--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether you call the principle of…" description: "\"Whether you call the principle of existence \"God,\" \"matter,\" \"energy,\" or anything else you like, you have created nothing; you have merely changed a s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/anonymous-1_changed_whether-you-call-the-principle-of-existe_779890.jpg" --- # Whether you call the principle of existence "God,"… ![“Whether you call the principle of existence "God," "matter," "energy," or anything else you like, you have created nothing; you have merely changed a symbol. Eastern and Western Thinking, 1938” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/anonymous-1_changed_whether-you-call-the-principle-of-existe_779890.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/anonymous-1_changed_whether-you-call-the-principle-of-existe_779890.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/anonymous-1_changed_whether-you-call-the-principle-of-existe_779890.jpg) > “Whether you call the principle of existence "God," "matter," "energy," or anything else you like, you have created nothing; you have merely changed a symbol. Eastern and Western Thinking, 1938” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Changing terminology does not alter underlying reality. **In simple terms:** Names change, reality stays same. Key Takeaway Focus on substance, not labels. Themes language philosophy perception Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - scientific discourse - political rhetoric - personal belief Key Concepts semantic shift ontological debate Questions to Reflect On - How do labels influence thought? - Can we ever escape linguistic constraints? A Different Perspective Words can shape perception, limiting objectivity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Changed Symbol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed-symbol-6010904/) [Created Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/created-merely-6010906/) [Eastern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eastern/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Like you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-you/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Merely Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-changed-6010905/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking 1938](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-1938-6010907/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) ## Related quotes > [Each morning I gaze at the eastern horizon, and if the sun keeps its promise, I keep mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-morning-i-gaze-at-the-eastern-horizon-and-if-the-sun-keeps-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cold air rises from the ground as the sun goes down. The eye-burning clarity of the light intensifies. The southern rim of the sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cold-air-rises-from-the-ground-as-the-sun-goes-down-the-eye-burning/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [25 And the Lord spake unto the Angel that guarded the eastern gate, saying 'Where is the flaming sword that was given unto thee?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/25-and-the-lord-spake-unto-the-angel-that-guarded-the-eastern-gate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is the land of Narnia,' said the Faun, 'where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-the-land-of-narnia-said-the-faun-where-we-are-now-all-that-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now, mark it. This may be strong language, but heed it. The people mean it, and, my friends of the Eastern Democracy, we bid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-mark-it-this-may-be-strong-language-but-heed-it-the-people-mean/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've been practicing modalities of Eastern philosophy since about 1972. What I've learned through my meditation is a sense of equanimity, a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-been-practicing-modalities-of-eastern-philosophy-since-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are so lonely in life that we must ask ourselves if the loneliness of dying is not a symbol of our human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-so-lonely-in-life-that-we-must-ask-ourselves-if-the-loneliness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Espousing the melancholy of ancient symbols, I would have freed myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/espousing-the-melancholy-of-ancient-symbols-i-would-have-freed-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Courtrooms contain every symbol of authority that a set designer could imagine. Everyone stands up when you come in. You wear a costume identifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courtrooms-contain-every-symbol-of-authority-that-a-set-designer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most obscene symbol in human history is the Cross; yet in its ugliness it remains the most eloquent testimony to human dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-obscene-symbol-in-human-history-is-the-cross-yet-in-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Clothes are but a symbol of something hid deep beneath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/clothes-are-but-a-symbol-of-something-hid-deep-beneath/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To grasp life and meaning, we assume constancy where it does not exist. We name experiences, emotions, and subjective states and assume that what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-grasp-life-and-meaning-we-assume-constancy-where-it-does-not-exist/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Instead of the word 'love' there was an enormous heart, a symbol sometimes used by people who have trouble figuring out the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-the-word-love-there-was-an-enormous-heart-a-symbol/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As the Hindu gods are 'immortal' only in a very particular sense - for they had born and they die - they experience most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-the-hindu-gods-are-immortal-only-in-a-very-particular-sense-for-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The grave and the image are equally links with the irrecoverable and symbols for the unimaginable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-grave-and-the-image-are-equally-links-with-the-irrecoverable-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Changed quotes > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You made me hate my own reflection Question every choice I make So I could try to be perfect But I will try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/you-made-me-hate-my-own-reflection-question-every-choice-i-make-so-i/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [Everything has changed and nothing has changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lowery/everything-has-changed-and-nothing-has-changed/) [Joseph Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lowery/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Faith is the avenue to salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-the-avenue-to-salvation-not-intellectual-understanding-not/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [When I became Miss World, I couldn't believe I had won it. I used to sleep with my crown because I was scared someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka-chopra/when-i-became-miss-world-i-couldn-t-believe-i-had-won-it-i-used-to/) [Priyanka Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka-chopra/) > [As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-the-light-changed-from-red-to-green-to-yellow-and-back-to-red/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [It's only a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Working with Rihanna has changed my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bibi-bourelly/working-with-rihanna-has-changed-my-life/) [Bibi Bourelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bibi-bourelly/) > [The international game has changed for bidding cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ueberroth/the-international-game-has-changed-for-bidding-cities/) [Peter Ueberroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ueberroth/) > [You changed my life, don't know what you're doing to me with your love. You got me feeling super human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-changed-my-life-don-t-know-what-you-re-doing-to-me-with-your-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not changing because I'm part of a hit. People around me have changed in their attitude toward me, but I haven't changed. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-penny/i-m-not-changing-because-i-m-part-of-a-hit-people-around-me-have/) [Joe Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-penny/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) [Browse all 6,529 Changed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whether you call the principle of existence \"God,\" \"matter,\" \"energy,\" or anything else you like, you have created nothing; you have merely changed a symbol. 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