… The Master said, "A great question indeed! "In festive ceremonies, it is better to be sparing than extravagant. In the ceremonies of mourning, it is better that there be deep sorrow than a minute attention to observances."
子曰、大哉問。禮、與其奢也、寧儉、喪、與其易也、寧戚。
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
As the bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the flower, or its colour or scent, so let a sage dwell in his village.
O Children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters.
ALL this, whatsoever moves on earth, is to be hidden in the Lord (the Self). When thou hast surrendered all this, then thou mayest enjoy. Do not covet the wealth of any man!
He may enjoy all sorts of corrupt pleasures, but he is still not satisfied; he indulges again and again, wearing himself out, until he dies. Without contentment, no one is satisfied.
Eat in proportion to thy hunger; how can he give praises who scarce can breathe by reason of his gluttony? He whose stomach is full is void of wisdom. The prey is entrapped in the snare because of its greed. …
'If there were numberless mountains of gold and silver, as big as Kailâsa, they would not satisfy a greedy man; for his avidity is boundless like space. 'Knowing that the earth with its crops of rice and barley, with its gold and cattle, that all this put together will not satisfy one single man, one should practise austerities.'
If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed. The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it. … Hence the sage puts away excessive effort, extravagance, and easy indulgence.