February 14

A holy spirit lives within you.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

— John 3:3

Intellect can be enlightened only in a kind person. A person can be kind only when he has an enlightened intellect. One helps the other.

— Chinese Wisdom

A merchant married a princess, and he built a palace for her, bought luxurious dresses for her, and brought her hundreds of servants to make her happy. But the princess was bored. She was missing something, and she constantly thought about her royal origin. Thus it is with a human soul: you can surround it with all the pleasures on earth, but it will still be missing its home, the beginning which is called God, the place from which it has originated.

— After the Talmud

Even if people do not know what real kindness is, they nevertheless have it within them.

— Confucius

God lives in every one of us. When a person remembers this, the thought of it can save him from evil, and help him to do good.

February 7

Perfecting the self is both an inner and an outer work: You cannot improve yourself without communicating with other people, influencing them, and being influenced by them.

Three temptations torture people: sexual desire, pride and lust for wealth. All the misfortunes of mankind come from these three cravings. Without them; people would live in happiness. But how can we get rid of these terrible illnesses? . . . Work on yourself and improve yourself; this is the answer. Start the improvement of this world from within.

— F. Robert De Lamennais

“Be perfect, as your heavenly Father,” Christ said. This does not mean that Christ asked people to be as good as God, only that everyone should strive for perfection.

Pure perfection can be found only in God; one’s life consists of becoming closer to God. And when a person knows that good is good and that evil is evil, then he or she gets closer to good, and moves farther from evil.

— Confucius

There is nothing more harmful to you than improving only your material, animal side of life. There is nothing more beneficial, both for you and for others, than activity directed to the improvement of your soul.

January 29

Wisdom is knowing the purpose of life, and knowing how to achieve it.

You can achieve wisdom in three ways. The first way is the way of meditation. This is the most noble way. The second way is the way of imitation. This is the easiest and least satisfying way. Thirdly, there is the way of experience. This is the most difficult way.

— Confucius

The merit of a man is not in the knowledge. He possesses, but in the effort he made to achieve it.

— Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

If you want to study yourself - look into the hearts of other people. If you want to study other people – look into your own heart.

— Friedrich Von Schiller

Your soul is both your judge and your place of sanctuary. Your own soul is your highest judge.

There is nothing in which real wisdom cannot be displayed.

January 11

Perfection is impossible without humility. "Why should I strive for perfection, if I am already good enough?”

 

The higher the position you occupy among other people, the more humble you should be. Many people live in height and glory, but the mysteries of this world can be revealed only to those who are humble. Do not seek out complication. Treat your duty with respect. Do not study what you should not. More things have already been revealed to you than you can understand.

— From Apocrypha

 

The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

— Matthew 20:28

 

Some of your friends praise you, and others blame
and criticize you; be closer to those who blame
you and further from those who praise you.

— The Talmud

 

When an arrow does not hit its target, the marksman blames himself, not another person. A wise man behaves in the same way.

— Confucius

 

Remember all the bad things which you have done, and try to avoid doing bad things again. Remembering only your good deeds will interfere with your doing good in the future.

December 8

It seems so easy to fulfill the law of God that is expressed in the Christian teaching, but we are still so far from this fulfillment.

The law of right living is not immediately clear to the wise man, but it becomes much clearer when he follows it. The law of right living is immediately clear to the ordinary person, but it becomes less obvious when he tries to follow it.

— Confucius

There is only one eternal law. It does not change and it governs all people at all times.

— Marcus Tullius Cicero 

October 5

Your spirit must constantly assert itself because your body is constantly exerting itself. As soon as you stop working at your spirit, then your body will have complete power over you.

 

What is not clear should be cleared up. What is not easy to do, should be done with great persistence.

— Confucius

 

We suffer from our vices, and try to struggle with them, and the reason for this struggle is that we are not perfect. But our salvation is in this struggle with vices, and if God were to take away our ability to fight our vices, then we would be left with them forever.

— Blaise Pascal

 

A good thing is always done with an effort, and when the effort is repeated several times, then a good thing becomes a habit.

 

Do not detest any action which helps you to achieve good, or even more importantly — which can prevent you from doing evil.

September 21

The most important and necessary expression of freedom is to give your thought a specific direction.

 

Work toward the purification of your thoughts. Without bad thoughts you will be incapable of bad deeds.

— Confucius

 

Everything is in heaven's power, except for our choice of whether to serve God or ourselves.

 

We cannot prevent birds from flying over our heads, but we can keep them from making nests on top of our heads. Similarly, bad thoughts sometimes appear in our mind, but we can choose whether we allow them to live there, to create a nest for themselves, and to breed evil deeds.

— Martin Luther

 

It is a sin, not only to do bad things, but even to think about bad things.

— Zoroaster

September 13

A wise man does not wish to change his situation, because he knows that it is possible to fulfill the law of God – the law of love – in every situation.

A wise man looks for everything inside of himself; a madman seeks for everything in others.

— Confucius

I never complain about my fate. Once, I did not have shoes, and I complained to God. I went into church with a heavy heart and in the church I saw a man without both feet. So I thanked God that he had given me both feet, and that my only problem was that they were unshod. — Muslih-Ud-Din Saadi

A wise man innately knows how to act without searching, because he has the divine within himself. The further you search and seek, the less you know.

— Lao-Tzu

You should treat your thoughts the way you treat your self, and treat your wishes the way you treat your children.

— Chinese Wisdom

Try to establish an inner silence in yourself, a complete silence of your lips and your heart. Then you will hear how God speaks to us, and you will know how to fulfill His will.

The more upset a person is with other people, and with circumstances, and the more satisfied he is with himself, the further he is from wisdom.

September 4

Real goodness is not something that can be acquired in an instant, but only through constant effort, because real goodness lies in constantly striving for perfection.

The following words were carved on the bathroom of the king Jinx-Hang: "Renew yourself completely every day, and starting afresh, from the beginning."

— Chinese Wisdom

The journey of the wise to virtue is as a journey to a remote land, or the ascent of a high mountain. People who travel to a faraway place start with a single step, and those who climb a high mountain start from the bottom.

— Confucius

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

— Luke 9:62

Strive for goodness without any expectations for rapid or noticeable success. You will not see the results of your efforts, because the further you progress, the higher the ideal of perfection toward which you strive, rises. The effort of striving for goodness, the process itself, justifies our lines.

August 17

Kindness is a necessary addition to everything.

All the best qualities of mankind are meaningless and worthless without kindness, and even the worst vices can be easily forgiven with kindness.

There is a natural kindness which comes from our external attributes, from our inheritance, audience, good or bad indigestion, success, etc. This kind of kindness is very pleasant, both for the person who experiences it and for the people around him. And there is another type kindness which comes from inner, spiritual work. This kindness is less attractive, but although the first kindness can easily change or be transformed into hatred, the second kind of kindness will never disappear and will constantly grow.

The goodness which you do gives you pleasure, but not satisfaction. No matter how much goodness you do, you should wish to do more and more.

— Confucius

Kindness is the major quality of the soul. If a person is not kind, it is because he was subjected to some lie, passion, or temptation which violated his natural state.

April 2

The only real life is one lived close to God. This does not happen by itself; you must make an effort to make this happen, and this effort will bring you joy.

A habit is never good, even a habit of doing good deeds. Good deeds, after they become habits, are no longer acts of virtue. Real good is only achieved with effort.

— IMMANUEL KANT

When you carry your burden, you should know that it is good for you to have it. Make the best of this burden and take from it everything which is necessary for your intellectual life, as your stomach takes from food everything necessary for your flesh, or as fire burns brighter after you put some wood on it.

— MARCUS AURELIUS

Be attentive to what you do; never consider anything unworthy of your attention.

— CONFUCIUS

Spiritual effort and the joy that comes from understanding life go hand in hand like physical exertion and rest. Without physical exertion, there is no joy in rest; without spiritual effort, there can be no joyful understanding of life.

July 24

When one understands life’s law, one manifests the part of God which lives inside him.

Every man, from the king to the poorest pauper, should seek his own perfection, because only self-perfection improves mankind.

— Confucius

In the long run, people achieve only that which they have set as goals for themselves; therefore, set the highest possible goals for yourself.

The fulfillment of the law of goodness has nothing in common with everyday material prosperity. Sometimes material prosperity and moral goodness clash in conflict. These sufferings lead to the highest elevation of spirit.

June 21

The misery of the unintellectual life brings us to the need for an intellectual life.

Before, I lived in sin, and I saw that the majority of people around me lived in the same way. Like a robber, I knew I was unhappy and I suffered, and that people around me were unhappy and they suffered; and I didn’t see any way out of this situation except for suicide or death. Life seemed terrible to me. And then I heard the words of Christ and I understood them. And life ceased to seem an evil, and instead of desperation I felt a happiness for life which surpasses even death.

We can understand wisdom in three ways: first, by meditation; this is the most noble way. Secondly, by being influenced by someone or following someone; this is the easiest way. Third is the way of experience; this is the most difficult way.

— Confucius

When you suffer, think not on how you can escape suffering, but concentrate your efforts on what kind of inner moral and spiritual perfection this suffering requires.

All the misfortunes of mankind collectively and individually are not useless; they bring people and individuals and nations in different ways closer to the purpose which is set before them: the appearance of God, for every person in himself, and in all mankind.

June 14

When you make an effort not to blame other people, your life becomes much easier, but very few people make this small effort.

In the lives of the saints, there is the story of the hermit who saw in his dream a monk who had died long ago, and who had been rather weak in his life. The monk was in an especially lovely and honored part of paradise. The hermit asked, “How were you granted this place, with all your weaknesses?” and the monk answered that it was because he had never blamed, not a single person in his life.

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

— Romans 2:1

The more strictly and mercilessly you judge yourself the more just and kind you will be in the judgment of others.

— Confucius

Do not glorify in blaming and despising other people. A kind person should hide the shame of others, even those who have harmed him. Do not remember one who repents his former sins.

— The Talmud

Unless you yourself are sinless, do not say a single word about the sins of others, but be quiet. If you make it a habit not to blame others, you will feel the growth of the ability to love in your soul, and you will see the growth of goodness in your life.

May 20

For a person, for an animal, indeed for any living being, there is neither logic not meaning in the word “freedom” because all our lives are limited by many constraints. And yet if a person understands himself as a spiritual being, he cannot even speak about not being free: the idea of not being free cannot be applied to the notions of intellect, conscience, and love.

Remember that your understanding of your inner self holds the meaning of your life, and it makes you free if you do not force it to serve to your flesh. The human soul which is enlightened by understanding and freed from passions, and lit with the divine light, stands on a firm foundation.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

— John 8:32

Evil does not exist in material nature by itself, but evil exists for every person who understands goodness, and who has the freedom of choice between good and bad.

— Marcus Aurelius

We understand very clearly that to be a person with high morals is to be a person with a liberated soul. Those who are disappointed or concerned or afraid, or who are involved in passions, cannot free their souls.

— Confucius

People who deny freedom remind me of blind people who deny colors. They do not know the nature of freedom.

May 15

Truth is not virtue, but the lack of vices.

The most common and the most widely used deceit is the wish to deceive not other people, but yourself. And this kind of life is the most harmful.

There are thousands of ways which lead to deception, and there is only one way which leads to the truth.

— Jean Jacques Rousseau

People should follow only the indisputable truth.

— Confucius

Truthfulness is the only real currency which circulates everywhere.

— Chinese Proverb

Let us be truthful. This is the mystery of rhetoric and virtue, this is the biggest mystery, this is the highest achievement in art and the major law of life.

— Henri Amiel

One of the most common mistakes is to think that you can live without truth. The inner and outer consequences of even the smallest lies are usually more harmful than those small unpleasant things which result from telling the truth directly.

May 3

The life of Jesus Christ is very important for us as an example of a life of one who could not see the fruits of his work during his lifetime.

Clever people study in order to know more. Undeserving people study to be more known.

— Eastern Wisdom

In order to reach spiritual perfection, you should first of all take care of the purity of your soul. This can be reached when the heart looks for truth, and strives for wholeness, and depends on true knowledge.

— Confucius

If you would like to know how to recognize a prophet, look to him who gives you the knowledge of your own heart.

— Persian Wisdom

Every person has only one purpose: to find perfection in goodness. Therefore, only that knowledge is necessary which leads us to this.