Wise words and proverbs from Asia

I have always enjoyed old sayings and proverbs from other countries. Some convey the same wisdom and thoughts as American sayings, some are different. Years ago, I was seated next to an older Japanese medical doctor – as I recall, he was in his late 80s - on a Northwest Airlines flight from Detroit to Tokyo, on the way to China. We talked a bit in passing time on the long flight, and since he was…