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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Leo Tolstoy
Started reading
February 25, 2023
Read the best books first, otherwise you’ll find you do not have time. —HENRY DAVID THOREAU
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 basis the definition of this attitude of a person to the world. At the heart of all religions lies a single unifying truth. Let Persians bear their taovids, Jews wear their caps, Christians bear 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
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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
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
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
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 support you in your virtues. For he who is resolute in goodness, there is nothing that he could not overcome. —LAO-TZU
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
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.
Do not be cruel of heart to those who are tempted, but try to console them, just as you would like to be comforted. —From the BOOK OF DIVINE THOUGHTS
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We suffer so much, thinking about what could have happened, but not about what has actually happened.
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.
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.”
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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.
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
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
There are people who take responsibility for making decisions for others and determining 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
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
Don’t think that you can find peace for your soul without faith.
Love is not a source, it is a consequence of our understanding the divine, spiritual beginning which exists in all of us.
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.
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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.
An evil person damages not only others but himself. —After SOCRATES
Your rage cannot be justified by anything. The reason for your rage is always inside you.
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. This 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.
If you want to study yourself—look into the hearts of other people. If you want to study other peo...
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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.
A man consists of body and soul. Thus often, especially in his youth, he is interested only in his body, but nevertheless, the most 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
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.
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Love is real only 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 perpetual kindness.
On love
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.
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.
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
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Even if people do not know what real kindness is, they nevertheless have it within them.
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.
A person can understand his real destination in life only after he manages to liberate himself from the sensual, material world.
Only when we forget about ourselves, when we get out of the thoughts of ourselves, can we fruitfully communicate with others, listen to them, and influence them.
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Only speak when your words are better than your silence.
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The fear of death in man is the understanding of his sins. The more spiritual a life a person leads, the less he is afraid of death. For a spiritual person death means setting the spirit free from the body. Such a person knows that the things with which he lives cannot be destroyed. Only those who do not live are not afraid of death.
We should get ready for death, because it will come, sooner or later. The best thing to do is to live a good life. If you live a good life, you should not be afraid of death.
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Some say that you should be afraid of God. Not true; you have to love God. How can you love those whom you are afraid of? God is love, and how can you be afraid of love? No, you should not fear God, but love Him. And if you love God, then you will not be afraid of Him, or anything else in the world.
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Physical work, physical exercise for your body, is a necessary condition of life. A man can force others to do things for him, but he cannot free himself from the necessity of his own physical work. And if a man does not work at necessary and good things, then he will work at unnecessary and stupid things.
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Without exercise of their muscles, neither man nor animal can live. So that this exercise may give you joy and satisfaction, do good physical work. This is also the best way to serve others.
Do not think that you can please God with prayer. You will please God by submitting to Him. Prayer is just a reminder for you of who you are and what the purpose of your life is.
When you appeared in this world, you cried, and all the people around you rejoiced. You have to live your life in such a way that when you leave this world, you will rejoice, and all the people around you will cry.
Love brings people to unification. The universal intellect, which is the same for everyone, supports this unification. Look around. What do the world’s people think about it? They think about everything except what is most important. They think about dancing, music, and singing; they think about houses, wealth, and power; they are jealous about the wealth of rich people and kings; but they do not think at all about what it means to be human.
Real wisdom is not the knowledge of everything, but the knowledge of which things in life are necessary, which are less necessary, and which are completely unnecessary to know. Among the most necessary knowledge is the knowledge of how to live well, that is, how to produce the least possible evil and the greatest goodness in one’s life. At present, people study useless sciences, but forget to study this, the most important knowledge.
If you see that some aspect of your society is bad, and you want to improve it, there is only one way to do so: you have to improve people. And in order to improve people, you begin with only one thing: you can become better yourself.
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Blaming other people is always wrong, because no one knows what has happened and happens in the soul of another person.
