Celebratory writings from the worlds scriptures.

A nice collection of spiritual writings across cultures and religions; Star includes scripture and poems from Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, Stoicism, Sufism, and Christianity. He does a good job in selecting content, translating (compare some of his with others), and in concisely explaining the philosophies or religions presented in the various chapters.

For example, this on Taoism: “Instead of emphasizing man’s relationship to family and community, Taoism called on him to find a higher power within himself; instead of scripture and rituals, the Taoist sages taught simple living and flowing with nature. They believed that personal virtue, moral excellence, proper conduct, and kindness towards others were not meant to be learned, but would unfold naturally from that place of inner perfection.”

In addition to being a nice ‘sampler’, pulling together all of these into one book shows the similarity in enlightened and kind thinkers across cultures and times.

Quotes:
On being gentle:
“An army that cannot yield
will suffer defeat
A tree that cannot bend
will crack in the wind
Thus by Nature’s own decree
the hard and strong are defeated
while the soft and gentle are triumphant.” -- Tao Te Ching

On brotherhood:
“When I was born, I breathed in the common air,
was laid upon the ground,
and wailed out a cry as all others do.
No king begins life in any other way;
For everyone comes into this world by one path
and by the same path they go out again.” -- Wisdom of Solomon

“When ‘I’ and ‘you’ are bound by form
a veil falls between us and our love.
Lift the veil
and you will see the unity
of all people.” -- Mahmud Shabistari

“One of perfect prayer is he who,
withdrawing from all mankind,
is united with all mankind.
One of perfect prayer is he who
regards himself as existing with all people
and sees himself in every person.” -- The Philokalia

On God:
“All philosophies and scriptures say the same thing: ‘In this human body it is God who dwells.’
Do not consider your body a mere lump of flesh made of seven components. It is a noble instrument. In it are situated all holy places, gods, mantras, and the source of all extraordinary powers in this world … God dwells in the body. He is present as fully in you as in the highest heavens. Why are you exhausting yourself looking for Him in different places instead of in your own heart?” -- Swami Muktananda

On good deeds:
“There is the type of person who, if he renders you a service, has no hesitation in claiming the credit for it. Another, though not prepared to go as far as that, will nevertheless secretly regard you in his debt and be fully conscious of what he has done. But there is also a man who, one might almost say, has no consciousness at all of what he has done, like the vine which produces a cluster of grapes and then, having yielded its rightful fruit, looks no more for thanks than a horse that has run his race, a hound that has tracked his quarry, or a bee that has hived her honey. Like them, the man who has done one good action does not cry it aloud, but passes straight on to a second, as the vine passes on to the bearing of another summer’s grapes.” -- Marcus Aurelius

On happiness, love this one:
“If on earth there be
a Paradise of Bliss,
It is this,
It is this,
It is this.” -- Firdausi

On hatred:
“How can such thoughts as,
‘He abused me, he cheated me, he robbed me’
release one from the snares of anger?
Hatred is never banished by hatred,
Hatred is banished only by love.
This is a law that has never changed.
We are guests in this world,
here for only a short while.
Those who know this truth do not waste their time
with quibbling or gossip.” -- The Dhammapada

On joy:
“When you dance,
the whole universe dances.” -- Rumi

On love:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not love, I am no better than a clanging gong or a brass bell.
And though I have the gift of prophesy, and know every hidden mystery; and though I have faith strong enough to move mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.
And though I give away all I own to the poor, and offer my body to be burned, and have not love, I do not gain a thing.
Love is patient, love is kind; love knows not jealousy, love is never boastful, nor easily provoked.
Love knows nothing of wrong, does not rejoice at the misfortunes of others, and only delights in the truth.
There is nothing love cannot bear; no limits to its faith, its hope, or its endurance.
The reign of love will never end. But where there are prophesies, they will end; where there are tongues of ecstasy, they will end; where there is knowledge, it will end.
For our knowledge is only of a part, and our prophesies tell of but a part.
And that which is a part vanishes with the arrival of the whole.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I saw as a child, and I thought as a child. When I grew up, I put away childish things.
Now we see everything though a murky glass; one day we will see God clearly, face to face. Now my knowledge is incomplete; one day it will be perfect, like God’s knowledge of me.
In a word, there are three things you are never to let go of: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these will always be love.” -- The Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13:13

And:
“O Arjuna, only by the
unswerving love of a human heart,
can my supreme state be seen,
and known, and attained.” -- The Bhagavad-Gita

On self-knowledge:
“What a day today.
There are two Suns rising!
What a day,
Not like any other day.
Look!
The Light is shining in your heart,
The wheel of life has stopped.
Oh, you who can see into your own heart,
What a day,
This is your day.” -- Rumi

On self-reliance:
“Dig within. There lies the wellspring of good: ever dig, and it will ever flow.” -- Marcus Aurelius

On thinking too much:
“Don’t think.
Don’t get lost in your thoughts.
Your thoughts are a veil on the face of the Moon.
That Moon is your heart,
and those thoughts cover your heart.
So let them go,
just let them fall into the water.” -- Rumi

On transience:
“Coming and gowing,
life and death.
A thousand villages,
a million houses.
Don’t you get the point?
Moon in the water,
blossom in the sky.” -- Gizan ( )