Whether we remain the ash or become the phoenix is up to us.

Grappling with fate is like meeting an expert wrestler: to escape, you have to accept the fall when you are thrown. The only thing that counts is whether you get back up.

All teachings are mere references. The true experience is living your own life. Then, even the holiest of words are only words.

It is too facile to say that the way to follow Tao is to simply go along with the flow of life. Sometimes, like the carp, we must know when to go it alone.

Some Warriors look fierce, but are mild. Some seem timid, but are vicious. Look beyond appearances; position yourself for the advantage.

Rain scatters plum petals; Weeping stains the earth. One can only take shelter And wait for clearing.

Money is never more important than your body and mind, but you must work and support yourself. Never depend on others for your livelihood.

The appreciation of life does not require wealth or plenty. It requires only gratitude for the beauty of the world.

Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response.

A moving door hinge never corrodes. Flowing water never grows stagnant.

You may be capable of great things, But life consists of small things.

Every time we sit down to eat, we make a choice. Please choose vegetarianism. Do it for animals. Do it for the environment and do it for your health.

As I've grown as a person and gotten to know myself more - the question of how someone becomes who they become has gotten really interesting to me.

You can't just live in a comfortable little suburban neighborhood and get your education from movies and television and have any perspective on life.

I said it was simple. Not easy.

Basically there is no difference between whites and blacks, browns and yellows. I decided to think no more of people as Northerners and Southerners.

I get the biggest enjoyment from the random and unexpected places. Linux on cellphones or refrigerators, just because it's so not what I envisioned it. Or on supercomputers.

The world isn't set up equally, and the first billion people using Facebook have way more money than the rest of the world combined.

If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You can start over any moment you choose.

The mind will ever be unstable that has only prejudices to rest on, and the current will run with destructive fury when there are no barriers to break its force.

I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, and my worldly possessions to my nearest of kin, charging them to remember the sufferings of Jesus Christ.