The Master said, "Admirable indeed was the virtue of Hui! With a single bamboo dish of rice, a single gourd dish of drink, and living in his mean narrow lane, while others could not have endured the distress, he did not allow his joy to be affected by it. Admirable indeed was the virtue of Hui!"
子曰、賢哉回也、一簞食、一瓢飮、在陋巷、人不堪其憂、回也不改其樂、賢哉回也。
Better is little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure and turmoil therewith.
So, verily, with every difficulty, there is relief: Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.
A man is not learned because he talks much; he who is patient, free from hatred and fear, he is called learned.
'Happy are we, happy live we who call nothing our own; when Mithilâ is on fire, nothing is burned that belongs to me.
O mind, remain detached in the midst of your household. Practicing truth, self-discipline and good deeds, the Gurmukh is enlightened.
He knows not God nor performs His worship who is not contented with his lot. Contentment maketh a man rich—tell this to the avaricious. …
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
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!
When the Tao prevails in the world, they send back their swift horses to (draw) the dung-carts. When the Tao is disregarded in the world, the war-horses breed in the border lands. There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting. Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and unchanging sufficiency.