"Truth is one; the sages call it by various names."
-- Rigveda 1.164.46
Sufi Mysticism
Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273)
"The wound is the place where the Light enters you."
-- Rumi
"What you seek is seeking you."
-- Rumi
"Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth."
-- Rumi
"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."
-- Rumi
"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop."
-- Rumi
"Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray."
-- Rumi
Hafiz of Shiraz (1315-1390)
"I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being."
-- Hafiz
"Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, 'You owe me.' Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky."
-- Hafiz
"Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions."
-- Hafiz
"The words you speak become the house you live in."
-- Hafiz
Vedic & Upanishadic Wisdom
The Mahavakyas (Great Sayings)
"Prajnanam Brahma" -- Consciousness is Brahman (Ultimate Reality)
-- Aitareya Upanishad
"Tat Tvam Asi" -- That Thou Art (You are the Divine)
-- Chandogya Upanishad
"Aham Brahmasmi" -- I am Brahman
-- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
"Ayam Atma Brahma" -- This Self is Brahman
-- Mandukya Upanishad
Upanishadic Teachings
"Asato ma sadgamaya, tamaso ma jyotirgamaya, mrtyor ma amrtam gamaya" -- Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.
-- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
"Satyameva Jayate" -- Truth alone triumphs.
-- Mundaka Upanishad (India's National Motto)
"You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny."
-- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.5
"The little space within the heart is as great as the vast universe. The heavens and the earth are there, and the sun and the moon and the stars."
-- Chandogya Upanishad
"From bliss all beings are born, by bliss they are sustained, and into bliss they return."
-- Taittiriya Upanishad
"Let noble thoughts come to us from all over the universe."
-- Rigveda 1.89.1
"Arise, awake, and learn by approaching the excellent teachers."
-- Katha Upanishad
Ayurvedic Wisdom
"When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; when diet is correct, medicine is of no need."
-- Ayurvedic Proverb
"The tripods of life are satva (mind), atma (soul), and shareera (body)."
-- Charaka Samhita
"Even poison properly used becomes excellent medicine; medicine improperly used becomes poison."
-- Ayurvedic Teaching
Aboriginal Australian Dreamtime
"We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love, and then we return home."
-- Aboriginal Proverb
"The more you know, the less you need."
-- Yidumduma Bill Harney
"Our spirituality is a oneness and interconnectedness with all that lives and breathes, even with all that does not live or breathe."
-- Mudrooroo
"Those who lose dreaming are lost."
-- Aboriginal Proverb
"This earth, I never damage. I look after. Fire is nothing, just clean up. When you burn, new grass coming up."
-- Bill Neidjie
"The land is my mother. Like a human mother, the land gives us protection, enjoyment and provides our needs."
-- Aboriginal Teaching
"To us, health is about so much more than simply not being sick. It's about getting a balance between physical, mental, emotional, cultural and spiritual health."
-- Dr. Tamara Mackean
"We cultivated our land, but in a way different from the white man. We endeavored to live with the land; they seemed to live off it."
-- Tom Dystra
Maori Whakataukī
New Zealand
"Whaia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei" -- Seek the treasure you value most dearly; if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.
-- Maori Proverb
"E rere kau mai te awa nui nei. Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au" -- The river flows from mountains to sea. I am the river and the river is me.
-- Maori Proverb
"Te toto o te tangata he kai, te oranga o te tangata, he whenua" -- While food provides blood in our veins, our health is drawn from the land.
-- Maori Proverb
"Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini" -- Success is not the work of one, but the work of many.
-- Maori Proverb
"Ko taku reo taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria" -- My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul.
-- Maori Proverb
"Whatungarongaro te tangata toitu te whenua" -- As people disappear from sight, the land remains.
-- Maori Proverb
"Ka pu te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi" -- The old net is cast aside, while the new net goes catching.
-- Maori Proverb on Renewal
Hawaiian 'Olelo No'eau
"Ua ola loko i ke aloha" -- Love gives life within.
-- Hawaiian Proverb
"He ali'i ka 'aina; he kaua ke kanaka" -- The land is chief; man is its servant.
-- Hawaiian Proverb
"Hahai no ka ua i ka ulula'au" -- Rains always follow the forest.
-- Hawaiian Proverb
"Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono" -- The life of the land is preserved in righteousness.
-- Hawai'i State Motto
"Nana ka maka, ho'olohe ka pepeiao, pa'a ka waha" -- Observe with eyes, listen with ears, shut the mouth. Thus one learns.
-- Hawaiian Proverb
"'A'ohe pu'u ki'eki'e ke ho'a'o 'ia e pi'i" -- No cliff is so tall it cannot be climbed.
-- Hawaiian Proverb
"Kulia i ka nu'u" -- Strive to reach the highest.
-- Queen Kapi'olani's Motto
"Ma ka hana ka 'ike" -- In working one learns.
-- Hawaiian Proverb
"He punawai kahe wale ke aloha" -- Love is a spring that flows freely.
-- Hawaiian Proverb
Norse Wisdom
The Havamal -- Sayings of the High One (Odin)
"Cattle die, kinsmen die, the self must also die; I know one thing that never dies: the fame of a dead man's deeds."
-- Havamal, Verse 76
"I was young once, I walked alone, and I became lost on my way. I felt like I was rich when I met another traveler -- people's joy is in other people."
-- Havamal
"A farm of your own is better, even if small. Everyone's someone at home."
-- Havamal, Verse 36
"The wise man knows he knows nothing; the fool thinks he knows all."
-- Norse Proverb
"Do not start if afraid; once begun, do not be afraid."
-- Norse Proverb
"A bad friend lives far away though his house lies on your road, but it's no distance to one who is dear though you travel many miles."
-- Havamal
"Fire is needed by the newcomer, whose knees are frozen; food and clothing are needed by the one who has wandered over the mountains."
-- Havamal on Hospitality
"I hung on that windy tree nine whole days and nights, stabbed with a spear, offered to Odin, myself to mine own self given."
-- Havamal, Verse 137 (Odin's Sacrifice for Wisdom)
Ancient Egyptian Wisdom
The Maxims of Ptahhotep (~2400 BCE) -- The Oldest Written Wisdom Literature in Human History
"Let your face be bright as long as you live."
-- Ptahhotep
"Injustice exists in abundance, but evil can never succeed in the long run."
-- Ptahhotep
"The mild man receives more respect than the strong."
-- Ptahhotep
"Listening benefits the listener."
-- Ptahhotep
"Only speak when you have something worth saying."
-- Ptahhotep
"There is no tomb for the greedy-hearted."
-- Ptahhotep
"A woman with a happy heart brings equilibrium."
-- Ptahhotep
"May your heart never be vain because of what you know. Take counsel from the ignorant as well as the wise."
-- Ptahhotep
"Those who live today will die tomorrow, those who die tomorrow will be born again; those who live Maat will not die."
-- Ancient Egyptian Teaching
"Know thyself deathless and able to know all things, all arts, sciences, the way of every life."
-- Egyptian Wisdom
Persian & Zoroastrian Wisdom
"Truth is best of all that is good."
-- Zoroaster, The Gathas
"Seek your happiness in the happiness of all."
-- Zoroaster
"One need not scale the heights of heavens, nor travel along highways of the world to find Ahura Mazda. With purity of mind and holiness of heart one can find Him in one's own heart."
-- Zoroastrian Teaching
"Always meet petulance with gentleness and perverseness with kindness. A gentle hand can lead even an elephant by a hair."
-- Persian Proverb
"When we are in doubt whether an action is good or bad, abstain from it."
-- Zoroastrian Teaching
"Do not lose joy in life as you grow old in years."
-- Persian Proverb
"A knife of the keenest steel requires the whetstone, and the wisest man needs advice."
-- Persian Proverb
"A friend is known in adversity."
-- Persian Proverb
Tibetan Buddhist Wisdom
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
"Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them."
-- Dalai Lama
"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions."
-- Dalai Lama
"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."
-- Dalai Lama
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."
-- Dalai Lama
"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."
-- Dalai Lama
"The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self."
-- Dalai Lama
"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito."
-- Dalai Lama
"Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck."
-- Dalai Lama
"Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively."
-- Dalai Lama
"Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay."
-- Dalai Lama
"For an evil such as anger, there is no practice like patience."
-- Tibetan Buddhist Proverb
Mongolian Wisdom
"If you want to build high, you must dig deep."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"Do not start if afraid; once begun, do not be afraid."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"The distance between heaven and earth is no greater than one thought."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"The supreme treasure is knowledge, the middle treasure is children, and the lowest treasure is material wealth."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"It is easier to catch an escaped horse than to take back an escaped word."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"If mind is clean, fate is good."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"A man fails seven times and rises eight times."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"The sky, like a mother's embrace, covers everything beneath it."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"Greed keeps men forever poor; even the abundance of this world will not make them rich."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"Haste is the enemy of speed."
-- Mongolian Proverb
"In a good word there are three winters' warmth; in one malicious word there is pain for six cold months."
-- Mongolian Proverb
Korean Wisdom
"Well begun is half done."
-- Korean Proverb
"At the end of hardship comes happiness."
-- Korean Proverb
"Where soybeans are planted, soybeans grow; where red beans are planted, red beans grow."
-- Korean Proverb (You reap what you sow)
"It is dark under the lamp."
-- Korean Proverb (We often can't see what's right in front of us)
"Even the tiger comes when you speak of it."
-- Korean Proverb
"A rice cake that looks good will taste good too."
-- Korean Proverb
"Actions speak louder than words."
-- Korean Proverb
Vietnamese Wisdom (Tuc Ngu)
"When eating fruit, remember who planted the tree."
-- Vietnamese Proverb
"Water flowing wears away stone."
-- Vietnamese Proverb
"One tree does not make a mountain; three trees together form a high mountain."
-- Vietnamese Proverb
"Rivers have meanders; human life has phases."
-- Vietnamese Proverb
"Failure is the mother of success."
-- Vietnamese Proverb
"If you put in the work to sharpen the iron, it will eventually turn into a needle."
-- Vietnamese Proverb
"A day's walk, a basket of wisdom."
-- Vietnamese Proverb
"Near the ink it blackens, near the lamp it lights."
-- Vietnamese Proverb
Thai Wisdom
"He who sows silence reaps peace."
-- Thai Proverb
"He who is under the sky, how can he fear the rain?"
-- Thai Proverb
"Hope rises higher than the mountains."
-- Thai Proverb
"Who helps his body, helps his mind and calms his mind."
-- Thai Proverb
"A virtuous person sleeps well."
-- Thai Proverb
"The sweetness of food doesn't last long, but the sweetness of good words does."
-- Thai Proverb
"The professor is like a boat waiting for passengers to take them across the river."
-- Thai Proverb
"Breaking your leg today can save your life the next day."
-- Thai Proverb
"Wrapped within rags might be gold."
-- Thai Proverb
Inuit Wisdom (Arctic)
"Yesterday is ashes; tomorrow is wood. Only today does the fire burn brightly."
-- Inuit Proverb
"Only when the ice breaks will you truly know who is your friend."
-- Inuit Proverb
"Even the smallest snowflake leaves a mark."
-- Inuit Proverb
"Don't let the seal go and chase the whale."
-- Inuit Proverb
"The sun shines on those who open their eyes to its light."
-- Inuit Proverb
"No one survives alone on the ice."
-- Inuit Proverb
"The patient hunter outlasts the storm."
-- Inuit Proverb
"The stars are holes in heaven. Every time we see the people we loved shining through, we know they're happy."
-- Inuit Teaching
Mayan Wisdom
"Look at yourself in the mirror to see who you really are."
-- Mayan Proverb
"You can't store corn in a basket with holes."
-- Mayan Proverb
"The face of the Earth was not yet visible, only the calm sea and the great expanse of the sky."
-- Popol Vuh
"The face of the lord is not ruined or extinguished. The warrior, the sage abides in his daughters and sons."
-- Popol Vuh
"Dying is easy, beloved. It is living that is difficult. The secret is to live fully, to embrace every instant of existence."
-- Mayan Teaching
"Don't walk on the Earth -- walk with it."
-- Mayan Teaching
Chinese Wisdom
Confucius (551-479 BCE)
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."
-- Confucius
"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps."
-- Confucius
"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."
-- Confucius
Zhuangzi (369-286 BCE)
"Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate."
-- Zhuangzi
"The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap."
-- Zhuangzi
African Ubuntu Wisdom
"Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" -- I am because we are.
-- Ubuntu Philosophy
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
-- African Proverb
"When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind."
-- African Proverb
"The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth."
-- African Proverb
"However long the night, the dawn will break."
-- African Proverb
"Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it."
-- African Proverb
Japanese Wisdom
"Fall seven times, stand up eight."
-- Japanese Proverb
"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."
-- Japanese Proverb
"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."
-- Japanese Proverb
"One who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger."
-- Japanese Proverb
"A frog in a well does not know the great sea."
-- Japanese Proverb
Celtic Wisdom
"The salmon of knowledge swims in the well of wisdom."
-- Celtic Proverb
"There is no strength without unity."
-- Celtic Proverb
"Death is the middle of a long life."
-- Celtic Proverb
Permaculture Wisdom
Bill Mollison
"Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple."
-- Bill Mollison
"The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children."
-- Bill Mollison
David Holmgren
"Observe and interact -- beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
-- David Holmgren
Mycological Wisdom
Paul Stamets
"Mushrooms are the grand molecular disassemblers of nature."
-- Paul Stamets
"We are more closely related to fungi than we are to any other kingdom."
-- Paul Stamets
Western Philosophy
Socrates
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
-- Socrates
"I know that I know nothing."
-- Socrates
Carl Jung
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."
-- Carl Jung
"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
-- Carl Jung
Joseph Campbell
"Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls."
-- Joseph Campbell
"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."
-- Joseph Campbell
Consciousness Explorers
Alan Watts
"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."
-- Alan Watts
"You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing."
-- Alan Watts
Terence McKenna
"Nature is not our enemy, to be raped and conquered. Nature is ourselves, to be cherished and explored."
-- Terence McKenna
"The syntactical nature of reality, the real secret of magic, is that the world is made of words. And if you know the words that the world is made of, you can make of it whatever you wish."
-- Terence McKenna
Spiritual Teachers
Jesus of Nazareth
"The Kingdom of God is within you."
-- Jesus, Luke 17:21
"Love your neighbor as yourself."
-- Jesus
"Judge not, that ye be not judged."
-- Jesus, Matthew 7:1
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
"Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave."
-- Prophet Muhammad
"The best of you are those who are best to their families."
-- Prophet Muhammad
Rudolf Steiner
"For every step in spiritual perception, three steps are to be taken in moral development."
-- Rudolf Steiner
Compiled for Nature's Place
A New Earth Fellowship -- gathering the sacred knowledge of every corner of the Earth, so that the wisdom of our ancestors may guide the world we are building.
35+ Traditions