Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Gesar of Ling གེ་སར་རྒྱལ་པོ།

11th century CE

Generally considered a real person in Tibet and Mongolia, a legend like King Arthur by western scholars, Gesar represents the heroism and wisdom necessary to overcoming the negative impulses in society, culture, and government that oppress people and prevents happiness from flourishing. Called the world's last living epic, the Gesar story includes more than 120 volumes, a million verses, and 2100 hours of oral performance - the largest body of epic literature in history. The Gesar epics derives from Indian Buddhism, native Tibetan Bön, and alchemical Taoism. Like Homer’s Iliad, they include performance, poetry, philosophy, education, politics and religion.

Eras

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Gesar of Ling Epic

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Quotes by Gesar of Ling (67 quotes)

“Except for the enemies of the Buddha's doctrine and those who bring harm to sentient beings, I, Gesar, have no enemies.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Enemy

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“If the rain has not moistened the crops, then what is the point of placing seeds there?”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Agriculture Water

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“For their minds are dry as a piece of rock;
If you do not carve its hard surface with a chisel,
Even if you soak it in a stream, it will not give way.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Perseverance

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“Straight arrows hit the distant target,
One sign and the wise person understands.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“If the proverb's secret inner meaning does not become clear,
If you can't feel the results in your life,
All those words are just bubbles of spit.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“If you throw the six grains in a meadow, there will be no sprouts.
If you plant seeds in a plowed field, then you get results.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“The more a rich man values a horse,
The more stubborn-headed the merchant is on his selling price.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Business

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“If you do not know the measure of your own sleep,
The slumber of your ignorance will be inexhaustible.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Ignorance

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“If you yourself are unable to be fulfilled,
Your greedy rich man's mind will never be satisfied.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Greed

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“No need to tell you what you already know.
No need to point out what you already see.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Less is More

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“Anything is possible to dream in the spring;
Anything can grow in the summer fields.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Dream

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“There must be a great purpose for a great mountain to shake.
There must be a great purpose to roll out the carpet of the great plain.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Meaningfulness

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“Like a man struck by a stone he throws in the air, the leader who lacks a gentle mind will be punished by karma as he punishes others.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“A field which has not been worked will not bear fruit even if the six grains are sown.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Gardening

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“Unless words have great meaning, they will not escape his mouth. Unless there is a point to his actions, he will not resolve his mind.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Inscrutable

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“Don't pound the black poison ax of selfishness on the solid gold boulder of our common welfare.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“If there is transgression of the hierarchy, it is a matter of the secular law of the chieftains.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“When a mischievous horse is allowed to run free, the rider will be thrown to the ground.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“If the many don't offer up their opinions, the learned will not come to resolution.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Democracy

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“Final decisions should be made face to face... with verbal consensus, mental concurrence, and equality of intention.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Strategy

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“Without farming, harvests are difficult, without exertion, accomplishing a goal is difficult.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“When the glorious gate of merit turns upside down, no matter how hard you work, all you get are blisters.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“I need a wife who is a wisdom dakini, who is without the biased conduct of a worldly life”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Marriage

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“With the armor and weapons of patience and knowledge, what need is there for an iron bow and sharp weapons?”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Patience

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“Unless we are crushed by conditions... unless our own mouths water from hunger, we never appreciate a poor man's need to hoard.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“When flames consume the mountains and valleys it is too late. If the canals are not built when the water is low, when the floods breach the banks it is too late.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Water

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“When it comes to life itself, don't be stingy with possessions; when it comes to possessions, don't be careless; when it come to care-taking, be zealous in your exertion.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Materialism

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“Just as one turns to the warmth of the sun, whoever shows great kindness must be rewarded.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Kindness

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“The merit of the colorful meadow magnetizes the rain without invitation. The merit of the irrigation ditches in the field magnetizes the southern clouds without invitation.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Virtue

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“if the conch moon did not rise in the sky, who could find their way in the pitch black of night?”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Moon

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“Although there is no intention to hurt each other's feelings with evil words that's the likely outcome if the mind is stirred to anger.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Anger

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“When at war, if somebody is lost to the enemy, a full account should be reported to the warriors.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“Though the sun and moon both appear in the azure firmament, the blue sky does not favor one over the other.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Equality

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“Although the stars are greater in number, it is the moon which dispels the darkness.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Simplicity

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“Each man his own song; each bird, its own voice.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Sacred World

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“If the minds of one hundred men are in harmony, it is like the synchronized gait of one hundred horses.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Mind

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“You are of the ancestral lineage of the gods of clear light, the lineage of the mahasiddhas... therefore, your dream is not deluded.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“If you don't liberate yourself through realization on the spot, it will be difficult to benefit others with compassion.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Carpe diem

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“Power in another's hand,
Is like our own hair caught in a tree branch.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Power

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“A man who guzzles the ocean
Needs a stomach the size of the sky.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Greed

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“No tracks of the bird in the sky;
No path of wind for the bird”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: No Trace

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“Better an auspicious connection than a hundred material goods.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Friendship

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“Only poison will cure illness brought on by poison;
If you want to cut iron only iron will do.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Medicine

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“Sons and nephews without fathers and uncles
May be strong, but it is said that they are like a tigress wandjyering an empty plain.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Family

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“It's easy to extinguish a fire when it's small,
You don't even need water.
It's easy to subjugate an enemy when he is small,
You don't even need weapons.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“When heat and moisture unite on the square plain, whatever you do helps the green grass to grow. When life flourishes like the rising patterns within a skullcup, whatever harm is inflicted will become beneficial.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Transmutation

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“If you do not take the path of a miserable mind, how can you encounter the wealth of mental joy?
If you cross over the treacherous crag, you'll arrive at the flat plain.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Obstacles

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“For the merchant who ventures afar—unless he takes his own means into account; the enticements of the marketplace will be never-ending.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Know Yourself

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“Those who are penniless but still obsessed with business seem to have sold themselves out to debt.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Slavery

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“When the treasure wealth of a great chieftain is kept, it doesn't increase; but when given away, it does.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Wealth

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“Just as karma from past lifetimes cannot be sidestepped,
Wrinkles on one's forehead cannot be erased.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Karma

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“The maiden girl carries her gold as ornaments on her body. Her aim is to attract a gigolo... planning to make her cunt and its coverings common property... The mind of a girl and that of a pig are the same: one will wiggle their ass in front of a boy and the other in front of food.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Prostitution

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“There are more maidens here than grass on the mountains, but an eligible life-mate is rarer than gold.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Marriage

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“A superior maiden has the looks of a goddess, longevity, merit, and splendor surround her. Her mind and thoughts are like a crystal vase that seems to be filled with the amrita of everlasting companionship.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“Happiness follows sadness just as day follows night;
The glow of dawn guides us out of the dark of night.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Happiness

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“When you're cold, your clothes have no weight;
When you're starving, your food has no nutrition.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“The rich man with no generosity,
Though he has collected wealth through avarice,
At the time of death will be naked and empty-handed.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“The warrior who has no restraint,
Though hearty and brave, will die by the sword.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Discipline

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“The ruler who has no loving kindness
May enforce the law, but will lose his districts.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“Even though there is no pain in the body, there is still pain in the mind.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Suffering

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“Being able to make your own decisions
Is more empowering than receiving a hundred golden letters from the imperial chieftain.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Free Will

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“Having personal freedom
Brings greater happiness than assuming a thousand golden thrones.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Freedom

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“Words without deeds
Are like a bird without wings.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

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“Freedom from conceptualization is the secret of the great secret.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Golden Chains

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“The sun of happiness will dawn.
The darkness of suffering will be cleared.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Confidence

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“When good fortune comes to the mouth, the tongue accidentally pushes it out.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Mistakes

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“The good looks of that reckless maiden
May be pleasant to look at,
But if you get together with her, it will be a den of corruption.”

from Gesar of Ling Epic

Themes: Confusion

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