--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many oriental cultures make a distinction…" description: "\"Many oriental cultures make a distinction between two ways of looking - 'hard eyes' and 'soft eyes'. When we look with hard eyes, we see specific detai..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/john-paul-caponigro-13132_culture_many-oriental-cultures-make-a-distinctio_312108.jpg" --- # Many oriental cultures make a distinction between two ways… ![“Many oriental cultures make a distinction between two ways of looking - 'hard eyes' and 'soft eyes'. When we look with hard eyes, we see specific details with sharp focus, but we don't see the relationships between different details as well. When we look with soft eyes we see the relationships…” quote by John Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/john-paul-caponigro-13132_culture_many-oriental-cultures-make-a-distinctio_312108.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/john-paul-caponigro-13132_culture_many-oriental-cultures-make-a-distinctio_312108.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/john-paul-caponigro-13132_culture_many-oriental-cultures-make-a-distinctio_312108.jpg) > “Many oriental cultures make a distinction between two ways of looking - 'hard eyes' and 'soft eyes'. When we look with hard eyes, we see specific details with sharp focus, but we don't see the relationships between different details as well. When we look with soft eyes we see the relationships between everything in our field of vision, but with this softer focus, we don't see all the details as clearly. It's possible to look in two ways at once.” [John Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-caponigro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing with hard eyes captures detail; soft eyes capture relationships; both perspectives together give fuller insight. **In simple terms:** Combine detail focus with holistic view for deeper understanding. Key Takeaway Balance detail and context in observation. Themes perception balance insight Mood curious analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - photography - design - problem solving - team leadership Key Concepts cognitive flexibility holistic thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice soft‑eye thinking daily? - When might hard‑eye focus be essential? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on one view can blind you to other truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [“You have really big … beautiful … eyes. I could look at them all freaking day.” Jenna couldn’t help but to choke out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlene-hartnady/you-have-really-big-beautiful-eyes-i-could-look-at-them-all-freaking/) [Charlene Hartnady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlene-hartnady/) > [Thinking so hard on her soft eyes and memories of the signs that it's over. It's over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-buckley/thinking-so-hard-on-her-soft-eyes-and-memories-of-the-signs-that-it-s/) [Jeff Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-buckley/) > [You didn’t tell me she was so soft on the eyes,” he said to Patch, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/you-didn-t-tell-me-she-was-so-soft-on-the-eyes-he-said-to-patch/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [Part of it has to do with the discipline of being actively receptive. At the core of this receptivity is a process that might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wessel-jr/part-of-it-has-to-do-with-the-discipline-of-being-actively-receptive/) [Henry Wessel, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wessel-jr/) > [It's the dualistic ways of looking at things that produces the evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/it-s-the-dualistic-ways-of-looking-at-things-that-produces-the-evil/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [We cannot alter facts, but we can alter our ways of looking at them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/we-cannot-alter-facts-but-we-can-alter-our-ways-of-looking-at-them/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Looking after children is one of the ways of looking after yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/looking-after-children-is-one-of-the-ways-of-looking-after-yourself/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I'm always loading my brain with new ways of looking at something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/i-m-always-loading-my-brain-with-new-ways-of-looking-at-something/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [There were two ways of looking at the world, but only one when you are starving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-were-two-ways-of-looking-at-the-world-but-only-one-when-you-are/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“His own eyes were soft and dreamy, cloudy as a trout pool in the rain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/his-own-eyes-were-soft-and-dreamy-cloudy-as-a-trout-pool-in-the-rain/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [To bed, to bed; sleep kill those pretty eyes, And give as soft attachment to thy senses, As infants empty of all thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-bed-to-bed-sleep-kill-those-pretty-eyes-and-give-as-soft/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Her eyes were soft with sorrow and I dont know how to say goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/her-eyes-were-soft-with-sorrow-and-i-dont-know-how-to-say-goodbye/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“13 Ways of Looking at a Black Girl”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/13-ways-of-looking-at-a-black-girl/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) > [But when Bumby nursed, his fist clutching the fabric of my robe, his eyes soft and bottomless and locked on mine, as if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/but-when-bumby-nursed-his-fist-clutching-the-fabric-of-my-robe-his/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [“There's always two ways of looking at things... that seeing what's positive about a situation is a lot more fun and gets you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-j-machale/there-s-always-two-ways-of-looking-at-things-that-seeing-what-s/) [D.J. MacHale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-j-machale/) ## More by John Paul Caponigro > [What we see changes what we know. What we know changes what we see. Perception, belief, action, and change are codependent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-caponigro/what-we-see-changes-what-we-know-what-we-know-changes-what-we-see/) [John Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-caponigro/) > [We are the strongest filter we can place before the lens. We point the lens both outward and inward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-caponigro/we-are-the-strongest-filter-we-can-place-before-the-lens-we-point-the/) [John Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-caponigro/) > [Don't ask 'Should I ...?'. 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Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) [Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many oriental cultures make a distinction between two ways of looking - 'hard eyes' and 'soft eyes'. When we look with hard eyes, we see specific details with sharp focus, but we don't see the relationships between different details as well. When we look with soft eyes we see the relationships between everything in our field of vision, but with this softer focus, we don't see all the details as clearly. 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