The Duke of Sheh asked Tsze-lu about Confucius, and Tsze-lu did not answer him. The Master said, "Why did you not say to him,—He is simply a man, who in his eager pursuit (of knowledge) forgets his food, who in the joy of its attainment forgets his sorrows, and who does not perceive that old age is coming on?"
葉公問孔子於子路、子路不對。子曰、女奚不曰、其爲人也、發憤忘食、樂以忘憂、不知老之將至云爾。
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; …
You have crossed the great ocean; why do you halt so near the shore? make haste to get on the other side; Gautama, &c.
Whatsoever thy hand attaineth to do by thy strength, that do; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
That man can have nothing but what he strives for; That (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight: Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete;
Earnestness is the path of immortality (Nirvâna), thoughtlessness the path of death. Those who are in earnest do not die, those who are thoughtless are as if dead already.
Tukla, king of Persia, once visited a devotee and said: “Fruitless have been my years. None but the beggar carries riches from the world when earthly dignities are passed. Hence, would I now sit in the corner of devotion that I might usefully employ the few short days that yet remain to me.” The devotee was angered at these words. “Enough!” he cried. “Religion consists alone in the service of the people; it finds no place in the rosary, or prayer-rug, or tattered garment. Be a king in sovereignty and a devotee in purity of morals. Action, not words, is demanded by religion, for words without action are void of substance.”