CURATED COLLECTION

Embracing Stillness

In a culture that worships busyness, the willingness to be still is almost countercultural.

17 quotes found

“
In old age, one desires tranquility and finds it in nothingness.

—Wang WeiPoet & Painter

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
I dwell on Cold Mountain, secluded from the world, a recluse in the mist.

—Han ShanPoet

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.

—Matsuo BashoPoet

Renaissance ERA • East Asia

“
I sit alone in the bamboo grove, playing my lute and humming.

—Wang WeiPoet & Painter

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
Whoever reaches Cold Mountain is freed from all care.

—Han ShanPoet

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

—Gautama BuddhaSpiritual Teacher

Ancient World ERA • South Asia

“
Silence is something to live with, not to be afraid of. It has its own voice.

—Jhumpa LahiriAuthor

Contemporary ERA • South Asia

“
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

—Siddhartha GautamaScholar & Thinker

Ancient World ERA • South Asia

“
The empty mountain, no one is seen, yet human voices are heard.

—Wang WeiPoet & Painter

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
If you want to know me, ask the weeds growing in my garden.

—RyokanPoet

Enlightenment ERA • East Asia

“
We sit together, the mountains and I, until only the mountains remain.

—Li BaiPoet

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
In the silence of the village, I hear the universe breathing.

—Namdeo Dhondo MahanorPoet

Contemporary ERA • South Asia

“
Silence, too, is a language. Sometimes, it speaks truths too profound for words.

—Goenawan MohamadPoet, Essayist & Intellectual

Late Modern ERA • Southeast Asia

“
I steal no rice, nor do I plant it. I just live.

—RyokanPoet

Enlightenment ERA • East Asia

“
A cup of wine, under the flowering trees; I drink alone, no friend nearby.

—Li BaiPoet

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
Bright moonlight before my bed: I thought it was frost on the ground.

—Li BaiPoet

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
Solitude sometimes is best society.

—John MiltonEnglish Poet and Intellectual

Renaissance ERA • Western Europe