280 Wisdom Quotes

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

The goal with these 280 wisdom quotes is simple: to help you find peace. That’s why you’ll find quotes on life, knowledge, philosophy, patience, maturity and happiness. Hope you’ll like them. Enjoy!

wisdom quotes waits for you silent enough hear bd schiers nature winter mountain snow

Wisdom waits for you to be silent enough to hear. B. D. Schiers

wisdom quotes perhaps realizing how small unwise how far have yet anthony bourdain man mountain nature landscape

Perhaps wisdom is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go. Anthony Bourdain

wisdom quotes meditation brings lack leaves ignorance know well what leads forward hold back choose path wisdom buddha city

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. Buddha

wisdom quotes who knows does not speak he who speaks know lao tzu man hiking mountains snow

He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know. Lao Tzu

wisdom quotes source whatever happening right this very instant pema chodron woman water nature solitude

The source of wisdom is whatever is happening to us right at this very instant. Pema Chödrön

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wisdom quotes all gold not enough to exchange virtue plato man clouds mountains solitude

All the gold on the earth is not enough to exchange for virtue. Plato

wisdom quotes like warrior with process water results nate miyaki man standing water mountain

Be like a warrior with the process, be like water with the results. Nate Miyaki

wisdom quotes perfect man uses his mind mirror grasps nothing regrets receives does keep zhuangzi field

The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing. It regrets nothing. It receives but does not keep. Zhuangzi

wisdom quotes when ordinary man attains knowledge sage understanding man zen proverb woman eyes face

When an ordinary man attains knowledge, he is a sage; when a sage attains understanding, he is an ordinary man. Zen proverb

wisdom quotes seed ever seens flower zen proverb field sky clouds

No seed ever sees the flower. Zen proverb

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wisdom quotes mans primary art virtue itself seneca mountain nature landscape path

Man’s primary art is virtue itself. Seneca

wisdom quotes knowledge discovered collectively rediscovered individually naval ravikant people standing

Knowledge is discovered collectively, wisdom is rediscovered individually. Naval Ravikant

wisdom quotes spend your money things can buy time cant haruki murakami mountains landscape nature

Spend your money on the things money can buy. Spend your time on the things money can’t buy. Haruki Murakami (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)

wisdom quotes only when someone refuses certain things will capable doing great things mencius city

Only when someone refuses to do certain things will he be capable of doing great things. Mencius

wisdom quotes sometimes taking time actually shortcut haruki murakami forest path trees

Sometimes taking time is actually a shortcut. Haruki Murakami

Related topics: inner peace, Zen, stoicism

The Best Wisdom Quotes

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Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future. Lumbee (Native American saying)

People who know little are usually great talkers, while men who know much say little. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Knowledge creates noise. Understanding creates silence. Wisdom creates peace. Sven Schnieders

Ancient wisdom is the medicine for the modern world. Don Howard

Do everything as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered, while all the time knowing that it doesn’t matter at all. Pema Chödrön

When you break your life down to first principles, all you have is two key variables: 1. Time. 2. Energy. Invest it like your life depends on it. Because it literally does. George Mack

The best advice doesn’t specify what to do. It highlights blind spots in our thinking and helps us clarify our priorities. Adam Grant

Preparation. Patience. Discipline. Objectivity. Charlie Munger (On his most fundamental guiding principles)

No drives, no compulsions, no needs, no attractions; when your affairs are under control you are free. Chuang Tzu

The sage shuns excess, shuns grandiosity, shuns arrogance. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching, Amazon book)

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Wisdom is a quality, not an accumulation. James Pierce

Only when you ask nothing of the world can you be truly free. James Pierce

Wisdom lies in correctly discerning where we are free to mould reality according to our wishes and where we must accept the unalterable with tranquillity. Alain de Botton (The Consolations of Philosophy)

Be extraordinary in your excellence, if you like, but be ordinary in your display of it. The more light a torch gives, the more it burns away and the nearer ‘tis to going out. Show yourself less and you will be rewarded by being esteemed more. Baltasar Gracián

Do not seek fame. Do not make plans. Do not be absorbed by activities. Do not think that you know. Be aware of all that is and dwell in the infinite. Wander where there is no path. Be all that heaven gave you, but act as though you have received nothing. Be empty, that is all. Zhuangzi

When an archer shoots for enjoyment, he has all his skill; when he shoots for a brass buckle, he gets nervous; when he shoots for a prize of gold, he begins to see two targets. Zhuangzi

The man of contentment seeks nothing that he doesn’t have and understands that whatever he has isn’t his to own. Wu Hsin

One thousand days of lessons for discipline; ten thousand days of lessons for mastery. Miyamoto Musashi

Wisdom comes to those who learn nothing, unlearn everything. That transformation is the consequence not of something done, but of something dropped. Anthony de Mello

Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it. David Star Jordan

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. Bertrand Russell

Meditation brings understanding. Understanding brings peace. Peace brings happiness. Maxime Lagacé

And once you are awake, you shall remain awake eternally. Friedrich Nietzsche (Thus Spoke Zarathustra)

Part 2. Wisdom Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Wisdom Quotes (Plato, Emerson, Einstein, etc.)

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There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. William Shakespeare

Knowledge divorced from justice is cunning, not wisdom. Plato

The whole is more than the sum of the parts. Aristotle

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. Socrates

Are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honour and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul? Socrates

The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while. Albert Einstein

One must know oneself. Even if it does not help in finding truth, at least it helps in running one’s life, and nothing is more proper. Blaise Pascal

The truly great man is he who would master no one, and who would be mastered by none. Kahlil Gibran

You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong. Warren Buffett

Reading makes a full man, meditation a profound man, discourse a clear man. Benjamin Franklin

Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it. Leo Tolstoy

It is better to imitate ancient than modern work. Leonardo da Vinci

To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom. Ralph Waldo Emerson

One can pass on knowledge but not wisdom. One can find wisdom, one can live it, one can be supported by it, one can work wonders with it, but one cannot speak it or teach it. Hermann Hesse

The Sage puts his own views behind so ends up ahead. He stays a witness to life so he endures. What could he grab for that he does not already have? What could he do for himself that the universe itself has not already done? Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)

He who chases two hares will catch neither. Publius Syrus

I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. Publius Syrus

Knowledge is real knowledge only when it is acquired by the efforts of your intellect, not by memory. Only when we forget what we were taught do we start to have real knowledge. Henry David Thoreau

The errors of great men are venerable because they are more fruitful than the truths of little men. Friedrich Nietzsche

The happiest is he who suffers least; the most miserable is he who enjoys least. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Let us permit Nature to take her own ways; she better understands her own affairs than we. Michel de Montaigne

Stupidity and wisdom meet in the same centre of sentiment and resolution, in the suffering of human accidents. Michel de Montaigne

Cautious silence is the holy of holies of worldly wisdom. Baltasar Gracián

It is far easier to prevent than to rectify. Baltasar Gracián

Short Wisdom Quotes

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One-liners, short wisdom quotes, sayings, thoughts and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, backgrounds.

The Way is in training. Miyamoto Musashi

Signaling virtue is a vice. Naval Ravikant

Preparation over prediction. Shane Parrish

Enough is as good as a feast. Alan Watts

Do nothing which is of no use. Miyamoto Musashi

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. Military saying

Wisdom is acquired by meditation. Publius Syrus

In all things have no preferences. Miyamoto Musashi

You can convert peace to happiness. Naval Ravikant

Awareness, not age, leads to wisdom. Publius Syrus

Wisdom naturally leads to indifference. James Pierce

The Tao is near and people seek it far away. Mencius

No fear, no hesitation, no surprise, no doubt. Miyamoto Musashi

It is a bad plan that admits of no modification. Publius Syrus

To know much is often the cause of doubting more. Michel de Montaigne

Having answers is great. Having questions is greater. Maxime Lagacé

Whatever you can lose, you should reckon of no account. Publius Syrus

Whoever will be cured of ignorance, let him confess it. Michel de Montaigne

Relearn everything. Let every moment be a new beginning. Zen proverb

If experience is the mother of wisdom, pain is the father. Thibaut

You are happy when you are rich in time and poor in desire. @_orangebook

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Inspirational And Motivational Wisdom Quotes

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Get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of man. Miyamoto Musashi

Look back and be grateful. Look ahead and be hopeful. Look around and be helpful. Paulo Coelho

When action grows unprofitable, gather information; when information grows unprofitable, sleep. Ursula K. Le Guin (The Left Hand of Darkness)

Certainly, if he still has himself, a man of understanding has lost nothing. Michel de Montaigne

The birth of all things is weak and tender; and therefore we should have our eyes intent on beginnings. Michel de Montaigne

The loving say yes to almost everything. The successful say no to almost everything. The happy talk to almost everybody. The wise listen to almost everybody. Maxime Lagacé

It’s our responsibility to work with vision, determination and wisdom to create a happier, more peaceful world. We need to take action, while respecting others and their needs, considering all 7 billion human beings alive today as belonging to one human family. 14th Dalai Lama

Remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to endure it and prevail is great good fortune. Marcus Aurelius

If you work hard to do what is right, do not be upset by roadblocks; think about how many of the things in your life haven’t turned out as you wanted them to, but as they should have. Musonius Rufus

Mindfulness gives you time. Time gives you choices. Choices, skillfully made, lead to freedom. Henepola Gunaratana

The virtuous man may not have to stand alone, but he must be willing to. @TheStoicEmperor

Knowing isn’t doing. Certificates aren’t competence. A plan isn’t implementation. Ideas aren’t invoices. Revenue isn’t profit. “No” isn’t the end. Thibaut

The Sage is like Heaven and Earth. To him none are especially dear nor is there anyone he disfavors. He gives and gives without condition offering his treasure to everyone. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)

The Sage rules by stilling minds and opening hearts, by filling bellies and strengthening bones. He shows people how to be simple and live without desires, to be content and not look for other ways. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)

Part 1. The Sage acts without action and teaches without talking. All things flourish around him and he does not refuse any one of them. He gives but not to receive. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)

Part 2. He works but not for reward. He completes but not for results. He does nothing for himself in this passing world so nothing he does ever passes. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)

Choose the path that leaves you more equanimous in the long term. Naval Ravikant

When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you want to breathe, it is then you shall have it. Socrates

Related articles: Positive Quotes That Will Make Your Day Wonderful, Quotes About Strength That Will Make You Tougher

See also: 11 Ways Wise People Think, And You Can Too (huffpost.com)

Funny And Surprising Wisdom Quotes

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The loudest voice rarely carries the most wisdom. James Pierce

We’ve got a lot of experience of not having any experience. Terry Pratchett

The only Zen you’ll find on mountain tops is the Zen you bring up there with you. Alan Watts

Also in learning it is a subtle plan of the pupil to contradict the master, who thereupon takes pains to explain the truth more thoroughly and with more force, so that a moderate contradiction produces complete instruction. Baltasar Gracián

Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behaviour accordingly. If your new behaviour hives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group… then to hell with them. Charlie Munger

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. E.B. White

Better to be tentative than to be recklessly sure – to be an apprentice at sixty, than to present oneself as a doctor at ten. Michel de Montaigne

Dogs look up to you, cats look down on you. Give me a pig. He just looks you in the eye and treats you as an equal. Winston Churchill

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg. Abraham Lincoln

Cleverness is like a lens with a very sharp focus. Wisdom is more like a wide-angle lens. Thibaut

Advice from a failed practitioner will be better than from a successful theorist. Michael

Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these. Ovid

It is folly to punish your neighbour by fire when you live next door. Publius Syrus

Deep Wisdom Quotes

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Nothing matters. Kapil Gupta

Your preciousness lies in your essence; it cannot be lost by anything that happens. Zhuangzi

Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death. Miyamoto Musashi

Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Forget happiness. Aim for inner peace. Maxime Lagacé

Everyone starts out innocent. Everyone is corrupted. Wisdom is the discarding of vices and the return to virtue, by way of knowledge. Naval Ravikant

The pure present is an ungraspable advance of the past devouring the future. In truth, all sensation is already memory. Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore)

Wisdom isn’t about understanding things (and people); it is knowing what they can do to you. Nassim Nicholas Taleb (The Bed of Procrustes)

Never trust the words of a man who is not free. Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Antifragile)

Wisdom is acquired through pain, not through books. Reading helps you make sense of your mistakes faster and get more wisdom per unit of pain. Pain is the currency. Readers pay less. Johnny Uzan

If you can’t simplify it, you don’t understand it. If you can only simplify it, you don’t understand it. Mastery is feeling comfortable across the spectrum of complexity. Johnny Uzan

Nothing is durable, whether for an individual or for a society; the destinies of men and cities alike sweep onwards. Seneca

When you see someone who is worthy, concentrate upon becoming their equal; when you see someone who is unworthy, use this as an opportunity to look within yourself. Confucius

People who have depth often appear serious and people who are light often seem flaky. A childlike simplicity along with the depth of a thousand year old, fun with wisdom is a rare combination. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

All snowflakes eventually melt. Ed Latimore

Everybody is full of wisdom for others, but struggle to apply for themselves. @orangebook_

Wisdom need not be sought. When the barriers have been removed, it will come. James Pierce

To practice death is to practice freedom. A man who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave. Michel de Montaigne

Stop struggling against the fact that nothing’s solid to begin with and things don’t last. Pema Chödrön

Preparations for war should be long in making, that victory may be the more speedy. Publius Syrus

He who possesseth little is so much the less possessed. Blessed be moderate poverty! Friedrich Nietzsche

Wise Wisdom Quotes And Proverbs

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When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much. Zen proverb

You may have a million desires to be in other places, doing other things, but you are not there, you are here. Zen proverb

Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows. Native American proverb

Buddhism itself is all about empowering yourself, not about getting what you want. Pema Chödrön

True straightness seems crooked. True wisdom seems foolish. True art seems artless. Lao Tzu

Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. Lao Tzu

The sage is fluid. He has no shape of his own. He is like water which takes the form of the vessel through which it passes. He has no rigidity of ego. Thus he is in perfect harmony with what is. In his formlessness he becomes one with existence. @TheAncientSage

It is the act of an ill-instructed man to blame others for his own bad condition; it is the act of one who has begun to be instructed, to lay the blame on himself; and of one whose instruction is completed, neither to blame another, nor himself. Epictetus

When people come to you for advice on a decision, resist the urge to give them an answer. People rarely need to hear your conclusion. They benefit from hearing your thought process and your perspective on the relevant criteria for making the choice. Adam Grant

Good mentors help you follow their path. Great mentors help you navigate your own path. Adam Grant

In their seeking, wisdom and madness are one and the same. On the path of love, friend and stranger are one and the same. Rumi

To become empty is to become one with the divine – this is the Way. Awa Kenzō

Wisdom is not an answer, it’s a question, it’s not knowledge, it’s curiosity, it’s not fear, it’s love. Maxime Lagacé

The intuitive recognition of the instant, thus reality… is the highest act of wisdom. D.T. Suzuki

A wise person is someone who usually knows the right thing to do. Paul Graham

The man of Tao remains unknown. Perfect virtue produces nothing. No self is true Self. And the greatest man is nobody. Chuang Tzu

The sage keeps her wisdom to herself, while ordinary people flaunt their knowledge. Chuang Tzu

Taoism isn’t a process of learning more facts or greater skills, it is the unlearning of wrong habits and opinions. Alan Watts

The perfect man has no self; the holy man has no merit; the sage has no fame. Lie Yukou

When you understand certain things and they become a part of you, you naturally become a more peaceful person. Naval Ravikant

More words of wisdom

See also: How to Become Wise (psychologytoday.com)

Part 3. Wisdom Quotes About…

Wisdom Quotes About Life

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Be detached from desire your whole life long. Miyamoto Musashi

It is not possible to live well today unless you treat it as your last day. Musonius Rufus

You may be capable of great things, but life consists of small things. Deng Ming-Dao

Freedom cannot be organized, and when it is it ceases to be freedom. Jiddu Krishnamurti

There is no knowledge so hard to acquire as the knowledge of how to live this life well and naturally. Michel de Montaigne

If you’re looking for perfect investment; you’ll never be able to invest. If you’re looking for perfect spouse; you’ll never get married. If you’re looking for perfect job; you’ve to remain unemployed. If you’re looking for perfect life; you’ll never enjoy living. D. Muthukrishnan

99% of information is noise. 99% of interactions are fake. 99% of opportunities are traps. Life is a search for the 1%. Johnny Uzan

You don’t have a lot of envy, you don’t have a lot of resentment, you don’t overspend your income, you stay cheerful in spite of your troubles, you deal with reliable people and you do what you’re supposed to do. All these simple rules work so well to make your life better. Charlie Munger (One of the richest man in the world)

I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning. Michel Foucault

Sometimes the wisdom of our hearts proves to be deeper than the insight of our brains. And sometimes the most reasonable thing is not to try to be too reasonable. Viktor E. Frankl (The Will to Meaning)

Meditation brings self-knowledge which brings indifference to what others think. Maxime Lagacé

The definition of wisdom is focusing on what you control, letting go of what you can’t control, and recognizing the difference. Mark Manson

Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just look and just listen. No more is needed. Being still, looking, and listening activates the non-conceptual intelligence within you. Let stillness direct your words and actions. Eckhart Tolle

The world is a spiritual vessel and cannot be forced. Whoever forces it spoils it. Whoever grasps it loses it. Alan Watts

One seeks and seeks, but cannot find. One then gives up, and the answer comes by itself. Alan Watts

Each of us finds his unique vehicle for sharing with others his bit of wisdom. Ram Dass

Information is just bits of data. Knowledge is putting them together. Wisdom is transcending them. Ram Dass

What we call the present is given shape by an accumulation of the past. Haruki Murakami (1Q84)

Everything fades so quickly; turns into legend, and soon oblivion covers it. Marcus Aurelius

See also: quotes to live by

Wisdom Quotes About Knowledge, Learning, Understanding

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Every man hears only what he understands. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn. Gloria Steinem

I want, once and for all, not to know many things. Wisdom requires moderation in knowledge as in other things. Friedrich Nietzsche

Knowledge is overrated. Wisdom is underrated. It’s not accumulation that counts, it’s what you do with it. Maxime Lagacé

Learned we may be with another man’s learning: we can only be wise with wisdom of our own. Michel de Montaigne

Ridding oneself of ignorance is worth more than the acquisition of knowledge. With memory gone the past is gone relinquishing hopes and fears The future is gone. The present is upon you. In every moment. You are free. Wu Hsin

A man cannot understand the art he is studying if he only looks for the end result without taking the time to delve deeply into the reasoning of the study. Miyamoto Musashi

Learning must never cease… The noble person who studies widely and examines himself each day will become clear in his knowing and faultless in his conduct. Xunzi

Knowledge is an accumulation, but intelligence is a quality. James Pierce

Knowledge is not for knowing: knowledge is for cutting. Michel Foucault

Experts don’t walk around claiming to be experts. They demonstrate their expertise through the questions they ask and the knowledge they share. Adam Grant

Obviously, the more hard lessons you can learn vicariously, instead of from your own terrible experiences, the better off you will be. Charlie Munger

Knowledge all by itself, without deep wisdom, ends up becoming despair. Ram Dass

The guru can only point out your errors. When you drop your errors, you will know the truth. Anthony de Mello

The ultimate test of your knowledge is your capacity to convey it to another. Richard Feynman

Only a man who loves to prove himself wrong is the true seeker of knowledge. Thibaut

Reflect on everything you hear, but believe only on proof. Publius Syrus

Related topics: knowledge, learning

See also: 12 Ways to become Wiser (inspiringtips.com)

Wisdom Quotes About Philosophy

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Science is what you know. Philosophy is what you don’t know. Bertrand Russell

The object of education is to teach us to love beauty. Plato

Philosophy is at once the most sublime and the most trivial of human pursuits. William James

A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion. Francis Bacon

Don’t focus on happiness, focus on peace. It’s impossible to be happy all the time but to be peaceful is. Maxime Lagacé

There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy. Friedrich Nietzsche

Philosophy is life’s dry-nurse, who can take care of us — but not suckle us. Søren Kierkegaard

Constant awareness that everything is born from change. The knowledge that there is nothing nature loves more than to alter what exists and make new things like it. All that exists is the seed of what will emerge from it. You think the only seeds are the ones that make plants or children? Go deeper. Marcus Aurelius

When they go fishing, it is not really fish they are after. It is a philosophic meditation. E.T. Brown

Let there be no unnecessary expenditure either of knowledge or of power. The skilful falconer only flies enough birds to serve for the chase. Baltasar Gracián

Zen has no goal; it is a traveling without point, with nowhere to go. To travel is to be alive, but to get somewhere is to be dead. Alan Watts

There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain. Plato (Republic)

Wisdom Quotes About Desires, Attachment, Sadness, Thinking

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To examine desire is to free oneself from it. James Pierce

The game is not about becoming somebody, it’s about becoming nobody. Ram Dass

If you have desires, you’re human. If you have desires, you’re suffering. Choose wisely. Maxime Lagacé

Maybe that’s enlightenment enough: to know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no moment of smug clarity. Anthony Bourdain

The attachment to beliefs is the greatest shackle. To be free is to know that one does not know. Wu Hsin

Chasing after the things one yearns for is inferior to chasing after the source of the yearning. Wu Hsin

When one is enthralled with the beauty on the surface of the ocean, the immensity of its depths can never be discerned. Wu Hsin

At the center of all desires is the very one that is never examined: the desire to become happy. When one searches for happiness, he remains tied to misery. The two are inseparable. Recognizing the futility of happiness, the wise man drops the search. In dropping the search, life loses the power to make him miserable. James Pierce

High-minded thoughts and inner work are one thing, but all that matters is what you do. The health of our spiritual ideals depends on what we do with our bodies in moments of truth. Ryan Holiday (Stillness is the Key, Amazon book)

One of the most powerful teachings of the Buddhist tradition is that as long as you are wishing for things to change, they never will. Pema Chödrön

The secret of Buddhism is to remove all ideas, all concepts, in order for the truth to have a chance to penetrate, to reveal itself. Thich Nhat Hanh

Events give rise to both emotions and lessons. Often we hold onto emotions and don’t learn. Wisdom is to drop emotions and move on with lessons. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Profundity of thought belongs to youth, clarity of thought to old age. Friedrich Nietzsche

See also: How to Meditate for Clarity, Intuition & Guidance (jackcanfield.com)

Wisdom Quotes About Maturity

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We don’t mature through age; we mature in awareness. Byron Katie

Wisdom: taking a step back without regrets. Maxime Lagacé

When you have wit of your own, it’s a pleasure to credit other people for theirs. Criss Jami

Against the great superiority of another there is no remedy but love. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A sign of intelligence is the ability to recognize intelligence in others. A sign of wisdom is the ability to appreciate the wisdom of others, instead of limiting your learning to your own experience. Possessing a virtue makes it easier to see in others. Adam Grant

If you feel uncomfortable around people smarter than you, you’re status-seeking. If you feel lucky, you’re wealth-seeking. Johnny Uzan

You can learn a lot about someone from how they react to a new idea. Smart people ask questions. Dumb people form opinions. Johnny Uzan

A moment of wrath or of pleasure carries you on farther than many hours of calm, and often a short diversion may put a whole life to shame. Baltasar Gracián

For many, the first step on a spiritual journey is to become lost. The final step is losing one’s self. Wu Hsin

Ordinarily we do not discover the wisdom of our feelings because we do not let them complete their work. We try to suppress them or discharge them in premature action. Not realizing that they are a process of creation which, like birth, begins as a pain and turns into a child. Alan Watts

Maturity of mind is best shown in slow belief. Baltasar Gracián

Trying to force a lock bends the key, for which reason a truly intelligent man never forces an issue. He resorts instead to judo, the “gentle way” of trimming one’s sails to the wind, of rolling with the punch, and of splitting wood along the grain. Alan Watts

The sage does not collect precious things. He does not hold on to ideas. He brings men back to what they have lost. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)

Seeking wisdom externally is what has prevented you from finding it. James Pierce

We should keep our word even to the undeserving. Publius Syrus

Put more confidence in your eyes than your ears. Publius Syrus

If you are a mariner, let landsmen’s business alone. Publius Syrus

In abundance prepare for scarcity. Mencius

Related topics: leadership, humility

Wisdom Quotes About Patience, Success

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Water overcomes all obstacles by its gentleness and pliability. Alan Watts

To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead. Miyamoto Musashi

My secret had been I know what to ignore. Francis Crick (Nobel Prize, 1962)

The wisdom of the head is all about strategy and calmness. The wisdom of the heart is all about perseverance. Be a warrior. Use them both. Maxime Lagacé

The highest level of mastery is simplicity. Most information is irrelevant and most effort is wasted, but only the expert knows what to ignore. James Clear

Simplicity is the end result of long, hard work, not the starting point. Frederick Maitland (See also: simplicity quotes)

Just because it’s not what you were expecting, doesn’t mean it’s not everything you need right now. Paulo Coelho

I am afraid that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and that we have more curiosity than understanding. We grasp at everything, but catch nothing except wind. Michel de Montaigne

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, “Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore”. The “hurt” part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself. Haruki Murakami

The first stage of any compounding activity is a test, to see whether you can endure linear growth long enough, to be worthy of experiencing the exponential kind. Johnny Uzan

One principle eliminates a thousand decisions. Johnny Uzan

The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. Michael Porter

They will envy you for your success, your wealth, for your intelligence, for your looks, for your status – but rarely for your wisdom. Nassim Nicholas Taleb (The Bed of Procrustes)

The classical virtues are all decision-making heuristics to make one optimize for the long term rather than for the short term. Naval Ravikant

If you’ve got a good temperament, which basically means being very patient, yet combine that with a vast aggression when you know enough to do something, then you just gradually learn the game, partly by doing, partly by studying. Charlie Munger

Successful people are those who can go above themselves to see things objectively and manage those things to shape change. Ray Dalio

The person who is in training must strive to habituate himself not to love pleasure, not to avoid hardship, not to be infatuated with living, not to fear death, and in the case of goods or money not to place receiving above giving. Musonius Rufus

It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed. Ram Dass

Knowledge may help you win the game, but wisdom will allow you to see the games that are worth playing. James Pierce

The most valuable insights can’t be bought. They must be earned. Shane Parrish

Quickly done can be quickly undone. To last an eternity requires an eternity of preparation. Baltasar Gracián

Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory, learn when to stop. Robert Greene (The 48 Laws of Power)

Related topic: patience
See also: 10 daily habits that will make you smarter and more successful in the long run (medium.com)

Wisdom Quotes About Happiness, Peace

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To seek happiness is to invite misery. James Pierce

Nothing will satisfy you forever. Nothing will grant you permanent happiness. James Pierce

Because happiness exists only in relation to misery, pleasure in relation to pain, the perceptive man does not try to separate them. Alan Watts

Ingratitude is always a kind of weakness. I have never known men of ability to be ungrateful. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The man who understands finds almost everything laughable, the man of reason practically nothing. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Stress comes when you do multiple things at once with expectation. Peace comes when you do one thing at once with intention. Sharath Kuruganty

What is called peace by many is merely the absence of disturbance. True peace cannot be disturbed; It resides beyond the reach of disturbance. Wu Hsin

To search for happiness implies its absence. This implication is a fundamental flaw. Happiness is ever present. It may become obscured, such obscuration being temporary. Wu Hsin

Expectation is the grandfather of disappointment. The world can never own a man who wants nothing. Wu Hsin (See also: solitude quotes)

No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power not to want what they don’t have, and to cheerfully put to good use what they do have. Seneca

If you can’t love, accept. If you can’t accept, understand. If you can’t understand, respect. If you can’t respect, ignore. If you can’t ignore, grow up. Maxime Lagacé

Happiness is about learning how to ignore that which doesn’t really matter. Thibaut

Be here now. Don’t anticipate. Don’t yearn for things of the past. Let the past go with forgiveness. And let the future go with no anticipation. Ram Dass

Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee. Michel de Montaigne

Happiness cannot consist in things governed by chance. Boethius

Who has the greatest possessions? He who wants least. Publius Syrus

The brave man is he who overcomes not only his enemies but his pleasures. Democritus

Related topic: letting go

See also: 7 Daily Habits to Living a More Fulfilling and Happier Life (thriveglobal.com)

Part 4. Conclusion

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A great man is one who has not lost the child’s heart. Mencius

The most important knowledge is that which guides the way you lead your life. Leo Tolstoy (A Calendar of Wisdom, Amazon book)

Call to action: Read 11 Habits Of Calm People That Keep Them Relaxed & In Control Of Their Emotions (bustle.com) or A Calendar of Wisdom: Tolstoy on Knowledge and the Meaning of Life (brainpickings.org)

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Author Bio

maxime lagace

Maxime Lagacé started collecting quotes in 2004 after he lost his girlfriend in a car accident.

In search of meaning, he dived in the self-improvement world, psychology and trail running.

Books, blogs, quotes and nature became his guide.

He started journaling, reflecting, writing his thoughts, feelings and quotes.

His goal was to understand his pain, his depression, his fears, his lack of motivation and inspiration.

He finished his software engineering degree in 2007 at the École de Technologie Supérieure de Montréal.

A few years later, he started his first website to share his love of quotes.

Maxime is a father of two, husband, and INFJ.

Other notable interests of Maxime are health (mental and physical), meditation, bananas, SEO, human potential, and education.

You can find him on X, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube.

Last update

July 15, 2021

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