He who has not experienced death

Is like an inexperienced father.

He who has not come to life after death

Is like a man suddenly struck dumb.

He who has never been wise

Is like a youth who has never been beautiful.

The stupid man who becomes wise

Is like a beggar who becomes king.

The dog who becomes master

Is like the victor in the revolution.

The master who becomes a dog

Is like a man who has awakened from a pleasant dream.

Meeting an old friend

Is like reading your own autobiography.

Finding a new friend

Is like composing music.

Chogyam writing a poem

is like a king inspecting his soldiers.

- Chogyam Trungpa

“The self-confidence of the warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man. The average man seeks certainty in the eyes of the onlooker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness. The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity.”

- Carlos Castaneda.