“The mark of a moderate man
is freedom from his own ideas.”

— Laozi , book Tao Te Ching

Source: Tao Te Ching, Ch. 59 as interpreted by Stephen Mitchell (1992)
Context: The mark of a moderate man
is freedom from his own ideas.
Tolerant like the sky,
all-pervading like sunlight,
firm like a mountain,
supple like a tree in the wind,
he has no destination in view
and makes use of anything
life happens to bring his way.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Oct. 1, 2023. History

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Laozi 79

semi-legendary Chinese figure, attributed to the 6th centur… -604

Camillo Federici (1749–1802) Italian actor and playwright (1749-1802)

L’uomo insigne non è mai apprezzato nè in vita, nè in patria.
I Preguidizi del Paesi Piccoli, Act II., Sc. V. — (L’Uffiziale).
Translation reported in Harbottle's Dictionary of quotations French and Italian (1904), p. 338.

“In a scientific worldview, man determines his own fate by fighting for freedom from any kind of spiritual enslavement.”

Zafar Mirzo (1972)

“Having never been in control of his own life, his idea of freedom was simply to break free.”

Orson Scott Card Enchantment

Enchantment (1999)

“Most prisons are of our own making. A man makes his own freedom, too.”

Robin Hobb book Assassin's Apprentice

Source: Assassin's Apprentice

“There is hardly a single instance of cultural vigor marked by moderation in expression.”

Eric Hoffer (1898–1983) American philosopher

Entry (1954)
Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)
Context: It is the Frenchman's readiness to exaggerate that is at the root of his intellectual lucidity and also of his capacity for acknowledging merit. The English were not afraid to exaggerate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and they were then not far behind the French in the lucidity of their thinking.... There is hardly a single instance of cultural vigor marked by moderation in expression.

“Guru Hargobind is celebrated as seeing his own religious freedom as inseparable from the freedom of others.”

Anantanand Rambachan (1951) Hindu studies scholar

Diwali does not end when the lights go out (2013)
Context: For the Jains, Diwali is celebrated as the joyous day on which Mahavir, the great Jain teacher, attained the eternal joy of liberation or nirvana. It is an occasion for rejoicing and gratitude for a life spent in rigorous religious search, realization and teaching centered on non-violence.
For the Sikhs, Diwali is a "day of freedom," when the Mughal Emperor, Jehangir, freed the sixth Sikh Guru (teacher), Hargobind, from prison. Guru Hargobind refused to accept his freedom unless the emperor released detained Hindu leaders. Guru Hargobind is celebrated as seeing his own religious freedom as inseparable from the freedom of others.
Even for the Hindu community, there is a confluence of many traditions connected with Diwali. Some celebrate Diwali as ushering the New Year and others as the triumph of Krishna over the evil, Narakasura.