Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
Gautama BuddhaRead
Health is the first benefit. Content is the first fortune. Friendliness is the first kindness. Nirvana is the first happiness.
Interpretation
True happiness and fulfillment come from health, contentment, kindness, and a state of peace.
This quote by Gautama Buddha emphasizes the foundational aspects of a fulfilling life. It suggests that good health is paramount, followed by a sense of contentment, the importance of kindness in our interactions, and ultimately achieving a state of nirvana, or true happiness. By prioritizing these elements, one can cultivate a rich and meaningful existence that leads to deeper joy and satisfaction.
In practice
In a wellness seminar to emphasize the importance of health and happiness.
Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
A kind man who makes good use of wealth is rightly said to possess a great treasure; but the miser who hoards up his riches will have no profit.
There are having flowers in Spring, breezes in Summer, moon in Autumn, snows in Winter. If there is nothing worrying over you, it will be the best seasons at all times.
Make an island of yourself, make yourself your refuge; there is no other refuge. Make truth your island, make truth your refuge; there is no other refuge.
When a wise man is advised of his errors, he will reflect on and improve his conduct. When his misconduct is pointed out, a foolish man will not only disregard the advice but rather repeat the same error.
The tongue like a sharp knife ... Kills without drawing blood.
All highly competent people continually search for ways to keep learning, growing, and improving. They do that by asking WHY. After all, the person who knows HOW will always have a job, but the person who knows WHY will always be the boss.
I started inventing things, and then I couldn't stop, like beavers, which I know about. People think they cut down trees so they can build dams, but in reality it's because their teeth never stop growing, and if they didn't constantly file them down by cutting through all of those trees, their teeth would start to grow into their own faces, which would kill them. That's how my brain was.
Every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome.
He that would be superior to external influences must first become superior to his own passions.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
The pessimist borrows trouble; the optimists lend encouragement.
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