Quote

A well-frog cannot imagine the ocean, nor can a summer insect conceive of ice. How then can a scholar understand the Tao? He is restricted by his own learning.

Benjamin Hoff

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Benjamin Hoff
Age: 78
Born: 1946
Born: January 1
Author
Composer
Journalist
Photographer
Photojournalist
Writer
Oregon
United States
Ocean
Restricted
Learning
Tao
Imagine
Frogs
Understand
Conceive
Cannot
Insects
Wells
Scholar
Well
Ice
Insect
Summer
Frog

More quotes by Benjamin Hoff

Image
You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Now, scholars can be very useful and necessary, in their own dull and unamusing way. They provide a lot of information. It's just that there is Something More, and that Something More is what life is really all about.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Eeyore religion says that the earth isn't worth saving, anyway, and that when it comes to an end, the Faithful will be transported instantly to heaven. No problem. We'd like to see them explain things to Saint Peter at the Gate, when he asks them what they did with the world that God entrusted to them. That might get a bit sticky.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Enjoy the simple, the natural and the plain. Along with that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Treat gain and loss the same.' Don't be Intimidated. Don't make a Big Deal of anything - just accept things as they come to you.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Wisdom, Happiness, and Courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond sight at the end of a straight line they're part of a continuous cycle that begins right here. They're not only the ending, but the beginning as well.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
When we give up our images of self-importance and our ideas of what should be, we can help things become what they need to be.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of The Vinegar Tasters.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Reality is what one makes it. And the more negative reality one nurtures and creates, the more of it one has.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Do you really want to be happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you've got.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
We don't need to shift our responsibilities onto the shoulders of some deified Spiritual Superman, or sit around and wait for Fate to come knocking at the door. We simply need to believe in the power that's within us, and use it. When we do that, and stop imitating others and competing against them, things begin to work for us.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
The surest way to become Tense, Awkward, and Confused is to develop a mind that tries too hard - one that thinks too much.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Under Confucianism, the use of precisely measured court music, prescribed steps, actions, and phrases all added up to an extremely complex system of rituals, each used for a particular purpose at a particular time.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
What's that? the Unbeliever asked. Wisdom from the Western Taoist, I said. It sounds like something from Winnie-the-Pooh, he said. It is, I said. That's not about Taoism, he said. Oh, yes it is, I said.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
Inner Nature, when relied on, cannot be fooled. But many people do not look at it or listen to it, and consequently do not understand themselves very much. Having little understanding of themselves, they have little respect for themselves, and are therefore easily influenced by others.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
A clever mind is not a heart. Knowledge doesn't really care, wisdom does.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
To Buddha, the second figure in the painting, life on earth was bitter, filled with attachments and desires that led to suffering.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
The main problem with this great obsession for saving time is very simple: you can't save time. You can only spend it. But you can spend it wisely or foolishly.
Benjamin Hoff
Image
If people were superior to animals, they'd take good care of them, said Pooh.
Benjamin Hoff