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전산화는 자신이 읽는 책을 읽으며 쓰는 것에 다름 아니다. 책이 나온 이후로, 필사본은 늘 있어왔으며, 전산화는 현대적 의미의 필사본에 다름 아니다.

미국와 살면서 어릴적에 접했던 책들을 다시 영어로 접하고 있는 중이다. 그리고 성서에서 인용한 것은 The Message라는 성서로 다시 인용했다. 다른 어떤 성서보다도 내가 받아들일만한 말씀이다. - 2009/1/14 김민수

January 1

Better to know a few things which are good and necessary than many things which are useless and mediocre.

What a great treasure can be hidden in a small, selected library! A company of the wisest and the most deserving people from all the civilized countries of the world, for thousands of years, can make the results of their studies and their wisdom available to us. The thought which they might not even reveal to their best friends is written here in clear words for us, people from another century. Yes, we should be grateful for the best books, for the best spiritual achievements in our lives. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are too many mediocre books which exist just to entertain your mind. Therefore, read only those books which are accepted without doubt as good. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Read the best books first, otherwise you'll find you do not have time. - Henry David Thoreau

The difference between real material poison and intellectual poison is that most material poison is disgusting to the taste, but intellectual poison, which takes the form of cheap newspapers or bad books, can unfortunately sometimes be attractive.

January 2

One of the worst prejudices known is held by the majority of the so-called scholars of our time, who claim that a person can live without faith.

Throughout the centuries, in every age, people have wanted to know or at least have a vague idea about the source, the beginning, and the final purpose of their existence. Religion satisfies this requirement, and makes clear those connections which unite all people as brothers, revealing to them that they have the same source of origin, the same task for their lives, and the same general final goal. - Giuseppe Mazzini

The essential meaning of every religion is to answer the question "Why do I live, and what is my attitude to the limitless world which surrounds me?" There is not a single religion, from the most sophisticated to the most primitive, which does not have as its basics the definition of this attitude of a person to the world.

At the heard of all religion lies a single unifying truth. Let Persians bear their taovids, Jews wear their caps, Christians beat their cross, Muslims bear their sickle moon, but we have to remember that these are all only outer signs. The general essence of all religions is love to your neighbor, and that this is requested by Manuf, Zoroaster, Buddha, Moses, Socrates, Jesus, Saint Paul, and Mohammed alike. - Ewald Flügel.

The life of a person without faith is the life of an animal.

January 3

Those who know the rules of true wisdom are baser than those who love them. Those who love them are baser than those who follow them. - Chinese Proverb

The most important question to keep before ourselves at all times is this: Do we do the right thing? During this short period of time which call our life, do our acts conform to the will of the force that sent us into the world? Do we do the right thing?

When I am in difficult circumstances, I ask God to help me. But it is my duty to serve the Lord, and not His to serve me. As soon as I remember this, my burden becomes lighter.

We have to fulfill honestly and irrepoachably the work destined for us. It does not matter whether we hope that we will become angels some day, or believe that we have originated from slugs. - John Ruskin

Just imagine that the purpose of your life is your happiness only --- then life becomes a cruel and senseless thing. You have to embrace what the wisdom of humanity, your intellect, and your heart tell you: that the meaning of life is to serve the force that sent you into the world. Then life becomes a constant joy.

January 4

Even if we don't want to, we can't help but feel our connection to the rest of mankind: we are connected by industry, by trade, by art, by knowledge, and most importantly, by our common mortality.

Kind people help each other even without noticing that they are doing so, and evil people act against each other on purpose. - Chinese Proverb

Every person has his burden. One cannot live without the support of other people; therefore we have to support each other with consolation, advice, and mutual warnings. - From the Book of Divine Thoughts

All the children of Adam are members of the same body. When one member suffers, all the others suffer as well. If you are indifferent to the sufferings of others, you do not deserve to be called a man. - Muslih-Ud-Din Saadi

The history of mankind is the movement of humanity toward greater and greater unification.

January 5

Sometimes, the damage done by our words is obvious and sometimes it isn't, but the damage is not any smaller for our not being able to see those people who suffer from our words.

A gunshot wound may be cured, but the wound made by a tongue never heals. - Persian Wisdom

If any man offended not in word, the same is a perfect man... Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth. - James 3:2, 5

When you hear people speak about the viciousness of other people, do not share in pleasure by discussing these issues. When you hear about the bad deeds of people, do not listen to the end and try to forget what you have heard. When you hear about the virtues of other people, remember them and tell them to others. - Eastern Wisdom

Do listen to disputes, but be not so involved in disputes yourself. - Nikolai Gogol

I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. - Psalms 39:1

Be afraid to destroy the unity of people by stirring bad feelings amongst them against another with your words.

January 6

It's important to strive to do good, and even more important to strive to abstain from evil.

Abstention should be a habit in your life; it should supprt you in your virtues. For he who is resolute in goodness, there is nothing that he could not overcome. - Lao-Tzu

Put at least half of your energy into making yourself free of empty wishes, and very soon you will see that in so doing you will receive much greater fulfillment and happiness. - After Epictetus

God tests everyone, one with wealth, another with poverty. A rich man is tested in whether he would extend an arm of support to those who need it; a poor man in whether he would bear all his sufferings without discontent and with obedience. - The Talmud

I will call the right groom he who can stop his rage, which goes as fast as the fastest chariot. Other people have no power; they just hold the reins. - Dhammapada, a book of buddhist wisdom

No matter how many times you aim to achieve victory over your passions, do not give up. Every effort weakens the power of passion and makes it easier to gain victory over it.

January 7

Kindness is necessary in relationships with people. If you are not kind to a person, you are not fulfilling your major obligation.

You have to respect every person, no matter how miserable or ridiculous he or she may be. You should remember that in every person lives the same spirit which lives in us. - After Arthur Schopenhauer

Do not be cruel of heart to those who are tempted, but tyr to console them, just as your would like to be comforted. - From the Book of Divine Thoughts

1. Do not postpone for tomorrow what you can do today.
2. Do not force another person to do what you can do by yourself.
3. Pride costs more than all that is necessary for food, drink, shelter, or dress.
4. We suffer so much, thinking about what could have happened, bt not about what has actually happened.
5. If you lose your temper, count up to ten before you do or say anything. If you haven't calmed down, then count to a hundred; and if you have not calmed down after this, count up to a thousand.

   • - After Thomas Jefferson

The kinder and the more thoughtful a person is, the more kindness he can find in other people.

Kindness enriches our life; with kindness mysterious things become clear, difficult things become easy, and dull things become cheerful.

January 8

Christian teaching is so simple that even small children can understand its meaning. Those people cannot understand it, and only those, who want to seem and to be called Christians without being real Christians.

Buddha said, "A man who starts to live for his soul is like a man who brings a lantern into a dark house. The darkness disappears at once. You have to be persistent in this, and your soul will have this light."

Christ expressed all His teachings in His last commandment: "Love each other, as I loved you. Everyone will see that you are my disciples, if you love each other." He did not say, "If you believe," but "If you love." Faith can change with time, because our knowledge is constantly changing. Love, on the contrary, never changes; love is eternal.

My religion is love to all living beings.

In order to fulfill Christianity, we have to destroy its perversions and restore its purity.

January 9

Knowledge is real knowledge only when it is acquired by the efforts of your intellect, not by memory.

Only when we forget what we were taught do we start to have real knowledge. - Henry David Thoreau

A constant flow of thoughts expressed by other people can stop and deaden your own thought and your own initiative.... That is way constant learning softens your brain.... Stopping the creation of your own thoughts to give room for the thoughts from other books reminds me of Shakespeare's remark about his contemporaries who sold their land in order to see other countries. - Arthur Schopenhauer

A thought can advance your life in the right direction only when it answers questions which were asked by your soul. A thought which was first borrowed from someone else and then accepted by your mind and memory does not really much influence your life, and sometimes leads you n the wrong direction.

Read less, study less, but think more. Learn, both from your teachers and from the books which you read, only those things which you really need and which you really want to know.

January 10

The basis of all education is the establishment of our relationship to the beginning of all things, and the conclusions about our behavior which may be drawn from this.

But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. - Matthew 18:6-7

• But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don't have to make it worse—and it's doomsday to you if you do. - Matthew 18:6-7

As we bring up our children, we have to remember that we are caretakers of the future. By improving their education, we improve the future of mankind, the future of this world. - After Immanuel Kant

I think that the major obligation of parents and educators is to give children an understanding of the divine beginning that exists within them. -- Willaim Ellery Channing

Religious upbringing is the basis of all education.

January 11

Perfection is impossible without humility. "Why should I strive for perfection, if I am already good enough?"

The higher the position you occupy among other people, the more humble you should be. Many people live in height and glory, but mysteries of this world can be revealed only to those who are humble. Do not seek out complication. Treat your duty with respect. Do not study what you should not. More things have already been revealed to you than you can understand. - From Apocrypha

The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as ransom for many. - Matthew 20:28

• Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage." - Matthew 20:28

Some of your friends praise your, and others blame and criticize you; be closer to those who blame you and further from those who praise you. - The Talmud

When an arrow does not hit its target, the marksman blames himself, not another person. A wise man behaves in the same way. - Confucius

Remember all the bad things which you have done, and try to avoid doing bad things again. Remembering only your good deeds will interfere with your doing good in the future.

January 12

There are people who take responsibility for making decisions for others and deterining their relationship to God and to the world; and there are people, the overwhelming majority of them, who give this authority to the others, and blindly believe in everything they are told. Both groups of people commit an equal crime.

We are all like children who first repeat the unquestionable "truth" told to us by our grandmothers, then the "truth" told to us by our teachers, and then, when we become older, the "truth" told to us by prominent people. - After Ralph Waldo Emerson

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, either can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by the fruits ye shall know them. - Matthew 7:15-20

• Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned. - Matthew 7:15-20

A man should use that spiritual heritage which he has received from the wise and holy people of the past, but he should test everything with his intellect, accepting certain things and rejecting others.

Every person should define for himself his attitude to this world and to God.

January 13

Faith is the understanding of the meaning of life and the acceptance of those duties and responsibilities connected to it.

Who is a good man? Only a man who has faith is good. What is faith? This is when your will is in consent with the world's conscience and the world's wisdom. - Chinese Proverb

We should do only one thing: give ourselves into the hands of God, whatever our ultimate fate. Allow that which should happen to happen. What will happen will be good. - Henry Amiel

They say that Judgment Day will come and that God will be furious. But a good God cannot bring anything but good. Do not be afraid: the end will be full of joy. -Persian Wisdom

You should not worry too much about what will happen after death. Deliver yourself to the divine creature and bless it: you know that it is love, therefore, whey should you be afraid?

• When Christ died, he said, "Father! I deliver my spirit into Thy hands." Those who say these words, not with their tongue but with all their hear, do not need anything else. if my spirit returns back to its Father, this is the best place for it, and nothing can be better.

Don't think that you can find peace for your should without faith.

January 14

You should love only one thing in yourself, that which is the same in all of us. In loving that which is the same in all of us, you love God.

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said until him, Thou salt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and wii all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. - Matthew 22:36-40

• "Teacher, which command in God's Law is the most important?" Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them." Matthew 22:36-40

People live by love: love of yourself is the beginning of death; love of other people and of God is the beginning of life.

God is love, and he who lives in love, lives in God, and God lives in him. If we love one another, God lives in us. - I John, from Chapter 4

Love is not a source, it is a consequence of our understanding the divine, spiritual beginning which exists in all of us.

January 15

The greatest truth of the teachings of Christ is the direct connection between a man (God's son) and God (His Father).

You ask me, what the most important feature of Christ's character was. I will answer you: it was his confidence in the greatness of the human soul. He saw in a person the reflection of God's image, and therefore, he loved every one, whoever a person was, without regard to his life or character. - After William Ellery Channing

Both people and nations must get rid of prejudices. Feel yourself talking directly go God: do't read the book, read your soul; then a small chapel will become as big as the heavenly dome itself. - After Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are two ways of understanding God: either intellectually or spiritually, based on faith and morality. The intellectual understanding of God is not resolute enough and can be subjected to dangerous mistakes; spiritual understanding of God requires moral actions. This faith is both natural and supernatural. - After Immanuel Kant

Beware of everything which puts an obstacle between you and God.

January 16

False faith is the major cause of most of our misfortunes.

The purpose of a human life is to bring the irrational beginning of our life to a rational beginning. In order to succeed in this, two things are important:

1. to see all irrational, unwise things in life and direct your attention to them and study them;
2. to understand the possibility of a rational, wise life.

The major purpose of all teachers of mankind was the understanding of the irrational and rational beginnings in our life.

We should be ready to change our views at any time, and slough off prejudices, and live with an open and receptive mind. A sailor who sets the same sails all the time, without making changes when the wind changes, will never reach his harbor. - Henry George

Accept the teaching of Christ as it is, clear and simple; then you will see that we live among big lies.

January 17

Live for your soul, and without trying or even understanding that you're doing it, you will contribute to the improvement of society.

Why do you torture yourself? You want kindness, but you do not know where to find it. Know that you cannot achieve anything without God.... God is your only Lord, your only master, and you do not need another. God will make you free. - F. Robert De Lamennais

It would be nice if wisdom had such a quality that it could flow from one man who is full of wisdom to another man who has no wisdom, just as with two connected vessels water flows from one vessel to the other until the water level is the same in both of them. The problem is that to obtain wisdom, you must make an independent, serious effort of your own.

If you can teach a person kindness and love, but you do not, you lose a brother. - Chinese proverb

Improve your own soul, and be confident that only in so doing can you contribute to the improvement of the larger society of which you are part of.

January 18

A scholar knows many books; a well-educated person has knowledge and skills; and enlightened person understands the meaning and purpose of his life.

There are a limitless number of different sciences, but without one basic science, that is, what is the meaning of life and what is good for the people, all other forms of knowledge and art become idle and harmful entertainment.

We live a senseless life, contrary to the understanding of life by the wisest people of all times. This happens because our young generations are educated in the wrong way --- they are taught different sciences but they are not taught the meaning of life.

The only real science is the knowledge of how a person should live his life. And this knowledge is open to everyone.

January 19

Society can be improved only by self-sacrifice.

Heaven and earth are eternal. They are eternal because they do not exist for themselves. In the same way, a truly holy person does not love for himself, and therefore he can become eternal, and can achieve anything. - Lao-Tzu

• 天長地久, 天地所以能長且久者, 以其不自生, 故能長生, 是以聖人後其身而身先, 外其身而身存, 非以其無私邪, 故能成其私. - 노자(老子) 도덕경(道德經) 7장

There is only one law, both in your personal and social life: if you want to improve your soul, you should be ready to sacrifice it.

The improvement of man can be measured by the level of his inner freedom. The more a person becomes free from his personality, the more freedom he has.

January 20

Death and birth are two limits, and something similar is hidden behind each.

When you think about what will happen to your soul after death, think also about what happened to your soul before your birth. If you plan to go somewhere, then you came fro somewhere.

Were do we go after death? We go to where we came from. There is nothing which can be called ourselves in that land; therefore, we do not remember what has happened to us there.

When a person leads a good life, he is happy at the present moment and he does not think what will happen after this life. If he thinks of death, he looks at how well this life is laid out, and he believes that after death everything will be as good as it is now. It is much better to believe that everything which God makes for us is good than to believe in all the pleasures of paradise.

When we die, our souls become free - After Heraclitus See also Heraclitus

A person should not think too much about what will happen after his life. follow the will of those who sent us into this world; that will is in our minds and our hearts.

January 21

The more closely a person follow his intellect and controls his passions, the closer he comes to spiritual life, to love of God and of his neighbor.

We would think a man insane who, instead of covering his house with a roof and putting windows in this window frames, goes out in stormy weather, and scolds the wild, the rain, and the clouds. But we all do the same when we scold and blame the evil in other people instead of fighting the evil which exists in us. It is possible to get rid of the evil inside of us, as it is possible to make a roof and windows for our house. This is possible. But it is not possible for us to destroy evil in this world, just as we cannot order the weather to change and the clouds to disappear. If, instead of teaching others, we would educate and improve ourselves, then there would be less evil in this world, and all people would live better lives.

Do not be embarrassed by your mistakes. Nothing can teach us better than our understanding of them. This is one of the best ways of self-education. - Thomas Carlyle

It seems to us that the most important work in the world is the work which is visible, which we can see; building a house, plowing the land, feeding cattle, gathering fruits; and that the work which is invisible, the work done by our soul, is not important. but our invisible work at the improvement of our soul is the most important work in the world, and all orders visible kinds of work are useful only when we do this major work.

January 22

No exception or special circumstances can justify the murder of a living person. Murder is the most vulgar violation of the Law of God as it is expressed in all religious teachings and in all people's conscience.

• - MinsooKim thinks "living person" should be extended to "living being", including all the animals.

Military service makes people corrupt, because the military, in time of peace, abides in complete idleness; they lack any useful labor, they are freed of the obligations of such work. Instead, they create notions of honor of regiment, or of banner, or the complete subjugation of one person by another.

• When civilians get into these circumstances, they become ashamed of such a way of life. The military, on the contrary, are proud of it and boast of this way of life, especially during periods of war. They say: "We are ready to risk our lives at war, and therefore such a careless joyfull life is necessary for us, and we have the right to lead it."

The same divine beginning lives in all people, and no single person or gathering of people has the right to destroy this connection between the diving beginning and a human body, that is, to take a human life.

January 23

Among all sins, there is one which completely opposes the major blessing of human life, which is your love for your brother; there is no worse sin that to destory this major joy of life, by feeling rage and hatred for your brother.

Seneca, a wise man from Rome, said that when you want to escape from your rage, when you feel that it grows, the best thing to do is to stop. Do not do anything: do not walk, do not move, do not speak. If your body or your tongue moves at this moment, then your rage will grow.

• Rage is very harmful for all people, but it is most harmful for the man who experiences it.

An evil person damages not only others but himself. - After Socrates.

Your enemy will pay you back with rage, will make you suffer, but the biggest damage to you will be caused by the rage and hatred existing in your heart. Neither your father, nor your mother, nor all your family can make you more good than your heart can when it forgives and forgets its abuse. -Dhammapada, a book of Buddhist Wisdom.

Your rage cannot be justified by anything. The reason for your rage is always inside you.

January 24

Nobody knows where the human race is going. The highest wisdom, then, is to know where you should go: towards perfection.

A wise man seeks wisdom; a madman thinks that he has found it. - Persian Proverb

It is not the place we occupy which is important, but the direction which we move. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Your actions should not be determined not by the desire of the people around you, but by the needs of all mankind.

January 25

There is a basic knowledge which is necessary for every human being; until a person has acquired this basic knowledge, all other kinds of knoledge will be harmful for him.

Socrates told his students that in good systems of education, there is a certain limit you should not go beyond. In geometry, he said, it is enough to know how to measure the land when you want to sell it or buy it, or how to share an inheritance, or to divide work among workers. He did not like too many sophisticated sciences; though he know all of them. He said that sophisticated knowledge requires an extra effort that takes the student's time from the most basic and the most important human pursuit: moral perfection. -Xenophon

Divert your gaze from the world of lies. Do not trust your feelings. Only in yourself, only in your impersonal self, can you find the eternal. - Dhammapada, a book of Buddhist Wisdom.

It is better to know several basic rules of life than to study many unnecessary sciences. The major rules of life will stop you from evil and show you the good path in life; but the knowledge of many unnecessary sciences may lead you into the temptation of pride, and stop you from understanding the basic rules of life.

January 26

A rich man cannot be merciful. If he becomes really merciful, he will quickly lose his riches.

Stop robbing others before you give money to beggars. With the same hand that we rob one person, we reward another, giving to the poor the money which we have taken from the even poorer. Better no charity than this kind of charity. - Saint John Chrysostom

The best example of the cruelty of the rich man's life is his effort to become virtuous.

But whose hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us now love in word; neither in tongue; but in deed an truth. - I John 3:17-18

• If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. - I John 3:17-18, NIV

• if you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. - I John 3:17-18, The Message

In order to love not with word and tongue, but in deed and truth, everyone should help those who ask for help. so Christ said.

• But if you start giving to all those who ask, even if you are very rich, very soon you will not be rich anymore.

January 27

Love for other people gives a real feeling of good, and it unites you with other people and with God.

A wise man loves not because he wants to profit from it but because he finds bliss in love itself.

Do not regret the past. What is the use of regrets? The lie says that you should regret. The truth says you should be filled with love. Push all sad memories away from you. Do not speak of the past. Live in the light of love, and all things will be given to you. - Persian Wisdom

They asked a Chinese man, "What is science?" He said, "Science is knowing people." Then they asked, "And what is virtue?" He answered, "Virtue is loving people."

Just as a mother puts her life at risk to guard and save her only child, so every person should guard and save in himself love for every living being.

The fearlessness, clam, inner peace, and joy which are given to us by love are so big that all other thighs in the world cannot be compared with them, especially for the person who understands the real blessing of love.

January 28

For a person to know the law that makes him free, he must be elevated from a material to a spiritual life.

I have many things to say and to judge on you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. - John 8:26-28

• Jesus said, "What I've said from the start. I have so many things to say that concern you, judgments to make that affect you, but if you don't accept the trustworthiness of the One who commanded my words and acts, none of it matters. That is who you are questioning—not me but the One who sent me." They still didn't get it, didn't realize that he was referring to the Father. So Jesus tried again. "When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am—that I'm not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn't abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him." John 8:26-28

"I and God are the same," said the teacher. If you think that my spiritual being is God, you're mistaken. But my real self is close to God, and to other people. In order to understand this part of myself, you should elevate the man inside of you. when you elevate the man inside of you, then you will see that there is no difference between him and any other person on earth.

• It only seems as if we differ from each other. A flower on a blossoming tree can think that it is a separate being, but all flowers are parts of the same blossoming of one apple tree, and they all come from one seed.

We live a short period of time in this world, but we live it according to the laws of eternal life. - After Henry David Thoreau

Submission to the law created by men makes one a salve; obedience to the law created by God makes on free.

January 29

Wisdom is knowing the purpose of life, and knowing how to achieve it.

You can achieve wisdom in three ways. The first way is the way of meditation. This is the most noble way. The second way is the way of imitation. This is the easiest and least satisfying way. Thirdly, there is the way of experience. The is the most difficult way. - Confucius

The merit of a man is not in the knowledge he possesses, but in the effort he made to achieve it. - Gotthold Epharaim Lessing

If you want to study yourself - look into the hearts of other people. If you want to study other people - look into your own heart. - Friedrich Von Schiller

Your soul is both your judge and your place of sanctuary. Your own soul is your highest judge. - Manu

There is nothing in which real wisdom cannot be displayed.

January 30

When Socrates was asked where he came from, he said that he was a citizen of the world. He regarded himself as a citizen of the universe. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

When people wanted to kill a bear in the ancient times, they hung a heavy log over a bowl of honey. The bear would push the log away in order to eat the honey. The log would swing back and hit the bear. The bear would become irritated and push the log even harder, and it would return and hit him harder in teturn. This would continue until the log killed the bear. People behave in the same way when they return evil for the evil they receive from other people. Can't people be wiser than bears?

You should respond with kindness toward evil done to you, and you will destroy in an evil person that pleasure which he derives from evil.

The true teaching of love is strong; it kills evil before evil can grow and become powerful.

January 31

Only greatly insolent people establish a religious law which is to be taken for granted for others, which should be accepted by everyone on faith, without any discussion or doubts.

• Why must people do this?

What a strange thing! Many scoundrels¹ try to disguise their dirty deeds by their dedication to the interests of religion, or by their high morals, or by love for their motherland. - Heinrich Heine

But by not yet called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. - Matthew 23:8-10

• Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of 'Father'; you have only one Father, and he's in heaven. And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ. - The Message Matthew 23:8-10

• But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. - NIV Matthew 23:8-10

The essence of the teaching of Christ is to follow his commandments. Those who just repeat, "My God, My Lord" will not get to heaven; only those who fulfill God's will.

February 1

it is not possible to explain the origin of the spiritual from the material.

A man consists of body and soul. Thus often, especially in this youth, he is interested only in his body, nut nevertheless, the more essential part of every man is not his body, but his soul. It is your soul that you must take care of, not your body. You must learn this over time, and remember that your real life is in your spirit, that is, in your soul. Save it from everyday dirt and do not let your flesh guide it; subdue your body to your soul, and then you will fulfill your destiny and live a happy life. - After Marcus Aurelius

The heart of the matter is whether we believe or disbelieve in the existence of a spiritual realm. All people are divided into two groups, those who are alive and those who are dead; in other words, those who believe and those who don't.

• An unbeliever says: "What is spirit!... What I ate and what I enjoyed, this is what I possess, this is material and real!" And such a person, without thinking much, takes care only of the outer things, arranging in order only this own mean, dirty affairs; he becomes a liar, a snob, a slave, and does not feel any higher needs: freedom, truth, and love. Such a person keeps away from the light of the intellect, because in fact he is dead, and this light fives life only to living things, and hardens and rots the dead things.

- Alexander Arkhangelsky

The difference between the spiritual realm and the material is equally clear and obvious, both for a child and a wise man; further speculations are not necessary.

February 2

There are two different states of human existence: first, to live without thinking of death; second, to live with the thought that you approach death with every hour of your life.

The more you transform your life from the material to the spiritual domain, the less you become afraid of death. A person who lives a truly spiritual life has no fear of death.

When you have doubts about what to do, just imagine that you might die at the end of that same day, and then all your doubts will disappear, and you will see clearly what your conscience tells you, and what is your true personal wish.

A man condemned to immediate executions will not think about the growth of his estate, or about achieving glory, or about the victory of one group over another, or about the discovery of a new planet. But one minute before his death a man may wish to console an abused person, or help an old person to stand up, or to put bandage on someone's injury, or to repair a toy for a child.

February 3

kindness is for your soul as health is for your body: you do not notice it when you have it.

A person becomes happy to the same extent to which he or she gives happiness to other people - Jeremy Bentham

The will of God for us is to live in happiness and to take an interest in the lives of others. - John Ruskin

Love is real one when a person can sacrifice himself for another person. Only when a person forgets himself for the sake of another, and lives for another creature, only this kind of love can be called true love, and only in this love do we see the blessing and reward of life. This is the foundation of the world.

Nothing can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual² kindness.

February 4

A man is free only when he lives in truth, and the truth may be perceived only by the intellect.

If you throw some nuts and cookies on a road, you will eventually see children come, pick them up, and start to argue and fight for them. Adults would not fight for such things. And even children would not pick up the nuts' empty shells.

• For a wise man, the wealth, the glory, and the rewards of this world are like sweets or empty shells on a road. Let the children pick them up and fight for them. Let them kiss the hands of the rich men, the rulers, and their servants. For the wise one, all these are but empty shells. - Epictetus

A distinctive feature of a thinking person is submission to his fate, as opposed to the shameful struggle with it that is a characteristic feature of animals. - Marcus Aurelius

We are not free in this world, subdued by our passions and by the emotions of other people to the degree that we forget the requirements of our intellects. If we really want to become free, we can be so only through our intellect.

February 5

All events, whether in the lives of human individuals, or human societies, have their beginnings in thought. Therefore, to fully understand other people and other societies, we must look beyond previous events to the thoughts which gave rise to them.

Perhaps it is even more important to know what one should not think about than what one should think about.

Out thoughts, depending on whether they are good or bad, can bring us either to paradise or to tell; this happens, neither in heaven nor under the earth, but here, in this life. - Lucy Malory

A thought seems to be free and independent, but a human being has something stronger than thought, something which could guide our thoughts.

In order to change the nature of things, either within yourself or in other, one should change, not the events, but those thoughts which created those events.

February 6

Sexual desire is the most all-consuming of desires. This desire is never sated, for the more it is satisfied, the more it grows.

Very often people are made proud by their control over their own desires, and by the force and passion with which they master them. What a strange delusion!

Many people worry, and suffer, because they have been involved in so many bad things in their lives. In truth, though, good things often happen in spite of our wishes, and sometimes even in opposition to our wishes, and often after our excitement and suffering over unworthy things.

Remember how passionately you yearned in the past for many of the things which you hate or despise now.

• Remember how many things you lost trying to satisfy your former desires. The same thing could happen now, with the desires which excite you at present. Try to tame your present desires, calm them; this is most beneficial, and most achievable.

February 7

Perfecting the self is both an inner and an outer work: You cannot improve yourself without communicating with other people, influencing them, and being influenced by them.

Three temptations torture people: sexual desire, pride, and lust for wealth. All the misfortunes of mankind come from these three cravings. Without them, people would live in happiness. But how can we get rid of these terrible illnesses?... Work on yourself and improve yourself; this is the answer. Start the improvement of this world from within. - F. Robert De Lamennais

"Be perfect, as your heavenly Father," Christ said. This does not mean that Christ asked people to be as good as God; only that everyone should strive for perfection.

Pure perfection can be found only in God; one's life consists of becoming closer to God. And when a person knows that good is good and that evil is evil, then he or she gets closer to good, and moves farther from evil. - Confucius

There is nothing more harmful to you than improving only your material, animal side of life. There is nothing more beneficial, both for you and for others, than activity directed to the improvement of your soul.

February 8

Why do people like to blame others so much? He who casts blame on another person is quick to think that he would not do the very same thing. It is the same with people who like to listen to the fault-finding of their neighbors.

When two people have a dispute, both are to blame. And therefore, a dispute will stop only when at least one person understands that he or she is guilty.

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. - Mathew 7:1-2

• Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. The Message Mathew 7:1-2

Stop blaming other people, and you will feel what an alcoholic feels when he stops drinking, or what a smoker feels when he stops smoking. You will fee that you have brought relief to your soul.

February 9

The material evil caused by war is big, but it is incomparably small in comparison with the perversion or the understanding of good and bad which happens during the war, and which is put into the souls of people who do not think.

A child meets another child with a smile, displaying his friendly attitude and joy. This same behavior lives in all sincere people. But very often, a man from one nation already hates a man from another nation, and is ready to cause him sufferings and even death, even before he meets him. Those who creat these feelings in nations commit a terrible crime!

The most powerful weapon known is the weapon of blessing. Therefore, a clever person relies on it. He wins with peace, not with war. - Lao_Tzu

War creates a state in which power and glory is at the end too often recieved by the most undeserving and vicious people.

February 10

The higher the opinion a person has of himself, the more unstable is his position; the lower he moves in his self-esteem, the firmer he stands.

To be strong, you have to be life water: if there are no obstacles, it flows; if there is an obstacles it stops; if a dam is broken, then it flows further; if a vessel is square, then it has a square form; if a vessel is round, then it has a round from. Becasue it is so soft and flexible, it is the most necessary and the strongest thing. - Lao_Tzu

The more a person analyzes his inner self, the more insignificant he seems to himself. This is the first lesson of wisdom. Let us be humble, and we will become wise. Let us know our weakness, and it will give us power. - William Ellery Channing

Water does not stay on a mountaintop, but flows into the valley. In the same manner, real virtue does not remain with those people who want to be higher than the others; but virtue stays only with people who are humble. - After the Talmud

Tyr to find out your potential. After you know it, do not be afraid to underestimate it. Be cautious not to exaggerate it.

February 11

A person's life is good only to the exten that it fulfills the expectations of the will of God.

Evil, in the form of suffering and death, is everywhere apparent to a person who accepts the law of his material, animal existence as the major law of his life. Only when a man lowers himself to the state of an animal does death and suffering scare him. The only road open for him to escape that fear is the road of fulfillment of the law of God, the law which is expressed in love. There is no death and no suffering for a man who lives according to the law of God.

Be as you are, as you have to be, and the rest is God's business. - Henri Amiel

The fulfillment of our duties and the satifaction of our personal pleasures are two different things. Duties have their own laws, and even if we try to mix our duties with our pleasures, they will separate themselves. - After Immanuel Kant

We know the law of God, both as it is presented to us by the diffrent religions of the world and as our own conscience, when it is not obscured by passion and prejudice, and we can easily understand the applications of this law to our life, for all real good sterms from its requirements.

February 12

It is obvious for everone that death expects us all in the long run; but neverthless we live our lives as if there will be no death.

If only God is among us, and eternity exists, then everything is different. We can distinguish good from evil, light from darkness, and despair disappears. - Erasmus

One of the key questions we face is whether our lives end after death. Whether we believe in eternity or not determines our action. Therefore, it is crucial that we determine what is mortal in us, and what is eternal, and that we cherish those things eternal. Most people do exactly the opposite. - After Blaise Pascal

The more deeply you understand life, the less your grieve over the destruction caused by death.

Whatever name you give to the origin of man, this sprirtual quality of humans to understand, feel, and exist, it is holy, it is divine, and therefore, it should be eternal. -Marcus Tullius Cicero

February 13

Religion is a philosophy which can be understood by anyone.

A person can please God only with the godliness of his life. If an outwardly faithful person is not good, clear, and humble in his life, then he presents a big lie, he serves God falsely. -- After Immanuel Kant

Religion is simple wisdom which is directed to the heart and undertood by the intellect.

Religion can enlighten philosophical meditations; philosophical meditations can strengthen religion. Therefore, try to communicate both with truly religious people and truly good philosophers, alive and dead.

February 14

A holy sprit lives within you.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. - NIV John 3:3

• Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to—to God's kingdom." The Message John 3

Intellect can be enlightened only in a kind person. A person can be kind only when he has an enlightened intellect. One helps the other. - Chinese Wisdom

A merchant married a princess, and he built a palace for her, bought luxurious dresses for her, and brought her hundreds of servants to make her happy. But the princess was bored. She was missing something, and she constantly thought about her royal origin. Thus it is with a human soul: you can surround it with all the pleasures on earth, but it will still be missing its home, the beginning which is called God, the place from which it has originated. - After the Talmud

Even if people do not know what real kindness is, they nevertheless have it within them. - Confucius

God lives in evey one of us. When a person remembers this, the thought of it can save hime from evil, and help him to do good.

February 15

There is a simplicity of nature, and there is simplicity of wisdom. Both of them evoke love and respect.

The great truth is the most simple one.

When people speak in a very elaborate and sophisticaed way, they either want to tell a lie, or to admire themselves. You should not believe such people. Good speech is always clear, and understood by all.

Simplicity is the consequence of refined emotions. - Jean D'Alembert

Words can unite people. Therefore, try to speak very clearly, and tell only the truth, for nothing can unite people more than truth and simplicity.

February 16

The yonger and the more primitive a person is, the more he or she believes that life is material and that it exists only in the body. The older and wiser a person becomes, the more he or she understand that all life originates from the spirit.

Look at the sky, and at the earth, and think that all things pass. All of the mountains and rivers you see, and all the forms of life, and all creations of nautre, all pass. Then you will understand the truth; you will see what remains, what does not pass. - Buddhist Wisdom

Remember that you are not mortal; only your body is mortal. What is alive is not your body but the spirit living in your body. An unseen force guides your body, just as an unseen force guides the world. - After Marcus Tullius Cicero

A person can understand his real destination in life only after he manages to liberate himself from the sensual, matterial world.

February 17

All people of the world have an equal right to the privileges of this world.

Equality cannot be reached, as some people think, only by civil measures. It can be reached only by love of God and people, and this love can be reached, not by civil measures, but only as the result of spiritual learning.

They say that equality is not possible, because some people will always be stronger or smarter than others. But it is exactly because of this, said Lichtenberg, precisely because some people are stronger and smarter than others, that the principle of equality is necessary. The advancetages of the rich over the poor demonstrate not only inequality of force and intellect, but inequality of civil rights.

Christ revealed to humanity those things which there best selves already knoew: that people are equal because the same spirit lives in all of them.... Learn from the small children, behave like children, and treat all people on an equal basis, with love and tenderness.

February 18

Personality is a mask which disguises the divine being which lives in every person. The more one rejects personality, the more this divine begining is manifested.

You must love only God, and you must hate only yourself. - Blaise Pascal

Therefore doth my Farther love me, because I lay down my life, that I might ake it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. - NIV John 10:17-18

• This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father. The Message John 10:17-18

Only those people who deny their own personality can understand the religious teaching. - The Talmud

He who wants to save his soul, will lose it; and he who wants to lose his life for me and the new restament, will save it. - NIV Mark 8:35

• Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? - The Message Mark 8:34-35

Those who do not see the meaning of their life in temporary things, in their names and bodies, those people know the truth of life. -Dhammapada, a book of Buddhist Widsom

Only when we forget about ourselves, when we get out of the thoughts of ourselvees, can we fruitfully communicate with others, listen to them, and influence them.

February 19

It is a sin not to be engaged in work, even if it is not necessary for you to make your living with everyday work.

One of the best and purest joys is having a rest after labor. - Immanuel Kant

Work all the time. Do not think that work is a disater for you, and do not seek praise or reward for your work. - Marcus Aurelius

The most outstanding gifts can be destroyed by idleness. - Michel De Montaigne

Nothing can makde a person feel more noble than work. Without work, a person cannot have human dignity. It is because of this that idle people are so much concerned by the superficial, outer expression of their importance; they know that without this, other people would despise them.

When we accept truth and repent our sins, we understand that nobody can have special rights, advantages, or privileges in this life. There is no end or limit to our duties and obligations. And the first and the most importand obligation for us is to fight with nature for our life and for the lives of other people.

• - 자연과 싸운다는 표현에는 생각을 같이 할 수 없습니다. 우리가 자연을 싸울 대상으로 파악하는 순간, 우리는 자연과 분리되기 때문입니다. I just canot accept the expression that nature is something we have to fight against. When you perceive nature that way, you just loose the opportunity to be one, being connected with nature. - MinsooKim

February 20

Humankind goes on without stopping. This movement forward is necessary for you as an individual as well. If you want to serve God, you should be a worker for the spiritual progress of humanity.

The way of life of any people depends on their faith. Faith, with time, becomes more simple, more clear, and closer to the real truth, and in accordance with the simplifying and clarifying of faith, people become more and more united.

If you think it is ever warranted to stop on the path of further understanding, you are very far from the truth. The life which we received was given to us not that we might just admire it, but that we should ever look for new truth hidden from us. - After John Milton

Mankind makes progress when its faith progress. And if there is any progress in religion, it is not in the discovery of something new, but in the purifying of the truths which have been revealed and explained to us.

We should not substitute real religious progress with other types of progress: technical, scholarly, and artistic. These technical, scholarly, and artistic achievements can certainly coexist with religious backwardness, as happens in our time.

If you want to serve God, you should work on the side of religious progress in the fight against prejudice, toward a better understanding of the clear and pure religion.