Benjamin Hoff Quotes

Benjamin Hoff is an American author. He is best known as the author of The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet . In 2006, he denounced the publishing industry and announced his resignation from book-writing. His book, The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow, won the American Book Award in 1988. Wikipedia

✵ 1946

Works

The Tao of Pooh

The Tao of Pooh

Benjamin Hoff

The Te of Piglet

The Te of Piglet

Benjamin Hoff

Benjamin Hoff: 32 quotes 4 likes

Famous Benjamin Hoff Quotes

“Wisdom, Happiness, and Courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond sight at the end of a straight line; they're part of a continuous cycle that begins right here. They're not only the ending, but the beginning as well.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

“The main problem with this great obsession for saving time is very simple: you can't save time. You can only spend it. But you can spend it wisely or foolishly.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

“Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

“No matter how useful we may be, sometimes it takes us a while to recognize our own value.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

“While Eeyore frets…
… and Piglet hesitates
… and Rabbit calculates
… and Owl pontificates
… Pooh just is.”

Benjamin Hoff

“A way of life that keeps saying 'Around the next corner, above the next step,' works against the natural order of things and makes it so difficult to be happy and good.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

Benjamin Hoff Quotes about the trip

“Now, scholars can be very useful and necessary, in their own dull and unamusing way. They provide a lot of information. It's just that there is Something more, and that Something More is what life is really all about.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Spelling Tuesday.
Source: The Tao of Pooh (1982)

“The surest way to become Tense, Awkward, and Confused is to develop a mind that tries too hard - one that thinks too much.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

“Things just happen in the right way, at the right time. At least when you let them, when you work with circumstances instead of saying, 'This isn't supposed to be happening this way,' and trying harder to make it happen some other way.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

“When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

The Tao of Who?
Source: The Tao of Pooh (1982)

“The masters of life know the way, for they listen to the voice within them, the voice of wisdom and simplicity, the voice that reasons beyond cleverness and knows beyond knowledge.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

“Now one rather annoying thing about scholars is that they are always using Big Words that some of us can't understand…and one sometimes gets the impression that those intimidating words are there to keep us from understanding. That way, the scholars can appear Superior, and will not likely be suspected of Not Knowing Something. After all, from the scholarly point of view, it's practically a crime not to know everything.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Spelling Tuesday.
The Tao of Pooh (1982)

Benjamin Hoff Quotes about life

“Sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of The Vinegar Tasters.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

“Unfortunately complaining is one thing Eeyores are not afraid to do. They grudgingly carry their thimbles to the Fountain of Life, then mumble and grumble that they weren't given enough.”

Benjamin Hoff The Te of Piglet

Source: The Te of Piglet

“Abstract cleverness of the mind only separates the thinker from the world of reality, and that world, the Forest of Real Life, is in a desperate condition now because of too many who think too much and care too little. In spite of what many minds have thought themselves into believing, that mistake cannot continue for much longer if everything is going to survive. The one chance we have to avoid certain disaster is to change our approach, and learn to value wisdom and contentment. These are things that are being searched for anyway, through Knowledge and Cleverness, but they do not come from Knowledge and Cleverness. They never have, and they never will. We can no longer afford to look so desperately hard for something in the wrong way and in the wrong place. If Knowledge and Cleverness are allowed to go on wrecking things, they will before much longer destroy all life on this earth as we know it, and what little may temporarily survive will not be worth looking at, even if it were possible for us to do so.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

The Now of Pooh.
The Tao of Pooh (1982)

Benjamin Hoff Quotes

“Do you really want to be happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you've got. Do you want to be really miserable? You can begin by being discontented.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

That Sort of Bear.
Source: The Tao of Pooh (1982)

Happiness

“Lots of people talk to animals… Not very many listen though… that's the problem.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

People , Problem , Animals

“You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

People , Reality

“You can't save time. You can only spend it, but you can spend it wisely or foolishly.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

Time

“If people were superior to animals, they'd take good care of them," said Pooh.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

People , Animals

“A clever mind is not a heart. Knowledge doesn't really care, wisdom does.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

The Now of Pooh.
Source: The Tao of Pooh (1982)
Context: Abstract cleverness of the mind only separates the thinker from the world of reality, and that world, the Forest of Real Life, is in a desperate condition now because of too many who think too much and care too little. In spite of what many minds have thought themselves into believing, that mistake cannot continue for much longer if everything is going to survive. The one chance we have to avoid certain disaster is to change our approach, and learn to value wisdom and contentment. These are things that are being searched for anyway, through Knowledge and Cleverness, but they do not come from Knowledge and Cleverness. They never have, and they never will. We can no longer afford to look so desperately hard for something in the wrong way and in the wrong place. If Knowledge and Cleverness are allowed to go on wrecking things, they will before much longer destroy all life on this earth as we know it, and what little may temporarily survive will not be worth looking at, even if it were possible for us to do so.

Wisdom , Knowledge , Heart

“The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

“The play-it-safe pessimists of the world never accomplish much of anything, because they don't look clearly and objectively at situations, they don't recognize or believe in their own abilities to overcome even the smallest amount of risk.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

World

“When you know and respect your Inner Nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don't belong.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

Nature

“Treat gain and loss the same.' Don't be Intimidated. Don't make a Big Deal of anything - just accept things as they come to you.”

Benjamin Hoff The Te of Piglet

Source: The Te of Piglet

Loss

“I think, therefore I am… confused.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

Thinking

“Like silence after noise, or cool, clear water on a hot, stuffy day, Emptiness cleans out the messy mind and charges up the batteries of spiritual energy. Many people are afraid of Emptiness, however, because it reminds them of Loneliness.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

People , Silence , Water , Loneliness

“Cleverness, after all, has its limitations. Its mechanical judgments and clever remarks tend to prove inaccurate with passing time, because it doesn't look very deeply into things to begin with.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Cottleston Pie.
The Tao of Pooh (1982)

Time

“What could we call the moment before we begin to eat the honey? Some would call it anticipation, but we think it's more than that. We would call it awareness. It's when we become happy and realize it, if only for an instant. By Enjoying the Process, we can stretch that awareness out so that it's no longer a moment, but covers the whole thing. Then we can have a lot of fun. Just like Pooh.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Bisy Backson.
The Tao of Pooh (1982)

Thinking , Happiness

“Practically speaking, if timesaving devices really saved time, there would be more time available to us now than ever before in history. But, strangely enough, we seem to have less time than even a few years ago. It's really great fun to go someplace where there are no timesaving devices because, when you do, you find that you have lots of time. Elsewhere, you're too busy working to pay for machines to save you time so you won't have to work so hard.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Bisy Backson.
The Tao of Pooh (1982)

History , Business , Time

“In order to take control of our lives and accomplish something of lasting value, sooner or later we need to Believe. We don't need to shift our responsibilities onto the shoulders of some deified Spiritual Superman, or sit around and wait for Fate to come knocking at the door. We simply need to believe in the power that's within us, and use it. When we do that, and stop imitating others and competing against them, things begin to work for us.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

That Sort of Bear.
The Tao of Pooh (1982)

Fate , Waiting

“The Christmas presents once opened are Not So Much Fun as they were while we were in the process of examining, lifting, shaking, thinking about, and opening them. Three hundred sixty-five days later, we try again and find that the same thing has happened. Each time the goal is reached, it becomes Not So Much Fun, and we're off to reach the next one, then the next one, then the next.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Bisy Backson.
The Tao of Pooh (1982)

Thinking , Time , Christmas

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