🕊️ The Book You Are

August 11, 2025

TWO-MINUTE MONK
Ancient wisdom for modern life, every Monday.

🧘 Monk Thought

“Learning is a never-ending process; the more you know, the more you realize you do not know.”

— Ban Zhao (Han Dynasty, 1st–2nd century CE)

💡 Monk Light

Ban Zhao lived nearly two thousand years ago, yet her words sound like they could be spoken today in any library, temple, or quiet room.

Knowledge, she reminds us, isn’t a ladder you climb to a finish line.

It’s more like a horizon—the closer you get, the further it stretches.

The wisest people are not the ones who know the most, but the ones who remain curious.

Humility is the open page on which life keeps writing.

Ban Zhao (c. 45–116 CE) is the first known female historian of China and a scholar of the Han dynasty. While much of her work was instructional, her reflections on learning and humility carry timeless depth.

👣 Monk Move

Today, instead of proving what you know, ask one question you don’t have the answer to.

Let curiosity be the ink.

Let humility be the paper.

🔐 The Monk Vault is now open.
You can find all the previous posts by the Two-Minute Monk in the Vault. The weekly post from the Monk will always be free but at some point in the future, I will create a small subscription of no more than £2 per month to access the Vault to see previous posts and get extra material. For now, though, the Vault remains open and free. Enjoy!