Catherine the Great

You were in a mood to quarrel. Please inform me once the inclination passes.

I beg you take courage; the brave soul can mend even disaster.

Power without a nation’s confidence is nothing.

A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.

I like to praise and reward in a loud voice and to scold in a whisper.

All punishments by which the human body might be maimed are barbarbarism.

As I reminded my girls, these aren’t problems. These are very high class problems. Because of where Barack and I come from, we just couldn’t sympathize with their… It was like, ‘Girl, you live in the White House. You do not get to complain about this.

If God lived on earth, people would break his windows.

Zen is not an art, it’s not a religion. It’s a realisation.

The Bible does not need advertising by me, but I wish more people could be persuaded to read it. Perhaps if they had been, we should not have this war on our hands. For greed and idleness brought it on.

I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now? Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.

Tao in the world is like a river flowing home to the sea.

There is no path to happiness: Happiness is the path.

To understand everything is to forgive everything.

I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn’t need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about.

Mind your thoughts, as they become your words. Mind your words, as they become your actions. Mind your actions, as they become you.

Right now, it’s like this.

A man who is good enough to go to heaven is not good enough to be a clergyman.

Zen mind is not Zen mind. Throwing away Zen mind is correct Zen mind.

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.

Be kind to all creatures; this is the true religion.