Wisdom of Life and Attitudes: East vs. West cultural differences

See farther by standing on the shoulders of giants

All, everything that I understand,
I understand only because I love.

Leo Tolstoy

Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in.

Alan Alda

Wisdom and Attitudes

East vs. West ▪ Between East and West

Happiness

Beliefs, Values

Character, Personality

Knowledge, Wisdom

Achievement

Success, Failure

Problem Solving

Leadership

Being Different

East

Life

West

"The very purpose of our life is to seek happiness through training the mind."
~ Dalai Lama

"We live in the world when we love it."
~ Rabindranath Tagore

"Life is really simple, but men insist on making it complicated."
~ Confucius

"You should eat to live; not live to eat."
~ Socrates

"Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think."
~ Jean de la Bruyere

"Life is like an onion: you peel off layer after layer and then you find there is nothing in it."
~ J.G. Hunekar

In-between the East and the West

"Become earnest about the word! For as to the word, its first part is faith; the second, love; the third, works; for from these comes life."
~ Jesus

"Life is simultaneously
a century for your body and an instant for your soul."
~ VadiK

"Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it."
~ Mother Teresa

"The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity."
~ Leo Tolstoy

East

Happiness

West

"To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind."
~ Buddha

"They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom."
~ Confucius

"Happiness is a continuous creative activity."
~ Baba Amte

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Always leave something to wish for; otherwise you will be miserable from your very happiness."
~ Gracian Baltasar

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
~ William Shakespeare

East*

West

Beliefs, Values

To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness. ~ Confucius

We believe in self creation. That's why Buddhists believe in the Four Noble Truths. ~ Dalai Lama

To achieve self-liberation and nirvana you need to perform your duties without expecting any reward for it. ~ Hinduism

Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. ~ Jesus Christ

There is no real excellence in all this world which can be separated from right living. ~ David Starr Jordan

Refrain from doing ill; for one all powerful reason, lest our children should copy our misdeeds. ~ Juvenal

Character, Personality

Vain indeed is all overweening pride in the conquest even of the entire universe if one has not conquered one's own passions. ~ Sri Aurobindo

Conduct yourself in this world, as if you are here to stay forever; prepare for eternity as if you have to die tomorrow. ~ Mohammad

He who merely knows right principles is not equal to him who loves them. ~ Confucius

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle

Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones. ~ Winston Churchill

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but were he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ~ Martin Luther King

Knowledge, Wisdom

For knowledge add a little every day, for wisdom erase a little every day. ~ Lao Tzu

Real knowledge is to know the extent of ones ignorance. ~ Confucius

We begin to ask questions, such as: "What is the purpose of life? What is my true nature? What is the source and origin of this entire creation?" When questions of this kind arise in a person's mind, his or her quest for knowledge begins. ~ Swami Tejomayananda

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. ~ Socrates

The most important thing in terms of your circle of competence is not how large the area of it is, but how well you've defined the perimeter. ~ Warren Buffett

Super-competence is more objectionable than incompetence. ~ Peter's Observation, Murphy's Law

Achievement, Winning, Fulfillment

More about Winner: One Way, Many Paths

Though he should conquer a thousand men in the battlefield a thousand times, yet he, indeed, who would conquer himself is the noblest victor. ~ Buddha

He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty. ~ Lao Tzu

The most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self. ~ Muhammad

He who rules his spirit has won a greater victory than the taking of a city.~ Jesus Christ

Carry the battle to them. Don't let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive. And don't ever apologize for anything. ~ Harry S. Truman

The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become. ~ Harold Taylor

Success, Failure

If you really want everything, then give up everything. ~ Lao Tzu

He is able who thinks he is able. ~ Buddha

By touching you may kill, by keeping away you may possess. ~ Rabindranath Tagore

The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn't like to do. ~ Thomas Edison

Even if at first you do succeed, you will still have to work hard to stay there. ~ Richard C. Miller

Fail often to succeed sooner. ~ Tom Kelley

Problem Solving

Desires are the cause suffering. If desire, which lies at the route of all human passion, can be removed, then passion will die out and all human suffering will be ended. ~ Buddhism

He who wants to do good knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the gate open. ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Everything will settle in its own place automatically. ~ Lao Tzu

For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root. ~ Henry David Thoreau

When the solution is simple, God is answering. ~ Albert Einstein

Problems are just opportunities in their work clothes. ~ Henry Kaisers

Leadership

When Master rules, people cannot make note of his existence. ~ Lao Tzu

We have to be the change we want in the world. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

To govern is to be correct. If you set an example by being correct, who would dare remain incorrect? ~ Confucius

Leadership is done from in front. Never ask others to do what you, if challenged, would not be willing to do yourself. ~ Xenophon

No person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in the success of those under him. ~ W.A. Nanc

Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard. If you have a yes-man working for you, one of you is redundant. ~ Colin Powell