“Cogito ergo sum,” (I think therefore I am) ~Not Descartes (he wrote about this, but the great Cogito – as it is known – is no where to found in his written legacy.)

“Evil triumphs when good men do nothing,” ~Not Edmund Burke (who has about three dozen variations of this quote attributed to him, which is ironic, because he wrote in English, the fact that the quote is not standardized should be an indicator that it is a misattributed quote.)

‎”Vini; vidi; vici.” (I came; I saw; I conquered) ~Julius Caesar (He did say that, and for the record he said that when he arrived on the battlefield after the battle had already been won through his vicarious orders, and is recorded that it was an idle remark, a musing, because he was bored.)

“Et tu, Brute?” (Literally: “And you, Brutus?” but connotatively: “You, too, Brutus?” ~Not Julius Caesar (However you could say, ~William Shakespeare who wrote that in his play, “Julius Caesar,” and is spoken by the character Julius Caesar after Brutus stabs him in the junk).

* Suffering — it’s pervasive
* The cause of suffering
* Release from suffering — it’s possible
* The path to release from suffering

That’s the classical statement. What the Mahayana adds is the idea that kindness and compassion are a fundamental part of the fourth truth, the path to escape from ones own suffering — and that’s to work for the happiness of others.

* Suffering is pervasive — just being embodied in the “real” world is fundamentally unsatisfactory, painful. (“Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”.)

* The root cause of this pervasive suffering of embodied beings is that we conceives of ourselves as fundamentally self-standing entities, unconnected to and therefore in conflict with others.

* This is a misconception. In fact, each being is intimately intertwined with and interdependent with all other beings as well as with all phenomena in the world. Out problem is that we don’t — or rarely, weakly — realize this.

* The way out is to deeply realize the fundamental interdependence of all phenomena, to become intimately aware of our interdependent connection with others. And a powerful, perhaps necessary method for doing that is to realize that others too are suffering, just as we are, and therefore wish and act to relieve their suffering. Treating them with kindness is a major step on the path — action leads to realization. (“Be kind”.)

So — long way around to the original aphorism, but there it is, with some blanks filled in. These four points, by the way, are the celebrated Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha.