#detachment

Never say about anything, 'I have lost it,' but only 'I have given it back.'

Act without expectation.

Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go. She has but doesn't possess, acts but doesn't expect.

Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.

Humor was another of the soul's weapons in the fight for self-preservation. It is well known that humor, more than anything else in the human make-up, can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation.

Live in the world as the lotus lives on water: rooted in the mud yet untouched by the slime.

True detachment is not cold indifference, but boundless freedom from possessive fear.

Do not be an embodier of fame; do not be a storehouse of schemes; do not be an undertaker of projects; do not be a proprietor of wisdom.

When the fisherman casts his line without craving for fish, every catch is a joyful surprise.

You have a sovereign right over your labor, but never over the fruits thereof.

Duty performed with absolute detachment leaves behind no residue of sorrow or regret.

Be a lotus flower: be in the water, and do not let the water touch you.

No human thing is of serious importance.

You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can't control.

Treat what you have as if it were not yours, and you will not weep when it is taken.

Look down from above upon the countless swarms of men who march together and strive, and observe how transient and small it all is.

Hold your fortune in an open palm; cling to nothing, and nothing can be wrenched from you.