Ubuntu Quotes

• In Africa there is a concept known as 'ubuntu' - the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievement of others.

  Nelson Mandela

  Profound, Achievement, Humanity

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• One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.

  Desmond Tutu

  Country, Thinking, Essence

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• There is a word in South Africa - Ubuntu - that describes his greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.

  Barack Obama

  Eye, Caring, Oneness

  Barack Obama's Remarks at the memorial service in Soweto to the former president of South Africa, www.theguardian.com. December 10, 2013.

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• Bringing people together is what i call 'ubuntu,' which means 'I am because we are.' Far too often people think of themselves as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.

  Desmond Tutu

  Mean, Thinking, People

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• A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.

  Desmond Tutu

  Knowing, Self, Able

  Desmond Tutu (2012). “No Future Without Forgiveness”, p.35, Random House

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• Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language. It speaks of the very essence of being human.... you are generous, you are hospitable, you are friendly and caring and compassionate. You share what you have. It is to say, 'My humanity is inextricably bound up in yours.' We belong in a bundle of life.

  Desmond Tutu

  Caring, Essence, Humanity

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• Ubuntu really says if you want to be nice to yourself, start in a way by being nice to the other.

  Desmond Tutu

  Nice, Want, Way

  Source: values.mountmadonnaschool.org

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• Africans believe in something that is difficult to render in English. We call it ubuntu, botho. It means the essence of being human. You know when it is there and when it is absent. It speaks about humaneness, gentleness, hospitality, putting yourself out on behalf of others, being vulnerable. It embraces compassion and toughness. It recognizes that my humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.

  Desmond Tutu

  Believe, Mean, Compassion

  Desmond Tutu, Naomi Tutu (1989). “The words of Desmond Tutu”, Newmarket Pr

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• How sad now never to see men holding hands, while everywhere one looks they are holding guns.

  Alice Walker

  Peace, Gun, Men

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• Ubuntu tells us that we can create a more peaceful world by striving for goodness in each moment, wherever we are.

  Desmond Tutu

  Peaceful, World, Moments

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• I don't do great things. I do small things with great love.

  Mother Teresa

  Life, Encouraging, Peace

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• You know when ubuntu is there, and it is obvious when it is absent. It has to do with what it means to be truly human, to know that you are bound up with others in the bundle of life.

  Desmond Tutu

  Mean, Empathy, Bundles

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• We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind. To do so effectively, the world needs a global ethic with values which give meaning to life experiences and, more than religious institutions and dogmas, sustain the non-material dimension of humanity. Mankind's universal values of love, compassion, solidarity, caring and tolerance should form the basis for this global ethic which should permeate culture, politics, trade, religion and philosophy. It should also permeate the extended family of the United Nations.

  Wangari Maathai

  Inspirational, Religious, Peace

  "Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World". Book by Wangari Maathai, www.huffingtonpost.com. 2010.

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• 

  Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.

  William Penn

  Peace, Integrity, War

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  If the society today allows wrongs to go unchallenged, the impression is created that those wrongs have the approval of the majority.

  Barbara Jordan

  Peace, Majority, Society Today

  Barbara Jordan, Max R. Sherman (2007). “Barbara Jordan: Speaking the Truth With Eloquent Thunder”

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• Ubuntu is about a community coming together to help one another.

  Paul Pierce

  Community, Together, Helping

  "Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics Talks Holiday Traditions with Bleacher Report". Interview with Mike Walsh, bleacherreport.com. December 12, 2012.

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• Very few people chose war. They chose selfishness and the result was war. Each of us, individually and nationally, must choose: total love or total war.

  David Dellinger

  Peace, War, People

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• Ubuntu is not a biblical concept but an ancient African one. Nevertheless it falls back on one simple thing: that humans have been created for togetherness, and what drives us apart is greed, lust for power, and a sense of exclusion, but those are aberrations.

  Allan Boesak

  Philosophy, Fall, Biblical

  Source: reflections.yale.edu

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• Nothing is more powerful than an individual acting out their conscience, thus helping bring the collective conscience to life.

  Norman Cousins

  Life, Motivational, Peace

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• The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference.

  Audre Lorde

  Peace, Equality, Emotional

  Audre Lorde (2012). “Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches”, p.56, Crossing Press

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• The common bond of humanity and decency that we share is stronger than any conflict, any adversity. Fighting for your convictions is important. But finding peace is paramount. Knowing when to fight and when to seek peace is wisdom. Ubuntu was right.

  Wes Moore

  Adversity, Fighting, Knowing

  Wes Moore (2010). “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates”, p.168, Spiegel & Grau

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• Peace is more important than all justice; and peace was not made for the sake of justice, but justice for the sake of peace.

  Martin Luther

  Memorial Day, Peace, Justice

  "On Marriage". Book by Martin Luther, 1530.

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• If we just worry about the big picture, we are powerless. So my secret is to start right away doing whatever little work I can do. I try to give joy to one person in the morning, and remove the suffering of one person in the afternoon. If you and your friends do not despise the small work, a million people will remove a lot of suffering. That is the secret. Start right now.

  Chan Khong

  Peace, Morning, People

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• Snowflakes, leaves, humans, plants, raindrops, stars, molecules, microscopic entities all come in communities. The singular cannot in reality exist.

  Paula Gunn Allen

  Inspirational, Life, Peace

  Paula Gunn Allen (1991). “Grandmothers of the Light: A Medicine Woman's Sourcebook”, Beacon Press (MA)

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• Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language... It is to say, 'My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours.'

  Desmond Tutu

  Oneness, Humanity, Unity

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