The fool who knows his foolishness, is wise at least so far. But a fool who thinks himself wise, he is called a fool indeed.
A shared theme
Humility
The proud are brought low and the humble lifted up: this reversal recurs from the Psalms to the Tao Te Ching to the Guru Granth Sahib. Humility before the Divine and humility toward other people are treated as one virtue seen from two sides.
Buddhism
5 versesChristianity
8 versesBlessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Confucianism
7 versesThere were four things from which the Master was entirely free. He had no foregone conclusions, no arbitrary predeterminations, no obstinacy, and no egoism.
Hinduism
0 versesNo passage in the collection yet.
Islam
6 versesCall on your Lord with humility and in private: for Allah loveth not those who trespass beyond bounds.
Jainism
5 verses"The beautiful (gods) with joined hands praise and worship the highest Lord (i.e. the Tîrthakara) as the planets, &c., (praise) the moon.
Judaism
6 versesWhen pride cometh, then cometh shame; But with the lowly is wisdom.
Sikhism
5 versesCall everyone exalted; no one seems lowly. The One Lord has fashioned the vessels, and His One Light pervades the three worlds.
Sufism
5 versesBalm to mine eyes the dust, my head I bow / Upon thy stair. / Where shall I go, where from thy presence? thou / Art everywhere. …
Taoism
0 versesNo passage in the collection yet.
Where the traditions differ
Taoism's humility is almost cosmological — water, which seeks the lowest place, is its image of the Tao. Confucian humility is relational and ritual, expressed in deference. In the Abrahamic traditions humility is the creature's right posture before the Creator, and pride is often named the root sin. In Buddhism the deepest humility is the dissolution of the conceit 'I am'. Sikhism makes humility (nimrata) one of five core virtues and pairs it with service.