Life on a small farm might seem primitive, but by living such a life we become able to discover the Great Path. I believe that one who deeply respects his neighborhood and everyday world in which he lives will be shown the greatest of all worlds.
Interpretation
Living simply can lead to a deeper understanding of life and the world around us.
This quote by Masanobu Fukuoka emphasizes the value of a simple life, particularly one lived on a small farm. He suggests that such a lifestyle allows individuals to connect more deeply with their surroundings and to uncover profound truths about existence. Respecting the local environment and daily interactions fosters a greater appreciation for life and leads to enlightenment.
In practice
During a speech on sustainable living, this quote can inspire others to appreciate simple lifestyles.
When it is understood that one loses joy and happiness in the attempt to possess them, the essence of natural farming will be realized. The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.
As we kill nature, we are killing ourselves, and God incarnate as the world as well.
The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.
Modern research divides nature into tiny pieces and conducts tests that conform neither with natural law nor with practical experience. The results are arranged for the convenience of research, not according to the needs of the farmer.
Gradually I came to realize that the process of saving the desert of the human heart and revegetating the actual desert is actually the same thing.
The increasing desolation of nature, the exhaustion of resources, the uneasiness and disintegration of the human spirit, all have been brought about by humanity's trying to accomplish something.
RELIGION: A set of beliefs held as dogmas, dominating the conduct of life, going beyond or contrary to evidence, and inculcated by methods which are emotional or authoritarian, not intellectual.
The erection of a monument is superfluous, our memory will endure if our lives have deserved it.
The same words conceal and declare the thoughts of men.
In vain we call old notions fudge, And bend our conscience to our dealing; The Ten Commandments will not budge, And stealing will continue stealing.
Sometimes I feel that I am destined always to be offstage whenever the main action occurs. That God has made me the victim of some cosmic practical joke, by assigning me little more than a walk-on part in my own life. Or sometimes I feel that my role is simply to be a spectator to other people's stories, and always to wander away at the most important moment, drifiting into the kitchen to make a cup of tea just as the denouement unfolds.
All thought of something is at the same time self-consciousness [...] At the root of all our experiences and all our reflections, we find [...] a being which immediately recognises itself, [...] and which knows its own existence, not by observation and as a given fact, nor by inference from any idea of itself, but through direct contact with that existence. Self-consciousness is the very being of mind in action.
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