, that nothing stays the same, is the source of the power of true creativity." (Mitsugi Saotome, "Aikido and the Harmony of Nature", 1993)

"Kannagara is a way of intuition. There are no written laws, no strict doctrines of right or wrong. The only laws are the laws which govern natural phenomena and promote harmony. Kannagara is a way of supreme freedom, for the action appropriate to function in harmony with nature occurs spontaneously." (Mitsugi Saotome, "Aikido and the Harmony of Nature", 1993)

"One way to access the field is through the daily practice of silence, meditation, and non-judgment. Spending time in nature will also give you access to the qualities inherent in the field: infinite creativity, freedom, and bliss." (Deepak Chopra, "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams", 1994)

"There are many aspects to success; material wealth is only one component. But success also includes good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, creative freedom, emotional and psychological stability, a sense of well-being, and peace of mind." (Deepak Chopra, "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams", 1994)

"Real joy means immediate expansion. If we experience pure joy, immediately our heart expands. We feel that we are flying in the divine freedom-sky. The entire length and breadth of the world becomes ours, not for us to rule over, but as an expansion of our consciousness. We become reality and vastness." (Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, "The Wings of Joy: Finding Your Path to Inner Peace, 1997)

"Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness." (Thich Nhat Hanh, "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation", 1998)

"Meditation is not the pursuit of pleasure and the search for happiness. Meditation, on the contrary, is a state of mind in which there is no concept or formula, and therefore total freedom. It is only to such a mind that this bliss comes unsought and uninvited. Once it is there, though you may live in the world with all its noise, pleasure and brutality, they will not touch that mind." (Jiddu Krishnamurti, "Freedom, Love, and Action", 2001)

"Until the whole world is free to agree with you or disagree with you, until you have given the freedom to everyone to like you or not like you, to love you or hate you, to see things as you see them, or to see things differently - until you have given the whole world its freedom - you'll never have your freedom." (Adyashanti, "book The End of Your World: Uncensored Straight Talk on the Nature of Enlightenment", 2004)

"Realizing that our inability to control life is not the same as having no way to navigate it, leads to freedom and liberation. Just because I can't control the sea doesn't mean I can't learn how to swim in it." (Rami Shapiro, "Recovery - The Sacred Art: The Twelve Steps as Spiritual Practice", 2009)

"Actual meditation practice is a constant act of freedom in the sense of being without expectation, without a particular goal, aim, and object. But as you practice meditation, as you go along with the technique, you begin to discover your present state of being. That is, we could almost say, a by-product of meditation. So it does happen that way, but is no good looking for it and trying to fit it into different degrees or patterns. That doesn’t work." (Chögyam Trungpa, "Transcending Madness The Experience of the Six Bardos", 2010)

"Where mindfulness is, true life, solidity, freedom, and healing also manifest. We all have the ability to generate this energy of mindfulness. Do walking meditation, breathe mindfully, drink your tea mindfully, and cultivate this energy that dwells in you, that illuminates you, and makes life possible." (Thich Nhat Hanh, "You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment", 2010) 

"Freedom is possible. One in-breath alone is enough to set you free - from your regrets about the past, your worries about the future, and your projects in the present. In that state of freedom, you will make better decisions. Next time you have to make a decision, be sure to breathe in and out first." (Thich Nhat Hanh, 2015)

"Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run toward it." (Ajahn Chah)