Ben Zoma said, Who is wise? He that learns from every man; … Who is mighty? He that subdues his nature; … Who is rich? He that is contented with his lot; …
בֶּן זוֹמָא אוֹמֵר, אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם, הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם… אֵיזֶהוּ גִבּוֹר, הַכּוֹבֵשׁ אֶת יִצְרוֹ… אֵיזֶהוּ עָשִׁיר, הַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ…
…but say, "O my Lord! advance me in knowledge."
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Contemplate and reflect upon knowledge, and you will become a benefactor to others.
The Master said, "Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous."
Not to commit any sin, to do good, and to purify one's mind, that is the teaching of (all) the Awakened.
'Happy are we, happy live we who call nothing our own; when Mithilâ is on fire, nothing is burned that belongs to me.
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. …
'Now that which is that subtile essence (the root of all), in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.'
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.