"A duck’s legs are short, but if we try to lengthen them, the duck will feel pain."

"The mind of the sage is tranquil. It is a mirror of heaven and earth, a looking glass for all creation."

"A monkey trainer tells his monkeys that he will give them three nuts in the morning and four in the evening. The monkeys are outraged. So the trainer changes course. He offers the monkeys four in the …"

"The sage embraces things as they are, and does not contend with them."

"If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff, even though he be a bad-tempered man, he will not get angry. But if there is someone in the other boat, he will shout at him…"