Shun no toil to make yourself remarkable by some talent or other; yet do not devote yourself to one branch exclusively. Strive to get clear notions about all. Give up no science entirely; for science is but one.

A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain.

The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.

The best way to sell yourself to others is first to sell the others to yourself.

Only on paper has humanity yet achieved glory, beauty, truth, knowledge, virtue, and abiding love.

If I had never ventured beyond being a stand-up comic, then I would be sitting in my house today working on my Leonardo DiCaprio impression.

I think everybody’s trying to get to a place in themselves where they conquer what they was afraid of; they achieve some of their life goals, kept their word about what they were trying to do.

Timidity makes a person modest. It makes him or her say, ‚I’m not worthy of being written up in the record of deeds in heaven or on earth.‘ Timidity keeps people from their good. They are afraid to say, ‚Yes, I deserve it.‘

In ‚Gran Torino,‘ I play a guy who’s racially offensive. But he learned. It shows that you’re never too old to learn and embrace people that you don’t understand to begin with. It seems like nobody else got that message, I guess.

All of us should be on guard against beliefs that flatter ourselves. At the very least, we should check such beliefs against facts.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.

I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.

It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.

Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.

Men who wish to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details.

The great epochs of our life are the occasions when we gain the courage to rebaptize our evil qualities as our best qualities.

Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one’s living at it.

When you’re coming up with new material, it’s not always gonna be good. The only way to learn is for it not to get a laugh, so you can adjust it and come back the next day to see if it’s working right. Next time, you might get a different laugh. You’re constantly rebuilding.

On Sundays when I speak, I hopefully give somebody something that they can use the next day at work or at home.

I feel that sin and evil are the negative part of you, and I think it’s like a battery: you’ve got to have the negative and the positive in order to be a complete person.

Live the life you’ve dreamed.

I was a smart kid, but I hated school.

Therefore, the good of man must be the end of the science of politics.

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.

He who seeks rest finds boredom. He who seeks work finds rest.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is continually fearing that you’ll make one.

I made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might hamper me from getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of goodness have opened upon me – spiritually and financially.

We should learn to accept that change is truly the only thing that’s going on always, and learn to ride with it and enjoy it.

Most people get a fair amount of fun out of their lives, but on balance life is suffering, and only the very young or the very foolish imagine otherwise.

I have done one thing that I think is a contribution: I helped Buddhist science and modern science combine. No other Buddhist has done that. Other lamas, I don’t think they ever pay attention to modern science. Since my childhood, I have a keen interest.

When I’m really interested in something, I get superfocused on that. And I can spend hours upon hours not getting tired of reading about it and still be interested to learn more about it.

The Bible tells us to be perfect. This is likely a scary thought for many people. It used to scare me. I didn’t think I could ever get there, no matter how hard I tried.

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.

I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life.

Meditation has been a loyal friend to me. It has helped me write my books.

I don’t think about the end game. I’ve got lots to occupy my mind. It’s the rage that keeps me going.

Once someone has spent enough time cultivating bad habits and biding their time, they are much diminished. Much of what they could have been has dissipated.

I want to thank God, obviously for the health, for the talent He’s given me, for my family who supports me, for the things that basketball’s taught me on and off the court. For the people that I’ve been able to meet through the game of basketball.

Science is a beautiful gift to humanity; we should not distort it.

No one can give you better advice than yourself.

Thinking is a wonderful tool if it’s applied. Thinking, however, can not become the master. Thinking is a very bad master. If you’re dominated by thinking then your life becomes very restricted.

Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are, and to make new things like them.

When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.

I’m afraid to fail again.

As scientists, we step on the shoulders of science, building on the work that has come before us – aiming to inspire a new generation of young scientists to continue once we are gone.

Self-worth comes from one thing – thinking that you are worthy.

People tend to dwell more on negative things than on good things. So the mind then becomes obsessed with negative things, with judgments, guilt and anxiety produced by thoughts about the future and so on.

The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.

Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much, are the three pillars of learning.

When ignorance gets started it knows no bounds.

Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.

If your heart is a volcano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom?

Find people who will make you better.

Idleness is the beginning of all vice, the crown of all virtues.

Ridiculous yachts and private planes and big limousines won’t make people enjoy life more, and it sends out terrible messages to the people who work for them. It would be so much better if that money was spent in Africa – and it’s about getting a balance.

I’m sure the feeling of fear, as long as you can take advantage of it and not be rendered useless by it, can make you extend yourself beyond what you would regard as your capacity. If you’re afraid, the blood seems to flow freely through the veins, and you really do feel a sense of stimulation.

However happy people say they are, nobody is satisfied: we always have to be with the prettiest woman, buy a bigger house, change cars, desire what we do not have.

Give whatever you are doing and whoever you are with the gift of your attention.

People who know little are usually great talkers, while men who know much say little.

The man who has done his level best… is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure.