Quote by Lao Tzu ~ The Three you say...?

ch. XLII

Tao produces one
 One produces two
 Two produce three
 Three produce myriad things
 Myriad things, backed by yin and embracing yang
 Achieve harmony by integrating their energy
 What the people dislike
 Are alone, bereft, and unworthy
 But the rulers call themselves with these terms
So with all things
 Appear to take loss but benefit
 Or receive benefit but lose
 What the ancients taught
 I will also teach
 The violent one cannot have a natural death
 I will use this as the principal of all teachings.

http://www.faithandconviction.org/?page_id=12665#.WD4bAn_rs-U
ch. XIV

What cannot be seen is called indistinguishable.
What cannot be heard is called indistinct.
What cannot be touched is called indefinite.
The three can’t be comprehended
So they’re confused and considered one.
Its surface is not bright.
Its depths are not obscured.
Dimly seen it can’t be named
So returns to the insubstantial.
This is the shapeless shape,
The form without substance.
This is called blurred and shadowy.
Approach it you can’t see its face.
Follow it you can’t see its back.
Hold fast to the ancient Way
In order to control the present.
Knowing the source of the ancient,
Is the thread that runs through the Way.
http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Chinese/TaoTeChing.htm

Quote by Thomas Jefferson ~ Man and Governance

Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.

Thomas Jefferson
1743-1826

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasjeff109179.html

The Pilgrim ~ Confession

The elder at the Kitayev Hermitage looked at the long detailed list of the pilgrim, and gave some solemn advice on what confession should NOT be.

1. One should not confess sins that have previously been confessed and absolved by a priest, or it should imply a lack of faith on the mystery of reconciliation.

2. One should only confess sins relating to oneself, and never accuse others in one's confession.

3. One should not detail sins too much, but only in very general terms, as forbidden by the the Holy Fathers, because too much details may lead one and his confessor into tempation, since many sins are carnal and lustful in nature.

4. One should not repent with detachment, as if one is merely an observer to the sins, but must repent as one means it.

5. One should always remember the most important sins, that of not loving God, not loving our neighbors, not believe the Holy Scripture, and that one is filled with pride and greed. These are the fundamental sins that drive all other manners of sins and woes.
  

After that, the elder explained what true confession should be, and how such confession would nurture humility in a person, by sharing his own confession with the pilgrim.

A. I do not love God. Because if I truly love God, I would think of God the whole day and not get tired, and would pray, obey and glorify Him the whole day with joy (St John 14:23).

B. I do not love my neighbors as myself. Because if I did, I would carry the burden of others' worries, and take care of them as I would for my own burdens, and I would share in the joy of others as much as I rejoice in my own.

C. I have no faith in Holy Scripture. Because if I did, I would believe in the salvation Christ pointed us to through His Word, and in the caring for this life to prepare for our afterlife.

D. I am full of pride and greed. That is why I boast of needless things to others, display however little I have to snub others, to defend my sins with excuses, and even do charity for the sake of praise or social standing. I am worshipping myself rather than God.

source:
https://books.google.com/books?id=B_ZUBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=st.+john+chrysostom+thoughts+vs+deeds+lesson&source=bl&ots=2JVtJdaixb&sig=Y0D_Me_oKqJ7nEa23NvrvWMGpFA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJ2qiDs7rQAhVIy2MKHUnCBX0Q6AEIMDAE#v=onepage&q=st.%20john%20chrysostom%20thoughts%20vs%20deeds%20lesson&f=false

Quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky ~ to see man as God intended him

To love someone means to see him as God intended him.


~ Fyodor Dostoevsky




Source:


https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/fyodor_dostoevsky.html

Quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn ~ men have forgotten God

On another occasion Solzhenitsyn reflected,


“Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: ‘Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.’”



Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1918-2008


source:

http://www.firstcrclynden.org/worship/sermons/elections-chosen-by-god/

Quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn ~ warnings history gives

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, said in a famous commencement speech at Harvard
University:


“There are meaningful warnings which history gives a threatened or perishing society. Such are, for instance, the decadence of art, or a lack of great statesmen.”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1918-2008



source of quote:
http://www.firstcrclynden.org/worship/sermons/elections-chosen-by-god/

Quote by Gautama Buddha - Impermanence of things

'' 'All conditioned things are impermanent’ — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”


~ Siddhartha Gautama "The Buddha"