Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Francis of Assisi

1181 – 1226 CE

One of the most venerated religious figures in history and considered the patron saint of animals and the natural environment, a pope confirmed Francis as “Patron Saint of Ecology.” He believed nature itself is “the mirror of God” and he’s closely connected to the lineage of Lao Tzu, the early Taoists, Thoreau, Emerson, and Native Americans. He traveled widely, worked hard to end the Crusades, dedicated himself and his followers to poverty and helping the poor, exposed the materialism of the church leaders of his time, and by many accounts successfully changed history.

Eras

Unlisted Sources

Canticle of the Sun

Quotes by Francis of Assisi (10 quotes)

“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

Chapters: 67. Three Treasures

Themes: Inspiration

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“Be praised my Lord through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.”

from Canticle of the Sun

Chapters: 78. Water

Themes: Water

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“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”

Chapters: 27. No Trace

Themes: Compassion

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“No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.”

Chapters: 69. No Enemy

Themes: Enemy Projection

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“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received – only what you have given.”

Chapters: 77. Stringing a Bow

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“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some people will ever hear.”

Chapters: 70. Inscrutable

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“We should seek not so much to pray but to become prayer.”

Chapters: 32. Uncontrived Awareness

Themes: Christianity

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“What you're looking for is where you're looking from.”

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“Be praised my Lord, for sister moon and the stars, in the sky you have made them brilliant and precious and beautiful.”

from Canticle of the Sun

Themes: Moon

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“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

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Quotes about Francis of Assisi (3 quotes)

“Francis was one of the first, the first consummate flower to rise out of the discord-tilled winder of the Middle Ages. His hear was simple, happy, and chaste; his eyes, like those of children and great poets, always saw the world for the first time... After so many centuries, Francis was the first to see the world with virgin eyes.”

Nikos Kazantzakis 1883 – 1957 CE via P. A. Bien
from Report to Greco

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“Just as Israel has been rendered archaic by the institution of the church, so the Church is rendered archaic by individual experience... the Holy spirit who speaks directly to the individual... the first representative of this was Saint Francis of Assisi”

Joseph Campbell 1904 – 1987 CE
Great translator of ancient myth into modern symbols
from Power of Myth

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“At least I've never tried, consciously or otherwise, to turn Jesus into St. Francis of Assisi to make him more 'lovable'—which is exactly what 98% of the Christian world has always insisted on doing.”

J. D. Salinger 1919 – 2010 CE
from Franny and Zooey

Themes: Christianity

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