(1) Be strict in judging yourself and gentle in judging others, and you will have no enemies.

(2) If you see a holy man, think: how could I become like him? If you see a dissipated man, think: don’t I have the same vices?

(3) A wise man does not judge a person for his words, but at the same time does not neglect another person’s words, even when these words are pronounced by an unworthy person.

(4) A wise man sets requirements only for himself; an unwise man makes requirements for others.

(5) A wise man was asked, “Is there a single word which you can follow throughout your life?” And the wise man answered, ” There is such a word. This is shu.” And the meaning of this word is, “If we do not want certain things to be done to us, we should not do such things to others.”

(6) Every bird always knows where to make her nest. And if she knows how and where to make her nest, this means that she knows her purpose in life. And why does man, who is the wisest among all creatures, not know that which any bird knows, that is, his purpose in life?

(7) The first rule of achieving goodness is this : think only about self-perfection, and do without though to being praised by others.

(8) Truly kind people forget the good things they have done in the past. They are so involved in the things they do now that they forget the things they have done before.

(9) If you are alone, think about your own sins; if you are in society, forget about the sins of others.

Source: “A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul written and selected from the world’s scared tests” by Leo Tolstoy, translated into English from Peter Sekirin’s Russian version. Published by Simon and Schuster Inc, USA.