(The last one here being more of a parable that's quite popular with a number of folks...)

Resolve to be thyself; and know that he who finds himself loses his misery.
-- Matthew Arnold

A monk asked the master: "How are you when death arrives?"
The master replied: "When served tea, I take tea. When served a meal, I take a meal."
-- Zen Mondo

You are never too old to be what you might have been.
-- George Eliot

There was a beautiful young girl who became pregnant out of wedlock, and told her angry parents that the father was an old and revered Zen master with a reputation for living a pure life. When the angry parents accused the Master, all he said was, "Is that so?" After the child was born, the Master brought the baby into his house and raised it as his own. After a year passed, the girl, stricken with remorse, finally recanted and told her parents that the Master was entirely innocent. The embarrassed parents came to fetch the child, apologizing to the Master and begging his forgiveness. All he said was: "Is that so?"
-- Zen Story

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