Buddha Quotes

We have collected and put his best Buddha Quotes in the following categories. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others.

May these Buddha Quotes on many subjects inspire you to never give up and keep working towards your goals. Who knows—success could be just around the corner. See also: Gautama Buddha, Miracles Of Gautama Buddha, Buddhahood

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Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, Siddhattha Gotama was a teacher and religious leader. “Buddha“, meaning awakened one or enlightened one is a title, not a name. Shakyamuni Buddha, whose original name was Gautama, was the founder of Buddhism.

…One who possesses four qualities is deposited in heaven as if brought there. What four? Bodily good conduct, verbal good conduct, mental good conduct, and gratitude or thankfulness. One possessing these four qualities is deposited in heaven as if brought there. – The Buddha

A contemplative should pay equal attention to concentration, energetic effort and equanimity, and not exclusively to one of these factors only. – The Buddha

A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden. – The Buddha

A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. – The Buddha

A fool acquires knowledge only to his own disadvantage. It destroys what good he has, and turns his brains. – The Buddha

A fool learns nothing from a wise man; but a wise man learns from a fool. – The Buddha

A fool thinks it like honey so long as the bad deed does not bear fruit, but when it does bear fruit he experiences suffering. – The Buddha

A fool who recognises his own ignorance is thereby in fact a wise man, but a fool who considers himself wise – that is what one really calls a fool. – The Buddha

A generous heart, kind speech, & a life of service & compassion are the things which renew humanity. – The Buddha

A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. – The Buddha

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure. – The Buddha

A good friend who points out mistakes is to be respected, as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure. – The Buddha

A good horse runs with seeing just the shadow of the whip. – The Buddha

A great gift – a gift of Dharma conquers all gifts. – The Buddha

A kind man who makes good use of wealth is rightly said to possess a great treasure; but the miser who hoards up his riches will have no profit. – The Buddha

A man may conquer a million men in battle but one who conquers himself is, indeed, the greatest of conquerors. – The Buddha

A man should first direct himself in the way he should go. Only then should he instruct others. – The Buddha

A man who will be the public leader, must know how to be the public follower. – The Buddha

A mind unruffled by the vagaries of fortune, from sorrow freed, from defilements cleansed, from fear liberated — this is the greatest blessing. – The Buddha

A noble person is mindful and thankful for the favors he receives from others. – The Buddha

A person creates what they defend against. – The Buddha

A person is not learned nor wise because he talks much; the person who is patient, free from hatred and fear, that person is called learned and wise. – The Buddha

A person is ruined by taking the measure of other persons. – The Buddha

A person writing at night may put out the lamp, but the words he has written will remain. It is the same with the destiny we create for ourselves in this world. – The Buddha

A raft needed to cross the river is discarded when the other shore is reached, not carried about on one’s head. – The Buddha

A tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter, food, warmth and protection to all living things. It even gives shade to those who wield an axe to cut it down – The Buddha

A truly wise man does not play leapfrog with a unicorn. – The Buddha

A victor only breeds hatred, while a defeated man lives in misery, but a man at peace within lives happily, abandoning up ideas of victory and defeat. – The Buddha

A virtuous man or woman who is determined to develop the Supreme Enlightened Mind, should thus develop it: I have to lead all living beings to put a stop to (reincarnation) and escape (suffering), and when they have been so led, not one of them in fact stops (reincarnating) or escapes suffering. Why? Because, if a Bodhisattva believes in the notion of an ego, a personality, or a living being, he is not a true Bodhisattva. – The Buddha

A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering. – The Buddha

A woman of the world is anxious to exhibit her form and shape, whether walking, standing, sitting, or sleeping. Even when represented as a picture, she desires to captivate with the charms of her beauty and, thus, to rob men of their steadfast heart. – The Buddha

Abandon its causes of ignorance and selfishness. – The Buddha

After 48 years, I have said nothing. – The Buddha

After enlightenment, the laundry. – The Buddha

After much seeking for truth and knowledge the profoundness of reality came to me with a clarity never before known. – The Buddha

All acts of living become bad by ten things, and by avoiding the ten things they become good. There are three evils of the body, four evils of the tongue, and three evils of the mind. – The Buddha

All beings are not only the parents in the past. They will become the The Buddha in the future. If you free their lives, you are The Buddha. – The Buddha

All beings tremble before violence. All love life. All fear death. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do? – The Buddha

All beings wish for happiness, so extend your compassion to all. – The Buddha

All composite things decay. Strive diligently. – The Buddha

All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence. – The Buddha

All compounded things are subject to decay. Strive with diligence! – The Buddha

‘All conditioned things are impermanent’ — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. – The Buddha

All created things are impermanent. Strive diligently. – The Buddha

All descriptions of reality are temporary hypotheses. – The Buddha

All experiences are preceded by mind, having mind as their master, created by mind. – The Buddha

All fear violence, all are afraid of death. – The Buddha

All have I overcome, all do I know. From all am I detached. All have I renounced. Wholly absorbed am I in “the destruction of craving. Having comprehended all by myself, whom shall I call my teacher. – The Buddha

All human unhappiness comes from not facing reality squarely, exactly as it is. – The Buddha

‘All is passing’. When one realises this, he sits loose to this world of sorrow : This is the way of purity. – The Buddha

All life is temporary
Why worry about anything that’s only temporary – The Buddha

All living beings have The Buddha nature and can become The Buddhas. – The Buddha

All of you knowing now, That the The Buddhas, the Teachers of the Ages, In accord with what is peculiarly appropriate, have recourse to expedient devices, Need have no more doubts or uncertainties. Your hearts shall give rise to great joy, Since you know that you yourselves Shall become The Buddhas. – The Buddha

All phenomena do not inherently exist because of being dependent-arisings. All phenomena do not inherently exist because of being dependently imputed. – The Buddha

All phenomena link together in a mutually conditioning network. – The Buddha

All rising to great places is by a winding stair. – The Buddha

All that has been hidden is rising, there is no stopping it! These things you cannot hide: the sun, the moon, and TRUTH. – The Buddha

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. – The Buddha

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If people speak or act with evil thoughts, pain follows them. If people speak or act with pure thoughts, happiness follows them, like a shadow that never leaves them. – The Buddha

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. – The Buddha

All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, suffering follows him as the wheel follows the hoof of the beast that draws the wagon… If a man speaks or acts with a good thought, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him. – The Buddha

All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. A man’s life is the direct result of his thoughts… We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. – The Buddha

All the holy words you read and all the holy words you speak are as nothing if you do not act upon them. Even if you read little and say little but live the right way, forsaking craving, hatred and delusion, you will know the truth and find calmness and will show others the path. – The Buddha

All things that are born must die. Work hard for your own freedom from sorrow. – The Buddha

Always be mindful of the kindness and not the faults of others – The Buddha

An evil deed, like fresh milk, does not go bad suddenly. Smouldering, like fire covered by ashes, the evil deed follows the fool. – The Buddha

An ignorant man ages like an ox. His flesh may increase, but not his understanding. – The Buddha

An outside enemy exists only if there is anger – The Buddha

An pretend and evil friend is haughty to be feared than a unmanageable beast; a unmanageable beast may mouthful your build up, but an evil friend fortitude mouthful your intellect. – The Buddha

An unreflective mind is a poor roof. Passion, like the rain, floods the house. But if the roof is strong, there is shelter. Whoever follows impure thoughts Suffers in this world and the next. In both worlds he suffers And how greatly. – The Buddha

Analyzing through special insight and realizing the lack of inherent existence constitute understanding of the signless. – The Buddha

And for a disciple thus freed, in whose heart dwells peace, there is nothing to be added to what has been done, and naught more remains for him to do. Just as a rock of one solid mass remains unshaken by the wind, even so, neither forms, nor sounds, nor odors, nor tastes, nor contacts of any kind, neither the desired, nor the undesired, can cause such an one to waver. Steadfast is his mind, gained is deliverance. – The Buddha

And he who has considered all the contrasts on this earth, and is no more disturbed by anything whatever in the world, the Peaceful One, freed from rage, from sorrow, and from longing, he has passed beyond birth and decay. – The Buddha

And he who lives a hundred years, idle and weak, a life of one day is better if a man has attained firm strength. – The Buddha

And more importantly – what we have chosen to do. – The Buddha

And no joy like the joy of freedom. – The Buddha

And so, with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings. – The Buddha

Any material form, or thought, or feeling, past or present, should be regarded as, ‘This is not mine, this is not what I am, this is not my self.’ – The Buddha

Anyone who is not working toward the truth is missing the whole point of living. – The Buddha

Apply yourself to solitude. One who is given to solitude knows things as they really are. – The Buddha

As a bee gathering nectar does not harm or disturb the color & fragrance of the flower; so do the wise move through the world. – The Buddha

As a bee without harming the flower, its colour or scent, flies away, collecting only the honey, even so should the sage wander in the village. – The Buddha

As a flower that is lovely and beautiful, but is scentless, even so, fruitless is the well-spoken word of one who practices it not. – The Buddha

As a lotus flower is born in water, grows in water and rises out of water to stand above it unsoiled, so I, born in the world, raised in the world having overcome the world, live unsoiled by the world. – The Buddha

As a mountain is unshaken by the wind, so the heart of a wise person is unmoved by all the changes on this earth. – The Buddha

As a net is made up of a series of ties, so everything in this world is connected by a series of ties. If anyone thinks that the mesh of a net is an independent, isolated thing, he is mistaken. It is called a net because it is made up of a series of interconnected meshes, and each mesh has its place and responsibility in relation to other meshes. – The Buddha

As a single drop of water fills a bucket, so do small deeds of evil; as a single drop of water fills a bucket, so do small deeds of good. – The Buddha

As a water bead on a lotus leaf, as water on a red lily, does not adhere, so the sage does not adhere to the seen, the heard, or the sensed. – The Buddha

As an irrigator guides water to his fields, as an archer aims an arrow, as a carpenter carves wood, the wise shape their lives. – The Buddha

As from a large heap of flowers many garlands and wreaths are made, so by a mortal in this life there is much good work to be done. – The Buddha

As I am, so are others as others are, so am I. Having thus identified self and others, harm no one nor have them harmed. – The Buddha

As I am, so are these. As are these, so am I.’ Drawing the parallel to yourself, neither kill nor get others to kill’. – The Buddha

As irrigators lead water where they want, as archers make their arrows straight, as carpenters carve wood, the wise shape their minds. – The Buddha

As long as one feels that he is the doer, he cannot escape from the wheel of births. – The Buddha

As rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, do not burden your heart with judgments but rain your kindness equally on all. – The Buddha

As solid rock remains unmoved by the wind, so the wise remain unmoved by blame and praise. – The Buddha

As soon as we think we are safe, something unexpected happens. – The Buddha

As the bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the flower, or its color or fragrance, so let the sage dwell on earth. – The Buddha

As the fletcher whittles and makes straight his arrows, so the master directs his straying thoughts. – The Buddha

As you travel though life, offer good wishes to each being you meet. – The Buddha

At the bottom of things, most people want to be understood and appreciated. – The Buddha

At the end of the way is freedom. Until then, patience. – The Buddha

Attachment is the source of all suffering. – The Buddha

Attachment leads to suffering. – The Buddha

Attention leads to immortality. Carelessness leads to death. Those who pay attention will not die, while the careless are as good as dead already. – The Buddha

Awake. Be the witness of your thoughts. The elephant hauls himself from the mud. In the same way drag yourself out of your sloth. – The Buddha

Awake. Be the witness of your thoughts. You are what observes, not what you observe. – The Buddha

Awaken from suffering within Great Peace. – The Buddha

Awakening is natural, delusion is not – The Buddha

Be a lamp to yourself. Be your own confidence. Hold on to the truth within yourself as to the only truth. – The Buddha

Be a lamp unto yourself. – The Buddha

Be a lamp unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence. – The Buddha

Be a lamp unto yourselves! Work out your liberation with diligence! Fill your mind with compassion! – The Buddha

Be a light unto yourself. – The Buddha

Be greatly aware of the present. – The Buddha

Be it known that Men of dull faculties and slight wisdom, They who cling proudly to signs, Cannot believe in this Dharma. Now I, joyfully and fearlessly, In the midst of the bodhisattvas Frankly casting aside my expedient devices, Merely preach the Unexcelled Path. – The Buddha

Be lamps unto yourselves. Be refuges unto yourselves. Take yourself no external refuge. Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. Hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone besides yourselves. And those, Ananda, who either now or after I am dead, Shall be a lamp unto themselves, Shall betake themselves as no external refuge, But holding fast to the truth as their lamp, Holding fast to the truth as their refuge, Shall not look for refuge to anyone else besides themselves, It is they who shall reach to the very topmost height; But they must be anxious to learn. – The Buddha

Be lamps unto yourselves; be your own confidence. Hold truth within yourselves. – The Buddha

Be quick to do good. If you are slow, The mind, delighting in mischief, Will catch you. Turn away from mischief. Again and again, turn away. Before sorrow befalls you. Set your heart on doing good. Do it over and over again, And you will be filled with joy. A fool is happy Until his mischief turns against him. And a good man may suffer Until his goodness flowers. Do not make light of your failings, Saying, ‘What are they to me?’ A jug fills drop by drop. – The Buddha

Be quick to do good. If you are slow, the mind, delighting in mischief, will catch you. – The Buddha

Be the witness of your thoughts. – The Buddha

Be your own lamps. Be your own shelters. Hang on to the truth as a lamp. Hang on to the truth as a refuge. – The Buddha

Because not even the least Dharma is there found or got at. Therefore is it called ‘utmost, right and perfect enlightenment’. Self-identical is that Dharma and nothing is therein at variance. Therefore is it called ‘utmost, right and perfect enlighten’ – The Buddha

Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. – The Buddha

Before giving, the mind of the giver is happy; while giving, the mind of the giver is made peaceful; and having given, the mind of the giver is uplifted. – The Buddha

Before you’ve seen it, and when you first see it, it is the greatest thing; afterwards, it is ordinary. – The Buddha

Being able to make friends and keep them, welcoming others and sharing with them, a guide, philosopher and friend. One like this will be praised. – The Buddha

Being deeply learned and skilled, being well trained and using well spoken words; This is good luck. – The Buddha

Being generous and kindly in speech, doing a good turn for others, and treating all alike. One like this will be praised. – The Buddha

Believe not because some old manuscripts are produced, believe not because it is your national belief, believe not because you have been made to believe from you childhood, but reason truth out, and after you have analyzed it, then if you find it will do good to one and all, believe it, live up to it and help others live up to it. – The Buddha

Believe nothing because it is written in books. Believe nothing because wise men say it is so. Believe nothing because it is religious doctrine. Believe it only because you yourself know it to be true. – The Buddha

Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true. – The Buddha

Believe nothing on the faith of traditions, even though they have been held in honor for many generations and in diverse places. Do not believe a thing because many people speak of it. Do not believe on the faith of the sages of the past. Do not believe what you yourself have imagined, persuading yourself that a God inspires you. Believe nothing on the sole authority of your masters and priests. After examination, believe what you yourself have tested and found to be reasonable, and conform your conduct thereto. – The Buddha

Believe nothing, O monks, just because you have been told it, or it is commonly believed, or because it is traditional or because you yourselves have imagined it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings – that doctrine believe and cling to and take as your guide. – The Buddha

Believe nothing, O monks, merely because you have been told it or because it is traditional, or because you yourselves have imagined it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide. – The Buddha

Believe nothing,
No matter where you read it,
Or who has said it,
Not even if I have said it,
Unless it agrees with your own reason
And your own common sense. – The Buddha

Believe there is good in the world. – The Buddha

Believe, meditate, see. Be harmless, be blameless. Awake to the law. And from all sorrows free yourself. – The Buddha

Besides the respect of the lives of human beings, all the animals and plants should be on the list too. That is the real humanitarianism.

Better is to speak unpleasant truth than to tell lies. – The Buddha

Better than a long speech is a single quietening word. – The Buddha

Better than a meaningless story of a thousand words is a single word of deep meaning which, when heard, produces peace. – The Buddha

Better than a thousand hollow words Is one word that brings peace. Better than a thousand hollow verses Is one verse that brings peace. – The Buddha

Better than a thousand hollow words Is one word that brings peace. Better than a thousand hollow verses Is one verse that brings peace. Better than a hundred hollow lines Is one line of the dharma, bringing peace. It is better to conquer yourself Than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, Not by angels or by demons, Heaven or hell. – The Buddha

Better than chanting a thousand words in a dead language is one soothing word spoken in the vernacular. – The Buddha

Better than worshiping gods is obedience to the laws of righteousness. – The Buddha

Bhikkhus, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning? The eye is burning, visible forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning; also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact as its condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of greed, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion, with birth, aging, and death, with sorrow, with lamentation, with pain, grief, and despair it is burning. – The Buddha

Born out of concern for all beings. – The Buddha

Both formerly and now, it is only suffering that I describe, and the cessation of suffering. – The Buddha

Bring your mind to noble silence. Unify your mind in noble silence. Concentrate your mind in noble silence… Enter into rapture and pleasure born of silence derived of concentration and awareness that is free from thought and fabrication. – The Buddha

The Buddha is in our hearts. The Buddha is in our mouths. The Buddha is in our daily lives. – The Buddha

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will for seven days appear to you in their benign and peaceful aspect. Their light will shine upon you, … Wonderful and delightful though they are, The The Buddhas may nevertheless frighten you. Do not give in to your fright! Do not run away! Serenely contemplate the spectacle before you! Overcome your fear, and feel no desire! Realize that these are the rays of the grace of the The Buddhas, who come to receive you into their The Buddha-realms. Pray to them with intense faith and humility. – The Buddha

But …meat eating in any form, in any manner, and in any place is unconditionally and once and for all prohibited …Meat eating I have not permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit. – The Buddha

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. – The Buddha

But if you do not find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go on your way alone, like a king abandoning a conquered kingdom, or like a great elephant in the deep forest. – The Buddha

But if you miss it, you will next be confronted with the angry deities, … threatening you and barring your passage … because you turned a deaf ear to the saving truths of religion. All these forms are strange to you, … they terrify you, … and yet it is you who have created them. Do not give in to your fright, … flee them not! They are but … the contents of your own mind… If at this point you should manage to understand that, … and you will find yourself in a paradise among the angels. – The Buddha

But when one masters this wretched desire, which is so hard to overcome, then one’s sorrows just drop off, like a drop of water off a lotus. – The Buddha

By defilement of mind, beings are defiled; by purification of mind, beings are purified. – The Buddha

By giving away food we get more strength. By bestowing clothing on others we gain more beauty. By donating abodes of purity and truth we acquire great treasures.

By oneself the evil is done, and it is oneself who suffers: by oneself the evil is not done, and by one’s Self one becomes pure. – The Buddha

By taking these three steps you will get closer to the Gods: First, Say the Truth. Second: Don’t let you get Angry. Third: Give, even though you have so little to give. – The Buddha

By three things the wise person may be known. What three? He sees a shortcoming as it is. When he sees it, he tries to correct it. And when another acknowledges a shortcoming, the wise one forgives it as he should. – The Buddha

By whomsoever no evil is done in deed, or word, or thought, him I call a Brahmin (holy man) who is guarded in these three. – The Buddha

By your own efforts waken yourself, watch yourself. And live joyfully. – The Buddha

By your own folly you will be brought as low as your worst enemy wishes. – The Buddha

Care about your children. Just bless them instead of worrying, as every child is the little The Buddha who helps his parents to grow up. – The Buddha

Careful amidst the careless, amongst the sleeping wide-awake, the intelligent man leaves them all behind, like a race-horse does a mere hack. – The Buddha

Change is never painful, only the resistance to change is painful – The Buddha

Charity bestowed upon those who are worthy of it is like good seed sown on a good soil that yields an abundance of fruits. But alms given to those who are yet under the tyrannical yoke of the passions are like seed deposited in a bad soil. The passions of the receiver of the alms choke, as it were, the growth of merits. – The Buddha

Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. – The Buddha

Come and see…place no head above your own – The Buddha

Come, live with the doors of the senses guarded, diligent and mindful, vigilant and mindful, with the ways of the mind well watched, possessed of a mind that is awake and observing. – The Buddha

Comparing oneself to others in such terms as “Just as I am so are they, just as they are so am I,” he should neither kill nor cause others to kill. – The Buddha

Concentrate the mind on the present moment. – The Buddha

Confusion conditions activity, which conditions consciousness, which conditions embodied personality, which conditions sensory experiences, which conditions impact, which conditions mood, which conditions craving, which conditions clinging, which conditions becoming, which conditions birth, which conditions aging and death. – The Buddha

Conquer a liar with truth. – The Buddha

Conquer the angry man by love. – The Buddha

Consider Others as Yourself. – The Buddha

Contentment is the greatest wealth. – The Buddha

Craving brings pain; craving brings fear. If you do not yield to craving, you will be free from pain and fear. – The Buddha

Crying with the wise is better than laughing with the fool. – The Buddha

Cultivation of meditative stability alone, will not destroy the discrimination of inherent existence. Afflictive emotions can return, making all sorts of disturbances – The Buddha

Cut down the forest, not just a tree. Out of the forest of desire springs danger. By cutting down both the forest of desire and the brushwood of longing, be rid of the forest, bhikkhus. – The Buddha

Cut out the love of self, like an autumn lotus with thy hand! – The Buddha

Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village. – The Buddha

Delight in heedfulness! Guard well your thoughts! – The Buddha

Delight in meditation and solitude. Compose yourself, be happy. You are a seeker. – The Buddha

Delusions, errors and lies are like huge, gaudy vessels, the rafters of which are rotten and worm-eaten, and those who embark in them are fated to be shipwrecked. – The Buddha

Destroy the man of wicked thoughts, Like a bamboo-tree with its fruit. – The Buddha

Develop a mind that is vast like space, where experiences both pleasant and unpleasant can appear and disappear without conflict, struggle or harm. Rest in a mind like vast sky. – The Buddha

Dharma is not upheld by talking about it. Dharma is upheld by living in harmony with it. – The Buddha

Dignity and quiet joy in all that we do are the expression of perfect concentration and perfect wisdom. – The Buddha

Dispassion is the best of mental states. . . . – The Buddha

Do not accept anything simply because it has been said by your teacher, or because it has been written in your sacred books, or because it has been believed by many, or because it has been handed down by your ancestors. Accept and live only according to what will enable you to see truth face to face. – The Buddha

Do not accept what you hear by report, do not accept tradition, do not accept a statement because it is found in our books, nor because it is in accord with your belief, nor because it is the saying of your teacher. Be lamps unto yourselves. Those who, either now or after I am dead, shall rely upon themselves only and not look for assistance to anyone besides themselves, it is they who shall reach the topmost height. – The Buddha

Do not be jealous of others’ good qualities, but out of admiration adopt them yourself. – The Buddha

Do not be the judge of people; do not make assumptions about others. A person is destroyed by holding judgments about others. – The Buddha

Do not be thoughtless, always be mindful, watch your thoughts! Draw yourself out of the path of evil, like an elephant sunk in mud. – The Buddha

Do not believe anything because it is said by an authority, or if it is said to come from angels, or from Gods, or from an inspired source. – The BuddhaBelieve it only if you have explored it in your own heart and mind and body and found it to be true. Work out your own path, through diligence.

Do not believe anything on the mere authority of teachers or priests. Accept as true and as the guide to your life only that which accords with your own reason and experience, after thorough investigation. Accept only that which contributes to the well-being of yourself and others. – The Buddha

Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. – The Buddha

Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. – The Buddha

Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. – The Buddha

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. – The Buddha

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. – The Buddha

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. – The Buddha

Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. – The Buddha

Do not believe what you have heard Do not believe in tradition because it is handed down many generations Do not believe in anything that has been spoken of many times Do not believe because the written statements come from some old sage Do not believe in conjecture Do not believe in authority, or teachers, or elders But after careful observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and it will benefit one and all, then accept it and live by it. – The Buddha

Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. – The Buddha

Do not blindly believe what others say. See for yourself what brings contentment, clarity and peace. That is the path for you to follow. – The Buddha

Do not breathing in the chronological, do not dream of the later, drain the intellect on the bring about twinkling. – The Buddha

Do not carry with you your mistakes. Do not carry your cares. Travel on alone. Like an elephant in the forest. – The Buddha

Do not close your eyes before suffering. Find ways to be with those who are suffering by all means, Including personal contact and visits, images, sound. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world. – The Buddha

Do not disregard the accumulation of goodness, saying, ‘This will come to nothing.’ By the gradual falling of raindrops, a jar is filled. – The Buddha

Do not give up your authority and follow blindly the will of others. This way will lead to only delusion. – The Buddha

Do not give your attention to what others do or fail to do; give it to what you do or fail to do. – The Buddha

Do not have as friends harmful people, the wise person does not associate with the worst of people. Have as friends virtuous people, the wise person associates with the best of people. – The Buddha

Do not interrogate silence because silence is mute; do not expect anything from the gods, nor should you try to bribe them with gifts, because it is in ourselves that we must look for liberation. – The Buddha

Do not judge yourself harshly. Without mercy for ourselves we cannot love the world. – The Buddha

Do not learn how to react. Learn how to respond. – The Buddha

Do not let pleasure distract you from meditation, from the way. Free yourself from pleasure and pain. – The Buddha

Do not look at the faults of what others have done or not done; observe what you yourself have done or not done. – The Buddha

Do not look for a sanctuary in anyone except your self. – The Buddha

Do not overlook tiny good actions, thinking they are of no benefit; even tiny drops of water, in the end, will fill a huge vessel. Do not overlook negative actions merely because they are small; however small a spark may be, it can burn down a haystack as big as a mountain. – The Buddha

Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is. The future has not yet come. Looking deeply at life as it is. In the very here and now, the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom. We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it? The sage calls a person who knows how to dwell in mindfulness night and day, ‘one who knows the better way to live alone.’ – The Buddha

Do not say anything harsh: what you have said will be said back to you. – The Buddha

Do not speak – unless it improves on silence. – The Buddha

Do not speak harshly to any one; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful: blows for blows will touch thee. – The Buddha

Do not speak thus, Subhuti ! Yes, even then there will be of beings who, when these words of the sutra are being taught, will understand their truth. For even at that time, Subhuti, there will be Bodhisattvas. And these Bodhisattvas, Subhuti, will not – The Buddha

Do not think lightly of good, that nothing will come of it. A whole water pot will fill up from dripping drops of water. – The Buddha

Do not think of how big the universe is, it will merely hurt your head. – The Buddha

Do not underestimate what you specific conventional, nor covetousness others. He who envies others does not terra firma organization of intellect. – The Buddha

Do not vainly lament, but do wonder at the rule of transiency and learn from it the emptiness of human life. Do not cherish to unworthy desire that the changeable might become unchanging. – The Buddha

Do your work, with mastery. – The Buddha

Doing the good deeds is like the grass in the garden. You don’t see its growth. But, it does by days. Doing the wicked deeds is like the hone. You don’t see its damage. But, it does by days. – The Buddha

Don’t believe a teaching just because you’ve heard it from a man who’s supposed to be holy, or because it’s contained in a book supposed to be holy, or because all your friends and neighbors believe it. But whatever you’ve observed and analyzed for yourself and found to be reasonable and good, then accept that and put it into practice. – The Buddha

Don’t blindly believe what I say. Don’t believe me because others convince you of my words. Don’t believe anything you see, read, or hear from others, whether of authority, religious teachers or texts. – The Buddha

Don’t give way to heedlessness or to intimacy with sensual delight – for a heedful person, absorbed in jhana, attains an abundance of ease. – The Buddha

Don’t indulge in careless behaviour. Don’t be the friend of sensual pleasures. He who meditates attentively attains abundant joy. – The Buddha

Don’t just do something, be there. – The Buddha

Don’t keep searching for the truth, just let go of your opinions. – The Buddha

Don’t pray for lighter burdens, but for stronger backs. – The Buddha

Don’t rely on logic alone, nor speculation. Don’t infer or be deceived by appearances. – The Buddha

Drink deeply. Live in serenity and joy. – The Buddha

Dwell not on the faults and shortcomings of others; instead, seek clarity about your own. – The Buddha

Each day of my life I am sowing seeds that one day I will harvest. – The Buddha

Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial. – The Buddha

Embrace nothing:
If you meet the The Buddha, kill the The Buddha.
If you meet your father, kill your father.
Only live your life as it is,
Not bound to anything. – The Buddha

Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes. – The Buddha

Establish your mind as necessary for knowledge and remembrance. Establish a mind free of grasping to anything. – The Buddha

Even if a fool lived with a wise man all his life, he would still not recognise the truth, like a wooden spoon cannot recognise the flavour of the soup. – The Buddha

Even if everyone elseIs not doing good,I alone will.Even if everyone elseis doing wrong,I alone will not. – The Buddha

Even loss and betrayal can bring us awakening. – The Buddha

Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it. – The Buddha

Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within it a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it. – The Buddha

Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a polluted mind, suffering will follow you, as the wheels of the oxcart follow the footsteps of the ox. Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a pure mind, happiness will follow you, as a shadow clings to a form. – The Buddha

Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a pure mind, happiness will follow you, as a shadow clings to a form. – The Buddha

Everything is extraordinarily clear. I see the whole landscape before me, I see my hands, my feet, my toes, and I smell the rich river mud. I feel a sense of tremendous strangeness and wonder at being alive. Wonder of wonders. – The Buddha

Everything that happens to us is the result of what we ourselves have thought, said, or done.We alone are responsible for our lives. – The Buddha

Evil-doers who denounce the wise resemble a person who spits against the sky; the spittle will never reach the sky, but comes down on himself. Evil-doers again resemble a man who stirs the dust against the wind; the dust is never raised without doing him injury. Thus, the wise will never be hurt, but the curse is sure to destroy the evil-doers themselves. – The Buddha

‘Existence is sorrow.’ Understand, and go beyond sorrow. This is the way of brightness. – The Buddha

Explanation of the unspeakable cannot be finished. – The Buddha

Few are those among men who have crossed over to the other shore, while the rest of mankind runs along the bank. However those who follow the principles of the well-taught Truth will cross over to the other shore, out of the dominion of Death, hard though it is to escape. – The Buddha

Few cross over the river. Most are stranded on this side. On the riverbank they run up and down. But the wise man, following the way, Crosses over, beyond the reach of death. He leaves the dark way For the way of light. – The Buddha

Fill your mind with compassion. – The Buddha

Find out for yourself what is truth, what is real. Discover that there are virtuous things and there are non-virtuous things. Once you have discovered for yourself give up the bad and embrace the good. – The Buddha

First of all there will appear to you, swifter than lightning, the luminous splendor of the colorless light of Emptiness, and that will surround you on all sides. …Try to submerge yourself in that light, giving up all belief in a separate self, all attachment to your illusory ego. – The Buddha

Flower and thorn are in the same stem. – The Buddha

Focus  not on the rudeness of others,not on what they’ve done or left undone,but on what you have done and have not done yourself. – The Buddha

Follow not after the vain, understand the ills of sense pleasures. One who is vigilant and meditative, obtains deep joy. – The Buddha

Follow the truth of the way. Reflect upon it. Make it your own. Live it. It will always sustain you. – The Buddha

Follow the way of virtue. Follow the way joyfully through this world and on beyond. – The Buddha

Follow then the shining ones, the wise, the awakened, the loving, for they know how to work and forbear. – The Buddha

Following the Noble Path is like entering a dark room with a light in the hand; the darkness will all be cleared away, and the room will be filled with light. – The Buddha

Foolish, ignorant people indulge in careless lives, whereas a clever man guards his attention as his most precious possession. – The Buddha

Fools wait for a lucky day but every day is a lucky day for an industrious man. – The Buddha

For all mortals, birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering. – The Buddha

For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh. – The Buddha

For he that is delighted by concord, And who abideth in the Law, Falleth not from Security. – The Buddha

For innumerable reasons, Mahamati, the Bodhisattva, whose nature is compassion, is not to eat any meat. – The Buddha

For one who is a learner and who has not yet come to master their mind, but who dwells aspiring for peace from that which binds, making it a matter concerning himself, I know of no other thing as helpful as giving close attention to the mind. – The Buddha

For soon the body is discarded, Then what does it feel? A useless log of wood, it lies on the ground, Then what does it know? Your worst enemy cannot harm you As much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, No one can help you as much, Not even your father or your mother. – The Buddha

For the wakeful one whose mind is quiet, whose thoughts are undisturbed, who has relinquished judgement and blame, there is no fear. – The Buddha

For those struggling in midstream, in great fear of the flood, of growing old and of dying for all those I say, an island exists where there is no place for impediments, no place for clinging: the island of no going beyond. I call it nirvana, the complete destruction of old age and dying. – The Buddha

For those who are always courteous and respectful of elders, four things increase: life, beauty, happiness and strength. – The Buddha

For those who are ready the door to the deathless state is open. If you have ears give up the conditions that bind you and enter in. – The Buddha

Forgive and be free. Forget that you have forgiven and be freer. – The Buddha

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form – The Buddha

Free from passion and desire, you have stripped the thorns from the stem. – The Buddha

Freed by full realization and at peace, the mind of such a man is at peace, and his speech and action peaceful. He has no need for faith who knows the uncreated, who has cut off rebirth, who has destroyed any opportunity for good or evil, and cast away all desire. He is indeed the ultimate man. – The Buddha

Freedom and happiness are found in the flexibility and ease with which we move through change. – The Buddha

From craving arises sorrow, from craving arises fear, but he who is freed from craving has no sorrow and certainly no fear. – The Buddha

From craving is born grief, from craving is born fear. For one freed from craving there’s no grief- so how fear? – The Buddha

From eating meat arrogance is born, from arrogance erroneous imaginations issue, and from imagination is born greed; and for this reason refrain from eating meat. – The Buddha

From the passions arise worry, and from worry arises fear. Away with the passions, and no fear, no worry. – The Buddha

Full of love for all things in the world, practicing virtue, in order to benefit others, this man alone is happy. – The Buddha

Give thanks for what had been given to you,
However little. Be pure, never falter. – The Buddha

Give the people – confidence. Give the people – delight. Give the people – hope. Give the people – the best. – The Buddha

Give whatever you can. – The Buddha

Give, even if you only have a little. – The Buddha

Giving the best to others are giving the best to us. The value of life is not based on how long we live. But, how much can we contribute to others in our society ? – The Buddha

Go forth in every direction- for the happiness, the harmony, the welfare of the many. Offer your heart, the seeds of understanding, like a lamp overturned and re-lit, illuminating the darkness. – The Buddha

Good men and bad men differ radically. Bad men never appreciate kindness shown them, but wise men appreciate and are grateful. Wise men try to express their appreciation and gratitude by some return of kindness, not only to their benefactor, but to everyone else – The Buddha

Goodwill toward all beings is the true religion; cherish in your hearts boundless goodwill to all that lives. – The Buddha

Greater in battle than the man who would conquer a thousand-thousand men, is he who would conquer just one – himself. Better to conquer yourself than others. – The Buddha

Greater in battle
than the man who would conquer
a thousand-thousand men,
is he who would conquer
just one —
himself.
Better to conquer yourself
than others.
When you’ve trained yourself,
living in constant self-control,
neither a deva nor gandhabba,
nor a Mara banded with Brahmas,
could turn that triumph
back into defeat. – The Buddha

Greed is an imperfection that defiles the mind; hate is an imperfection that defiles the mind; delusion is an imperfection that defiles the mind. – The Buddha

Harm no other beings. They are just your brothers and sisters. – The Buddha

Hate is only conquered by love. – The Buddha

Hate never ends hate. Only love can. – The Buddha

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love. – The Buddha

Hatred does not cease in this world by hating, but by not hating; this is an eternal truth. – The Buddha

Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal. – The Buddha

Hatred is never ended by hatred but by love. – The Buddha

Hatreds never cease by hatreds in this world. By love alone they cease. This is an ancient Law. – The Buddha

Having abandoned the taking of life, refraining from killing, we dwell without violence, with the knife laid down, scrupulous, full of mercy, trembling with compassion for all sentient beings. – The Buddha

Having gone on his alms round, the sage should then go to the forest, standing or taking a seat at the foot of a tree. The enlightened one, intent on jhana, should find delight in the forest, should practice jhana at the foot of a tree, attaining his own satisfaction. – The Buddha

He has no need for faith who knows the uncreated, who has cut off rebirth, who has destroyed any opportunity for good or evil, and cast away all desire. He is indeed the ultimate man. – The Buddha

‘He insulted me, he cheated me, he beat me, he robbed me’ — those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. – The Buddha

He is not the same, nor is he another. – The Buddha

He that distributeth not That which he hath received– His food, his drink, his sustenance– Unto devotee, brahman, beggar, wayfarer– Such a low man as he, they say, is like Unto a lack of rain. – The Buddha

He who can curb his wrath as soon as it arises, as a timely antidote will check snake’s venom that so quickly spreads, – such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. – The Buddha

He who causes suffering shall suffer. There is no escape. – The Buddha

He who experiences the unity of life sees his own self in all beings. – The Buddha

He who gives away shall have real gain. He who subdues himself shall be free; he shall cease to be a slave of passions. The righteous man casts off evil, and by rooting out lust, bitterness, and illusion do we reach Nirvana. – The Buddha

He who harms living beings is, for that reason, not an ariya (a Noble One); he who does not harm any living being is called an ariya. – The Buddha

He who has renounced all violence towards all living beings, weak or strong, who neither kills nor causes others to kill – him I do call a holy man. – The Buddha

He who is grateful doesn’t suffer. – The Buddha

He who is kind to animals heaven will protect. – The Buddha

He who lives with his senses well controlled, moderate in his food and drink, he will not be overthrown, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain. – The Buddha

He who never thinks of anything as ‘mine’ does not feel the lack of anything: he is never worried by a sense of loss. – The Buddha

He who slings mud loses ground. – The Buddha

He who walks in the company of fools suffers much. Company with fools, as with an enemy, is always painful. Company with the wise is pleasure, like meeting with kinfolk. – The Buddha

He who walks in the eightfold noble path with unswerving determination is sure to reach Nirvana. – The Buddha

He who wrongs the innocent must bear the fruit of his act, like dust flung against the wind. – The Buddha

He who, calm and clear as the moon, hankers no more for continuity-he is holy. – The Buddha

He who, seeking his own happiness, punishes or kills beings who also long for happiness, will not find happiness after his death. – The Buddha

He whose inflowing thoughts are dried up, who is unattached to food, whose dwelling place is an empty and imageless release – the way of such a person is hard to follow, like the path of birds through the sky. – The Buddha

He whose longing has been aroused for the indescribable, whose mind has been quickened by it, and whose thought is not attached to sensuality is truly called one who is bound upstream. – The Buddha

Health is the first benefit. Content is the first fortune. Friendliness is the first kindness. Nirvana is the first happiness. – The Buddha

Health, contentment, and trust are your greatest possessions. And freedom your greatest joy. – The Buddha

Heaven and Hell are imaginary creation of ignorant minds. – The Buddha

Here even the various mind-pleasing blossoming flowers, and attractive shining supreme golden houses, have no inherently existent maker at all. They are set up through the power of thought. Through the power of conceptuality the world is established. – The Buddha

Here will I live in the rainy season, here in the autumn and in the summer: thus muses the fool. He realizes not the danger (of death). – The Buddha

His success may be great, but be it ever so great the wheel of fortune may turn again and bring him down into the dust. – The Buddha

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure. – The Buddha

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned. – The Buddha

Holding on to anger is like poisoning yourself and hoping someone else will die. – The Buddha

Household life is crowded and dusty; life gone forth is wide open… Suppose I shave off my hair and beard, put on the ochre robe, and go forth from the home life into homelessness. – The Buddha

How blissful it is, for one who has nothing. Attainers-of-wisdom are people with nothing. See him suffering, one who has something, a person bound in mind with people. – The Buddha

How can a troubled mind Understand the way? If a man is disturbed He will never be filled with knowledge. An untroubled mind, No longer seeking to consider What is right and what is wrong, A mind beyond judgements, Watches and understands. Know that the body is a fragile jar, And make a castle of your mind. In every trial Let understanding fight for you To defend what you have won. – The Buddha

How can one ever know anything if they are too busy thinking? – The Buddha

How could you track that Awakened one, trackless, and of limitless range? – The Buddha

How deeply did you learn to let go? – The Buddha

How does one practice mindfulness? Sit in meditation. Be aware of only your breath. – The Buddha

How does one stay mindful? Where feelings are known as they arise, known as they persist, known as they pass away. Thoughts are known as they arise, known as they persist, known as they pass away. Perceptions are known they arise, known as they persist, known as they pass away. This is how a monk stays awake. – The Buddha

How easy it is to see your brother’s faults, How hard it is to face your own. You winnow his in the wind like chaff, But yours you hide, Like a cheat covering up an unlucky throw. Dwelling on your brother’s faults Multiplies your own. You are far from the end of your journey. The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. See how you love. – The Buddha

How easy it is to see your brother’s faults, How hard it is to face your own. – The Buddha

How long the night to the watchman, How long the road to the weary traveller, How long the wandering of many lives To the fool who misses the way. – The Buddha

How will you become free? With a quiet mind Come into that empty house, your heart, And feel the joy of the way Beyond the world. Look within – The rising and the falling. – The Buddha

How wonderful! How wonderful! All things are perfect, exactly as they are. – The Buddha

How wonderful, how miraculous, all beings, but all beings, are fully endowed with the wisdom and power of the Tathagat. But, sadly, human beings, due to sticky attachments, are not aware of it – The Buddha

Hunger (for things) is the supreme disease. – The Buddha

I am a finger pointing to the moon. Don’t look at me; look at the moon. – The Buddha

I am always at the beginning. – The Buddha

I am not the first The Buddha who came upon Earth, nor shall I be the last. In due time, another The Buddha will arise in the world – a Holy One, a supremely enlightened One, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a master of angels and mortals. – The Buddha

I am, I am not, I will be, I will not be are vein thoughts which is a sickness and once all are eliminated no desire arises. – The Buddha

I call it nirvana, the complete destruction of old age and dying. – The Buddha

I call wise man who, while he is innocent , endures insults and blows with a patience equal to its strength. – The Buddha

I consider the positions of kings and rulers as that of dust motes. I observe treasures of gold and gems as so many bricks and pebbles. I look upon the finest silken robes as tattered rags. I see myriad worlds of the universe as small seeds of fruit, and the greatest lake on Earth as a drop of oil on my foot. – The Buddha

I do not dispute with the world; rather it is the world that disputes with me. – The Buddha

I do not fight with the world but the world fights with me. – The Buddha

I do not perceive even one other thing, O monks, that when undeveloped and uncultivated entails such great suffering as the mind. The mind when undeveloped and uncultivated entails great suffering. – The Buddha

I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment. – The Buddha

I have passed in ignorance through a cycle of many rebirths, seeking the builder of the house. Continuous rebirth is a painful thing. But now, housebuilder, I have found you out. You will not build me a house again. All your rafters are broken, your ridge-pole shattered. My mind is free from active thought, and has made an end of craving. – The Buddha

I have the body of a GOD. – The Buddha

I have the True Dharma Eye, the Marvelous Mind of Nirvana, the True Form of the Formless, and the Subtle Dharma Gate, independent of words and transmitted beyond doctrine. This I have entrusted to Mahakashyapa. – The Buddha

I knew that most people never see this reality because they attach to the material aspect of the world. Illusions of self and other fill their vision. I also realized there are those with little dust limiting their vision. – The Buddha

I know what I gave them; I don’t know what they received. – The Buddha

I look upon the judgment of right and wrong as the serpentine dance of a dragon, and the rise and fall of beliefs as but traces left by the four seasons. – The Buddha

I manifested in a dreamlike way to dreamlike beings and gave a dreamlike Dharma, but in reality I never taught and never actually came. – The Buddha

I reached in experience the nirvana which is unborn, unrivalled, secure from attachment, undecaying and unstained. This condition is indeed reached by me which is deep, difficult to see, difficult to understand, tranquil, excellent, beyond the reach of mere logic, subtle, and to be realized only by the wise. – The Buddha

I reached in experience the nirvana which is unborn, unrivalled, secure from attachment, undecaying and unstained. This condition is indeed reached by me which is deep, difficult to see, difficult to understand, tranquil, excellent, beyond the reach of mere logic, subtle, and to be realized only by the wise. – The Buddha

I teach about suffering and the way to end it – The Buddha

I teach one thing and one only: that is, suffering and the end of suffering. – The Buddha

I was born into the world as the king of truth for the salvation of the world. – The Buddha

I will not look at another’s bowl intent on finding fault: a training to be observed. – The Buddha

I will purify my bodily actions through repeated reflection. I will purify my verbal actions through repeated reflection. I will purify my mental actions through repeated reflection. That’s how you should train yourself. – The Buddha

I will teach you the Truth and the Path leading to the Truth. – The Buddha

I, ever knowing the living beings Who tread the Path and those who do not In response to those who may be saved Preach to them a variety of dharmas, Each time having this thought: ‘How may I cause the beings To contrive to enter the Unexcelled Path and quickly to perfect the The Buddha-body?’ – The Buddha

If a man can control his body and mind and thereby refrains from eating animal flesh and wearing animal products, I say he will really be liberated. – The Buddha

If a man does what is good, let him do it again; let him delight in it; happiness is the outcome of good. – The Buddha

If a man going down into a river, swollen and swiftly flowing, is carried away by the current – how can he help others across? – The Buddha

If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him. – The Buddha

If a man offend a harmless, pure, and innocent person, the evil falls back upon that fool, like light dust thrown up against the wind. – The Buddha

If a man possesses a repentant spirit his sins will disappear, but if he has an unrepentant spirit his sins will continue and condemn him for their sake forever. – The Buddha

If a man should conquer in battle a thousand and a thousand more, and another should conquer himself, his would be the greater victory, because the greatest of victories is the victory over oneself. – The Buddha

If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. – The Buddha

If a man who enjoys a lesser happiness beholds a greater one, let him leave aside the lesser to gain the greater. – The Buddha

If a man who has committed many a misdemeanor does not repent and cleanse his heart of the evil, retribution will come upon his person as sure as the streams run into the ocean which becomes ever deeper and wider. If a man who has committed a misdemeanor come to the knowledge of it, reform himself, and practise goodness, the force of retribution will gradually exhaust itself as a disease gradually loses its baneful influence when the patient perspires. – The Buddha

If a man’s mind becomes pure, his surroundings will also become pure. – The Buddha

If a man’s thoughts are muddy, If he is reckless and full of deceit, How can he wear the yellow robe? Whoever is master of his own nature, Bright, clear and true, He may indeed wear the yellow robe. – The Buddha

If a person does not harm any living being…and does not kill or cause others to kill – that person is a true spiritual practitioner – The Buddha

If a person has faith, Bharadvaja, he preserves truth when he says: ‘My faith is thus’; but he does not yet come to the conclusion: ‘Only this is true, anything else is wrong.’ In this way, Bharadvaja, there is the preservation of truth; in this way he preserves truth; in this way, we describe the preservation of truth. But as yet there is no discovery of truth. – The Buddha

If a string has one end, it has another. – The Buddha

If a traveler does not meet with one who is his better, or his equal, let him firmly keep to his solitary journey; there is no companionship with a fool. – The Buddha

If a viper lives in your room and you wish to have a peaceful sleep, you must first chase it out. – The Buddha

If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they would not eat without having given. – The Buddha

If beings knew, as I know, the results of sharing gifts, they would not enjoy their gifts without sharing them with others, nor would the taint of stinginess obsess the heart and stay there. even if it were their last and final bit of food, they would not enjoy its use without sharing it, if there were anyone to receive it – The Buddha

If by leaving a small pleasure one sees a great pleasure, let a wise man leave the small pleasure, and look to the great. – The Buddha

If desires are not uprooted, sorrows grow again in you. – The Buddha

If dresses would have qualified people, then whores would have ruled the world. – The Buddha

If for just the time of a finger-snap a monk produces a thought of loving-kindness, develops it, gives attention to it, such a one is rightly called a monk. Not in vain does he meditate. He acts in accordance with the master’s teaching, he follows his advice. How much more so if he cultivates it. – The Buddha

If I had even a slight awareness, and practiced the Great Way, what I would fear would be deviating from it. – The Buddha

If it is not truthful and not helpful, don’t say it. If it is truthful and not helpful, don’t say it. If it is not truthful and helpful, don’t say it. If it is truthful and helpful, wait for the right time. – The Buddha

If one doth act in friendly wise, With no evil thought toward any single creature, And in so doing becometh proper, And if he have compassion in his soul Toward all living beings–this noble one Doth acquire abundant Virtue. – The Buddha

If one is the master of oneself, one is the resort one can depend on; therefore, one should control oneself of all. – The Buddha

If one man kills a hundred men, and another man masters himself, the second man is the much greater warrior. – The Buddha

If people become accustomed to lying, they will unconsciously commit every possible wrong deed. Before they can act wickedly, they must lie and once they begin to lie they will act wickedly without concern. – The Buddha

If the mind be fixed on the acquirement of any object, that object will be attained. – The Buddha

If the selflessness of phenomena is analyzed and if this analysis is cultivated, it causes the effect of attaining nirvana. through no other cause does one come to peace. – The Buddha

If the selflessness of phenomena is analyzed and if this analysis is cultivated, it causes the effect of attaining nirvana. Through no other cause does one come to peace. – The Buddha

If the traveler cannot find master or friend to go with him, let him travel alone rather than with a fool for company. – The Buddha

If the traveller can find A virtuous and wise companion Let him go with him joyfully And overcome the dangers of the way. But if you cannot find Friend or master to go with you, Travel on alone. – The Buddha

If there be one righteous person, the rain falls for his sake. – The Buddha

If there is a God, it is inconceivable that he would be concerned about my day to day affairs. – The Buddha

If there is no other world and there is no fruit and ripening of actions well done or ill done, then here and now in this life I shall be free from hostility, affliction, and anxiety, and I shall live happily. – The Buddha

If there is only empty space, with no suns nor planets in it, then space loses its substantiality. – The Buddha

If they are neither traceable in the Discourses nor verifiable by the Discipline, one must conclude thus: ‘Certainly, this is not the Blessed One’s utterance’ – The Buddha

If we can look upon our work not for self-benefit,but as a means to benefit society,we will be practicing appreciation and patience in our daily lives. – The Buddha

If we destroy something around us we destroy ourselves. If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves. – The Buddha

If we fail to look after others when they need help, who will look after us?– The Buddha

If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox. – The Buddha

If you are facing in the right direction, all you need to do is keep on walking. – The Buddha

If you are poor, live wisely. If you have riches, live wisely. It is not your station in life but your heart that brings blessings. – The Buddha

If you are tossed about by doubts, full of strong thoughtless passions, and yearning only for that which is detrimental, your thirst will grow stronger and stronger, unquenched, and your pain will grow with your defilements. – The Buddha

If you can keep as silent as a broken gong, then you have attained, when you know no anger. – The Buddha

If you cannot find a good companion to walk with, walk alone, like an elephant roaming the jungle. It is better to be alone than to be with those who will hinder your progress. – The Buddha

If you determine your course With force or speed, You miss the way of the dharma. Quietly consider What is right and what is wrong. Receiving all opinions equally, Without haste, wisely, Observe the dharma. – The Buddha

If you do not follow the right path, you will be lost. – The Buddha

If you don’t disturb yourself, like a broken gong does not vibrate, then you have achieved nirvana. Irritability no longer exists for you. – The Buddha

If you don’t see God in the next person you meet, look no further. – The Buddha

If you endeavor to embrace the Way through much learning, the Way will not be understood. If you observe the Way with simplicity of heart, great indeed is this Way. – The Buddha

If you find someone with wisdom, good judgment, and good actions; make him a companion. – The Buddha

If you have done good, set your mind upon it so that it may be repeated over and over again. Allow yourself to be pleased by good. Accumulating good is joyful. – The Buddha

If you hold yourself dear, protect yourself well. – The Buddha

If you know something hurtful and not true, don’t say it. If you know something hurtful and true, don’t say it. If you know something helpful but not true, don’t say it. If you know something helpful and true, find the right time to say it. – The Buddha

If you let cloudy water settle, it will become clear. If you let your upset mind settle, your course will also become clear. – The Buddha

If you propose to speak, always ask yourself, is it true, is it necessary, is it kind. – The Buddha

If you see an intelligent man who tells you where true treasures are to be found, who shows what is to be avoided, and administers reproofs,follow that wise man ; it will be better, not worse, for those who follow him. – The Buddha

If you sleep, Desire grows in you Like a vine in the forest. Like a monkey in the forest You jump from tree to tree, Never finding the fruit – From life to life, Never finding peace. If you are filled with desire Your sorrows swell Like the grass after the rain. But if you subdue desire Your sorrows shall fall from you Like drops of water from a lotus flower. – The Buddha

If you want to know the past, look at your present. If you want to know the future, look at your present. – The Buddha

If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present. – The Buddha

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete. – The Buddha

If you’re respectful by habit, constantly honoring the worthy, four things increase: long life, beauty, happiness, strength. – The Buddha

‎Imagine that every person in the world is enlightened but you. They are all your teachers, each doing just the right things to help you learn perfect patience, perfect wisdom, perfect compassion. – The Buddha

Imagine that every person in the world is enlightened but you. They are all your teachers, each doing just the right things to help you. – The Buddha

In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves. This is a helpful pointer for our everyday presence-practice. Can you catch yourself angrily defending your point of view or attacking the other person’s? There’s the ego. – The Buddha

In Aryans’ Discipline, to build a friendship is to build wealth, To maintain a friendship is to maintain wealth and To end a friendship is to end wealth. – The Buddha

In compassion lies the world’s true strength. – The Buddha

In every trial Let understanding fight for you. – The Buddha

In exactly the same way, … scatter your body, your feeling, your perception, your predispositions, your discriminative consciousness, break them up, knock them down, cease to play with them, apply yourself to the destruction of craving for them. Verily, … the extinction of craving is Nirvana. – The Buddha

In four ways … should one who flatters be understood as a foe in the guise of a friend: He approves of his friend’s evil deeds, he disapproves his friend’s good deeds, he praises him in his presence, he speaks ill of him in his absence. – The Buddha

In his ignorance of the whole truth, each person maintains his own arrogant point of view. – The Buddha

In our interactions with others, gentleness, kindness, respectare the source of harmony – The Buddha

In our lives, change is unavoidable, loss is unavoidable. In the adaptability and ease with which we experience change, lies our happiness and freedom. – The Buddha

In protecting oneself, others are protected; In protecting others, oneself is protected. – The Buddha

In the light of his vision that is the perspective that allows him to be grateful that things are not worse he has found his freedom and joy: his thoughts are peace, his words are peace and his work is peace. – The Buddha

In the same way that rain breaks into a house with a bad roof, desire breaks into the mind that has not been practising meditation. – The Buddha

In this world Hate never yet dispelled hate. Only love dispels hate. This is the law, Ancient and inexhaustible. – The Buddha

In what is seen, there should be just the seen; In what is heard, there should be just the heard; In what is sensed, there should be just the sensed; In what is thought, there should be just the thought. He should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should he incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak in the world. – The Buddha

In whom there is no sympathy for living beings: know him as an outcast. – The Buddha

Inflamed by greed, incensed by hate, confused by delusion, overcome by them, obsessed by mind, a man chooses for his own affliction, for others’ affliction, for the affliction of both and experiences pain and grief. – The Buddha

Inflowing thoughts come to an end in those who are ever alert of mind, training themselves night and day, and ever intent on nirvana – The Buddha

Inner freedom is not guided by our efforts; it comes from seeing what is true. – The Buddha

Insignificant, is the loss of relatives, wealth and fame; The loss of wisdom is the greatest loss. Insignificant, is the increase of relatives, wealth and fame; The increase of wisdom is the highest gain. Therefore, you should train yourselves thus: “We will grow in the increase of wisdom” Thus you should train yourselves. – The Buddha

Irrigators channel waters; fletchers straighten arrows; carpenters bend wood; the wise master themselves. – The Buddha

It came to me that I should teach this truth for it is real happiness and joy. The cessation of suffering is possible. – The Buddha

It is because I perceive the danger in the practice of mystic wonders, that I loath, abhor, and am ashamed thereof. – The Buddha

It is because of their tranquil thoughts That creatures go to prosperity. – The Buddha

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. – The Buddha

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell. – The Buddha

It is better to do nothing Than to do what is wrong. For whatever you do, you do to yourself. – The Buddha

It is better to spend one day contemplating the birth and death of all things than a hundred years never contemplating beginnings and endings. – The Buddha

It is better to travel well then arrive. – The Buddha

It is better to travel, than to arrive. – The Buddha

It is easy to see the faults of others… it is hard to see our own. – The Buddha

It is good to have companions when occasion arises, and it is good to be contented with whatever comes. – The Buddha

It is ignorance that smothers, and it is carelessness that makes it invisible. The hunger of craving pollutes the world, and the pain of suffering causes the greatest fear. – The Buddha

It is impossible for a man who is bogged to extricate another who is bogged. – The Buddha

It is impossible to underestimate the significance of your today’s choices – The Buddha

It is in this way that I went forth to teach. – The Buddha

It is more important to prevent animal suffering, rather than sit to contemplate the evils of the universe praying in the company of priests. – The Buddha

It is not life and wealth and power that enslave men, but the cleaving to life and wealth and power. – The Buddha

It is our minds that create this world. – The Buddha

It is our own thoughts that lead us into trouble, not other people. – The Buddha

It is the fool who is haunted by fears, dread of dangers, oppression of mind, not the wise man. – The Buddha

It is within this fathoms-long carcass, with its mind and its notions, that I declare there is the world, the origin of the world, the cessation of the world and the path leading to the cessation of the world. – The Buddha

It is wrong to think that misfortunes come from the east or from the west; they originate within one’s own mind. – The Buddha

It is wrong to think that misfortunes come from the east or from the west; they originate within one’s own mind. Therefore, it is foolish to guard against misfortunes from the external world and leave the inner mind uncontrolled. – The Buddha

It is your mind that creates the world. – The Buddha

It takes hundred of years sitting together in the same boat. It takes thousand of years sharing the same bed with. It calls : the predestined affinity. – The Buddha

‘I’ve got children’, ‘I’ve got wealth.’ This is the way a fool brings suffering on himself. He does not even own himself, so how can he have children or wealth? – The Buddha

Journey over, sorrowless, freed in every way, and with all bonds broken – for such a man there is no more distress. – The Buddha

Joy and openness come from our own contented heart. – The Buddha

Joy comes not through possession or ownership but through a wise and loving heart. – The Buddha

Joyful is the accumulation of good work. – The Buddha

Joyously participate in the sorrows of others. – The Buddha

Just as a chariot is verbalized, in dependence on collections of parts, so conventionally a sentient being, is set up depending on the mental and physical aggregates – The Buddha

Just as a line drawn on water with a stick will quickly vanish and will not last long; even so, Brahmins, is human life like a line drawn on water. It is short, limited, and brief; it is full of suffering. One should do good and live a pure life; for none who is born can escape death. – The Buddha

Just as a mother would protect with her life her own son, her only son, so one should cultivate an unbounded mind towards all beings, and loving-kindness towards all the world. One should cultivate an unbounded mind, above and below and across, without obstruction, without enmity, without rivalry. Standing, or going, or seated, or lying down, as long as one is free from drowsiness, one should practice this mindfulness. This, they say, is the holy state here. – The Buddha

Just as a picture is drawn by an artist, surroundings are created by the activities of the mind – The Buddha

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again. – The Buddha

Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame. – The Buddha

Just as a tree, though cut down, can grow again and again if its roots are undamaged and strong, in the same way if the roots of craving are not wholly uprooted sorrows will come again and again – The Buddha

Just as a tree, though cut down, sprouts up again if its roots remain uncut and firm, even so, until the craving that lies dormant is rooted out, suffering springs up again and again. – The Buddha

Just as gold is burnt, cut and rubbed, Examine my words carefully and Do not accept them simply out of respect – The Buddha

Just as the bee takes the nectar and leaves without damaging the color or scent of the flowers, so should the sage act in a village. – The Buddha

Just as the dawn is the forerunner of the arising of the sun, so true friendship is the forerunner of the arising of the noble eightfold path. – The Buddha

Just as the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so also this teaching and discipline has one taste, the taste of liberation. – The Buddha

Just as the great oceans have but one taste, the taste of salt, so too there is but one taste fundamental to all true teachings of the way, and this is the taste of freedom. – The Buddha

Just as you have come to know, the false discrimination of yourself, apply this mentally to all phenomena – The Buddha

Just open your eyes. – The Buddha

Just to say ‘I believe’ or ‘I do not doubt’ does not mean that you understand and see. To force oneself to see and accept a thing without understanding is political and not spiritual or intellectual. – The Buddha

Keeping away for all evil deeds, cultivation of life by doing good deeds and purification of mind from mental impunities. – The Buddha

Kindness is giving others happiness. Compassion is removing others’ bitterness. Joy is freeing others from suffering. – The Buddha

Kindness should become the natural way of life, not the exception. – The Buddha

Know all things to be like this: A mirage, a cloud castle, A dream, an apparition, Without essence, but with qualities that can be seen. Know all things to be like this: As the moon in a bright sky In some clear lake reflected, Though to that lake the moon has never moved. Know all things to be like this: As an echo that derives From music, sounds, and weeping, Yet in that echo is no melody. Know all things to be like this: As a magician makes illusions Of horses, oxen, carts and other things, Nothing is as it appears. – The Buddha

Know from the rivers in clefts and in crevices: those in small channels flow noisily, the great flow silent. Whatever’s not full makes noise. Whatever is full is quiet. – The Buddha

Know well what holds you back, and what moves you forward – The Buddha

Know what you do not know. – The Buddha

Learn this from the waters: in mountain clefts and chasms, loud gush the streamlets, but great rivers flow silently. – The Buddha

Learn to be happy with what you have. – The Buddha

Let a man avoid evil deeds as a man who loves life avoids poison. – The Buddha

Let a man neither give himself over to pleasures … nor yet let him give himself over to self-mortification … To the exclusion of both these extremes, the Truth-Finder has discovered a middle course. – The Buddha

Let a man overcome anger by love. – The Buddha

Let all-embracing thoughts for all beings be yours. – The Buddha

Let go of anger. Let go of pride. When you are bound by nothing You go beyond sorrow. – The Buddha

Let go the past, let go the future, and let go the present (front, back, middle). Crossing to the farther shore of existence, with mind released everywhere, do not further undergo birth and decay. – The Buddha

Let him the intelligent man admonish, let him teach, let him forbid what is improper ! – he will be beloved of the good, by the bad he will be hated. – The Buddha

Let my skin and sinews and bones dry up, together with all the flesh and blood of my body! I welcome it! But I will not move from this spot until I have attained the supreme and final wisdom. – The Buddha

Let no person think lightly of good, saying in his or her heart, “it will not benefit me.” As by the falling of raindrops a jar of water is filled, so the wise person becomes full of good, even though he or she collects it little by little. – The Buddha

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one’s own acts, done and undone. – The Buddha

Let the disciple cultivate love without measure towards all beings. Let him cultivate towards the whole world, above, below, around, a heart of love unstinted….For in all the world this state of heart is best. – The Buddha

Let the wise guard their thoughts, which are difficult to perceive, extremely subtle, and wander at will. Thought which is well guarded is the bearer of happiness.

Let the wise guard their thoughts, which are difficult to perceive, extremely subtle, and wander at will. Thought which is well guarded is the bearer of happiness. – The Buddha

Let the wise one control his thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive, often elusive, and they rush about frantically: a mind well controlled achieves peace and happiness. – The Buddha

Let them not do the slightest thing that the wise would later reprove. – The Buddha

Let us live in joy, never falling sick like those who hate us. Let us live in freedom, without hatred even among those who hate. – The Buddha

Let us live most happily, free from hatred in the midst of the hateful; Let us remain free from hatred in the midst of people who hate. – The Buddha

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful. – The Buddha

Let your diet be spare, your wants moderate, your needs few. So, living modestly, with no distracting desires, you will find content. – The Buddha

Let your love flow outward through the universe, To its height, its depth, its broad extent, A limitless love, without hatred or enmity. Then as you stand or walk, Sit or lie down, As long as you are awake, Strive for this with a one-pointed mind; Your life will bring heaven to earth. – The Buddha

Let your mind become clear like a still forest pool. – The Buddha

Let yourself be open and life will be easier. – The Buddha

Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed. – The Buddha

Letting go of our suffering is the hardest work we will ever do. – The Buddha

Like a beautiful flower that is colorful but has no fragrance, even well spoken words bear no fruit in one who does not put them into practice. – The Buddha

Like a beautiful flower, full of colour, but without scent, are wise words when spoken, but fruitless these words are when not carried out by the speaker. – The Buddha

Like a caring mother holding and guarding the life of her only child, so with a boundless heart of loving kindness, hold yourself and all beings as your beloved children. – The Buddha

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them. – The Buddha

Like a lovely flower full of color but lacking in fragrance, are the words of those who do not practice what they teach. – The Buddha

Like a mother who protects her child, her only child, with her own life, one should cultivate a heart of unlimited love and compassion towards all living beings. – The Buddha

Like fresh milk a bad deed does not turn at once. It follows a fool scorching him like a smouldering fire. – The Buddha

Like the mother of the world, touch each being as your beloved child. – The Buddha

Little by little a person becomes evil, as a water pot is filled by drops of water… Little by little a person becomes good, as a water pot is filled by drops of water. – The Buddha

Long is the night for the sleepless. Long is the road for the weary. Long is samsara (the cycle of continued rebirth) for the foolish, who have not recognised the true teaching. – The Buddha

Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law. – The Buddha

Look not for refuge to anyone beside yourself. Heed fast to the truth as a lamp. – The Buddha

Look not to the faults of others, nor to their omissions and commissions. But rather look to your own acts, to what you have done and left undone. – The Buddha

Look upon him who shows you your faults as a revealer of treasure: seek his company who checks and chides you, the sage who is wise in reproof: it fares well and not ill with him who seeks such company. – The Buddha

Look within, thou art the The Buddha. – The Buddha

Looking deeply at life as it is in this very moment, the meditator dwells in stability and freedom. – The Buddha

Maintain a state of balance between physical acts and inner serenity,like a lute whose strings are finely tuned. – The Buddha

Make an island of yourself, make yourself your refuge; there is no other refuge. Make truth your island, make truth your refuge; there is no other refuge. – The Buddha

Make of yourself a light. – The Buddha

Mankind have love, animals have affection. The harmonious and beautiful world is revealed. – The Buddha

Man’s troubles are rooted in extreme attention to senses, thoughts, and imagination. Attention should be focused internally to experience a quiet body and a calm mind. – The Buddha

Master your words. Master your thoughts. Never allow your body to do harm. Follow these three roads with purity And you will find yourself upon the one way, The way of wisdom. – The Buddha

May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed from their illnesses. May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free. May the powerless find power, and may people think of befriending each other. May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wilderness- the children, the aged, the unprotected- be guarded by beneficent celestials, and may they swiftly attain The Buddhahood. – The Buddha

May all sentient beings be happy and free of suffering. – The Buddha

May all that have life be delivered from suffering. – The Buddha

May everyone be happy and safe, and may their hearts be filled with joy. – The Buddha

May I hold myself in compassion. – The Buddha

May I meet the suffering and ignorance of others with compassion. – The Buddha

May we live like the lotus, at home in muddy water. – The Buddha

Meat is not agreeable to the wise: it has a nauseating odor, it causes a bad reputation, it is food for the carnivorous; I say this, Mahamati, it is not to be eaten. – The Buddha

Meat-eating is condemned by the The Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Sravakas; if one devours meat out of shamelessness he will always be devoid of sense. – The Buddha

Men are tied up to their families and possessions more helplessly than in a prison. There is an occasion for the prisoner to be released, but householders entertain no desire to be relieved from the ties of family. When a man’s passion is aroused nothing prevents him from ruining himself. Even into the jaws of a tiger will he jump. Those who are thus drowned in the filth of passion are called the ignorant. Those who are able to overcome it are saintly Arhats. – The Buddha

Men give up one thing to take up another, but in spite of numerous changes they do not find peace. They are no better than monkeys who let go one bough to take hold of another, only to let it go again. – The Buddha

Men who are addicted to the passions are like the torch-carrier running against the wind; his hands are sure to be burned. – The Buddha

Monks, even if bandits were to savagely sever you, limb by limb, with a double-handled saw, even then, whoever of you harbors ill will at heart would not be upholding my Teaching. Monks, even in such a situation you should train yourselves thus: ‘Neither shall our minds be affected by this, nor for this matter shall we give vent to evil words, but we shall remain full of concern and pity, with a mind of love, and we shall not give in to hatred. On the contrary, we shall live projecting thoughts of universal love to those very persons, making them as well as the whole world the object of our thoughts of universal love – thoughts that have grown great, exalted and measureless. We shall dwell radiating these thoughts which are void of hostility and ill will.’ It is in this way, monks, that you should train yourselves. – The Buddha

Monks, one thing, if practiced and made much of, conduces to great thrill, great profit, great security after the toil, to mindfulness and self-possession, to the winning of knowledge and insight, to pleasant living in this very life, to the realization of the fruit of release by knowledge. What is that one thing: It is mindfulness centered on the body. – The Buddha

Monks, we who look at the whole and not just the part, know that we too are systems of interdependence, of feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and consciousness all interconnected. Investigating in this way, we come to realize that there is no me or mine in any one part, just as a sound does not belong to any one part of the lute. – The Buddha

Monks, when ignorance is abandoned, and knowledge arises in the monk, with the ending of ignorance and the arising of knowledge he clings neither to sense-pleasures, nor does he cling to views, nor to precepts and vows, nor to a Self-doctrine. Not clinking, he is not disturbed; not disturbed, he attains individually nibbana. – The Buddha

More than those who hate you, more than all your enemies, an undisciplined mind does greater harm. – The Buddha

Most problems, if you give them enough time and space, will eventually wear themselves out. – The Buddha

Moved by their selfish desires, people seek after fame and glory. But when they have acquired it, they are already stricken in years. If you hanker after worldly fame and practise not the Way, your labors are wrongfully applied and your energy is wasted. It is like unto burning an incense stick. However much its pleasing odor be admired, the fire that consumes is steadily burning up the stick. – The Buddha

Much though he recites the sacred texts, but acts not accordingly, that heedless man is like a cowherd who only counts the cows of others – he does not partake of the blessings of the holy life. – The Buddha

Mutual respect and mutual listening are the foundations of harmony within the family. – The Buddha

My doctrine is not a doctrine but just a vision. I have not given you any set rules, I have not given you a system. – The Buddha

My whole life, I never spoke a single-word. – The Buddha

Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean, nor by entering into mountain clefts, nowhere in the world is there a place where one may escape from the results of evil deeds. – The Buddha

Neither my life of luxury in the palace -nor- my life as ascetic in the forest were ways to enlightenment. – The Buddha

Never be angry. – The Buddha

Never by hatred is hatred appeased, but it is appeased by kindness. This is an eternal truth. – The Buddha

Never have anything to do with likes and dislikes. The absence of what one likes is painful, as is the presence of what one dislikes. Therefore don’t take a liking to anything. To lose what one likes is hard, but there are no bonds for those who have no likes and dislikes. From preference arises sorrow, from preference arises fear, but he who is freed from preference has no sorrow and certainly no fear. – The Buddha

Never in the world does hatred cease by hatred; hatred ceases by love. – The Buddha

Never in this world can hatred be stilled by hatred; it will be stifled by non-hatred – this is the law Eternal. – The Buddha

Never in this world can hatred be stilled by hatred; it will be stilled only by non-hatred — this is the law of eternal. – The Buddha

Never tell a lie. Anyone who can tell you the slightest of lies is also capable of any evil. – The Buddha

Nirvana is this moment seen directly. There is no where else than here. The only gate is now. The only doorway is your own body and mind. There’s nowhere to go. There’s nothing else to be. There’s no destination. It’s not something to aim for in the afterlife. It’s simply the quality of this moment. – The Buddha

No clouds gathered in the skies and the polluted streams became clear, whilst celestial music rang through the air and the angels rejoiced with gladness. With no selfish or partial joy but for the sake of the law they rejoiced, for creation engulfed in the ocean of pain was now to obtain release. – The Buddha

No matter what path you choose, really walk it. – The Buddha

No one can escape death and unhappiness. If people expect only happiness in life, they will be disappointed. – The Buddha

No one outside ourselves can rule us inwardly. When we know this, we become free. – The Buddha

Noble friends and companions are the whole of the holy life. – The Buddha

Not by mere eloquence, nor by handsome appearance, does a man become good-natured, should he be jealous, selfish and deceitful. – The Buddha

Not merely by rules of conduct and religious observances, nor by much learning either, nor even by attainment of concentration, nor by sleeping alone, do I reach the happiness of freedom, to which no worldlings attain. If you have not put an end to compulsions, nurse your faith. – The Buddha

Nothing is forever except change. – The Buddha

Nothing is to be clung to as I, me or mine – The Buddha

Now this, monks, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering… in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering. – The Buddha

Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare and to happiness’ – then you should enter and remain in them. – The Buddha

O how sweet it is to enjoy life, Living in honesty and strength! And wisdom is sweet, And freedom. – The Buddha

O men! you can take life easily but, remember, none of you can give life! So, have mercy, have compassion! And, never forget, that compassion makes the world noble and beautiful. – The Buddha

O seeker! Rely on nothing until you want nothing. – The Buddha

Observe the life by cause and consequence. Explore the life by wisdom. Treat the life by equality. Complete the life by love. – The Buddha

Of all footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all mindfulness meditations, that on death is supreme. – The Buddha

Of all the worldly passions, lust is the most intense. All other worldly passions seem to follow in its train. – The Buddha

Of those beings who live in ignorance, shut up and confined, as it were, in an egg, I have first broken the eggshell of ignorance and alone in the universe obtained the most exalted, universal The Buddhahood. – The Buddha

Of what I know, I have told you only a little. Why have I not told you the rest? Because it would not lead you to Nirvana. – The Buddha

Offend in neither word nor deed. Eat with moderation. Live in your heart. Seek the highest consciousness. Master yourself according to the law. This is the simple teaching of the awakened. – The Buddha

Offensive acts come back upon the evil doer, like dust that is thrown against the wind. – The Buddha

On a long journey of human life, faith is the best of companions; it is the best refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest property. – The Buddha

On the contrary, Subhuti, those Bodhisattvas who, when these words of the sutra are being taught, will find even one single thought of serene faith, will be such as have honoured many hundreds of thousands of The Buddhas, such as have planted their roots – The Buddha

One act of pure love in saving life is greater than spending the whole of one’s time in religious offerings to the gods . . . – The Buddha

One is not a great one because one defeats or harms other living beings. One is so called because one refrains from defeating or harming other living beings. – The Buddha

One is not called noble who harms living beings. By not harming living beings one is called noble. – The Buddha

One is not low because of birth nor does birth make one holy. Deeds alone make one low, deeds alone make one holy. – The Buddha

One may desire a spurious respect and precedence among one’s fellow monks, and the veneration of outsiders. “Both monks and laity should think it was my doing. They should accept my authority in all matters great or small.” This is a fool’s way of thinking. His self-seeking and conceit just increase. – The Buddha

One moment, ten thousand years. Ten thousand years, one moment. – The Buddha

One of his students asked The Buddha, “Are you the Messiah?” “No,” answered The Buddha. “Then are you a healer?” “No,” The Buddha replied. “Then are you a teacher?” the student persisted. “No, I am not a teacher.” “Then what are you?” asked the student exasperated. “I am awake,” The Buddha replied. – The Buddha

One should follow a man of wisdom who rebukes one for one’s faults, as one would follow a guide to some buried treasure. To one who follows such a wise man, it will be an advantage and not a disadvantage. – The Buddha

One should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should one incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak, in the world. – The Buddha

One should refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs. – The Buddha

One way leads to acquisition, the other leads to nirvana. Realising this a monk should take no pleasure in the respect of others, but should devote himself to solitude. – The Buddha

One who conquers himself is greater than another who conquers a thousand times a thousand on the battlefield. – The Buddha

One who does not rouse themself when it is time to rise, who, though capable, is full of sloth, whose will and thought are weak, that lazy and idle person will never find their way to true knowledge. – The Buddha

One who is unrestrained in life-delusion overcomes; as the wind a weak tree. – The Buddha

One who is wise and disciplined, always kind and intelligent, humble and free from pride. One like this will be praised. – The Buddha

One who, while seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other living beings who also desire happiness, will not find happiness hereafter. – The Buddha

Only a fool would carry the raft around after he had already reached the other shore of liberation. – The Buddha

Only he who crosses the stream of life wishes to know what is known as unknowable. – The Buddha

Only those who go where few have gone can see what few have seen. – The Buddha

Only within our body, with its heart and mind, can bondage and suffering be found, and only here can we find true liberation. – The Buddha

Opinion, O disciples, is a disease; opinion is a tumor; opinion is a sore. He who has overcome all opinion, O disciples, is called a saint, one who knows. – The Buddha

Our good and bad deeds follow us almost like a shadow. – The Buddha

Our life is a creation of our mind. – The Buddha

Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think. – The Buddha

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. – The Buddha

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draws it. Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves. – The Buddha

Our mind is full of anger, jealousy and other negative feelings. Yet we do not realize that these are incompatible with inner peace and joy. – The Buddha

Our own worst enemy cannot harm us as much as our unwise thoughts. No one can help us as much as our own compassionate thoughts. – The Buddha

Our problems are not solved by physical force, by hatred, by war our problems are solved by loving kindness by gentleness, by joy. – The Buddha

Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth. – The Buddha

Overcome your uncertainties and free yourself from dwelling on sorrow. When you delight in existence, you will awaken, and become a guide to those in need, revealing the path to many. – The Buddha

Overcoming yourself is better than overcoming a million enemies in battle. – The Buddha

Pain in life is inevitable but suffering is not. – The Buddha

Pain in life is inevitable but suffering is not. Pain is what the world does to you, suffering is what you do to yourself [by the way you think about the ‘pain’ you receive]. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. [You can always be grateful that the pain is not worse in quality, quantity, frequency, duration, etc] – The Buddha

Pain is certain, suffering is optional. – The Buddha

Pain is the outcome of sin. – The Buddha

Patience is key. Remember: A jug fills drop by drop. – The Buddha

Pay no attention to the faults of others, things done or left undone by others. Consider only what by oneself is done or left undone. – The Buddha

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. It can be argued that peace and happiness comes from the subjective internalised perspective of realizing things could be worse and being grateful they aren’t. The alternative view that peace and happiness comes from the objective external perspective of having more and better things than at present, while important for growth, can be a never-ending source of jealousy, dissatisfaction and disappointment. A balance of the two, where people are grateful for what they have while striving for more seems the best blended perspective. – The Buddha

Peace comes from within; do not try to seek it without. – The Buddha

People cleave to their worldly possessions and selfish passions so blindly as to sacrifice their own lives for them. They are like a child who tries to eat a little, honey smeared on the edge of a knife. The amount is by no means sufficient to appease his appetite, but he runs the risk of wounding his tongue. – The Buddha

Perfect wisdom,
Perfect tranquility,
Perfect compassion,
arise from Our love,
Our sincerity.
Our understanding. – The Buddha

Persevere in thy quest and thou shalt find what thou seekest. Pursue thy aim unswervingly and thou shalt gain victory. Struggle earnestly and thou shalt triumph. – The Buddha

Pity arises when we are sorry for someone. Compassion is when we understand and help wisely. – The Buddha

Please, try to eat a bit less meat, a bit more veggies from today. Let it become a habit gradually until not to eat meat anymore. Then, observe the changing of the body and spirit after eating veggies, fruits and grains. – The Buddha

Practice the path of meditation and compassion. – The Buddha

Pure-limbed, white-canopied, one-wheeled, the cart roles on. See him that cometh: faultless, stream-cutter, bondless he. – The Buddha

Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity. – The Buddha

Rage is a powerful energy that with diligent practice can be transformed into fierce compassion. However much we disagree with our enemies, our task is to identify with them. They too feel justified in their point of view. – The Buddha

Rain falls, wind blows, plants bloom, leaves mature and are blown away; these phenomena are all interrelated with causes and conditions, are brought about by them, and disappear as the causes and conditions change. – The Buddha

Rather than continuing to seek the truth, simply let go of your views. – The Buddha

Read as few words as you like, and speak fewer, but act upon the law. – The Buddha

Realizing the doctrine of dependent-arising, the wise do not at all partake of extreme views – The Buddha

Regard this fleeting world like this:
Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn,
like bubbles on a fast-moving stream,
like morning dewdrops evaporating on blades of grass,
like a candle flickering in a strong wind…
echoes, mirages, and phantoms, hallucinations,
and like a dream. – The Buddha

Release old concepts and energies that keep you in self-punishment patterns. Release old stories and create from a place of love and self-validation. You are worth it! – The Buddha

Religion is a cow. It gives milk, but it also kicks. – The Buddha

Rely on the teaching, not on the person;
Rely on the meaning, not on the words;
Rely on the definitive meaning, not on the provisional;
Rely on your wisdom mind, not on your ordinary mind. – The Buddha

Remember that the only constant in life is change. – The Buddha

Remember to take care of yourself. You can’t pour from an empty cup. – The Buddha

Remember, the greatest gift to give people your enlightenment, to share it. It has to be the greatest. – The Buddha

Reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude and hearing the good Dhamma, this is the best good luck. – The Buddha

Rid of craving and without clinging, an expert in the study of texts, and understanding the right sequence of the words, he may indeed be called “In his last body”, “Great in wisdom” and a “Great man.” – The Buddha

Right perspective is no perspective or all perspectives. – The Buddha

Rising early and scorning laziness, remaining calm in time of strife, faultless in conduct and clever in actions. One like this will be praised.

Rule your mind or it will rule you. – The Buddha

Samsara-the Wheel of Existence, literally, the “Perpetual Wandering”-is the name by which is designated the sea of life ever restlessly heaving up and down, the symbol of this continuous process of ever again and again being born, growing old, suffering, and dying. (It) is constantly changing from moment to moment, (as lives) follow continuously one upon the other through inconceivable periods of time. Of this Samsara, a single lifetime constitutes only a vanishingly tiny fraction. – The Buddha

Sandalwood, tagara, lotus, jasmine – the fragrance of virtue is unrivalled by such kinds of perfume. – The Buddha

See the truth, and you will see me. – The Buddha

See them, floundering in their sense of mine, like fish in the puddles of a dried-up stream — and, seeing this, live with no mine, not forming attachment to experiences. – The Buddha

Seeing the similarity to oneself, one should not use violence or have it used. – The Buddha

Seeing the Way is like going into a dark room with a torch; the darkness instantly departs, while the light alone remains. When the Way is attained and the truth is seen, ignorance vanishes and enlightenment abides forever. – The Buddha

Seeker, empty the boat, lighten the load, be free of craving and judgment and hatred, and feel the joy of the way. – The Buddha

Seeking but not finding the house builder I travelled through life after life. How painful is repeated birth! House-builders, you have now been seen. You will not build the house again. – The Buddha

Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance. – The Buddha

She who knows life flows, feels no wear or tear, needs no mending or repair. – The Buddha

Shines bright over the world. – The Buddha

Shines in the radiance of the spirit. – The Buddha

Should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let them resolutely pursue a solitary course. – The Buddha

Silence is an empty space, space is the home of the awakened mind. – The Buddha

Since everything is a reflection of our minds, everything can be changed by our minds. – The Buddha

Sit Rest Work. Alone with yourself, Never weary. On the edge of the forest Live joyfully, Without desire. – The Buddha

So in this case, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are unskillful; these qualities are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to harm & to suffering’ – then you should abandon them. – The Buddha

So too, friend, purification of virtue is for the sake of reaching purification of mind; purification of mind is for the sake of reaching purification of view; purification of view is for the sake of reaching purification by overcoming doubt; purification by overcoming doubt is for the sake of reaching purification by knowledge and vision of what is the path and what is not the path; purification by knowledge and vision of what is the path and what is not the path is for the sake of reaching purification by knowledge and vision of the way; purification by knowledge and vision of the way is for the sake of reaching purification by knowledge and vision; purification by knowledge and vision is for the sake of reaching final Nibbana [Nirvana] without clinging. It is for the sake of final Nibbana without clinging that the holy life is lived under the Blessed One. – The Buddha

So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that ancient path, that ancient road? It is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. – The Buddha

Solitude is happiness for one who is content, who has heard the Dhamma and clearly sees. Non-affliction is happiness in the world – harmlessness towards all living beings. – The Buddha

Sometime, somewhere you take something to be the truth. But if you cling to it too strongly, then even when the truth comes in person and knocks on your door, you will not open it. – The Buddha

Sometimes it’s better to be kind than to be right. We do not need an intelligent mind that speaks, but a patient heart that listens. You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger – The Buddha

Sound health is the greatest of gifts; contentedness, the greatest of riches; trust, the greatest of qualities. – The Buddha

Stay centered, do not overstretch. Extend from your center, return to your center. – The Buddha

Stop, stop. Do not speak. The ultimate truth is not even to think. – The Buddha

Success isn’t the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. – The Buddha

Suffering does not befall him who is without attachment to names and forms. – The Buddha

Suffering is an illusion. – The Buddha

Suffering is temporary, enlightenment is forever. – The Buddha

Suffering is wishing things were other than they are. – The Buddha

Suffering, if it does not diminish love, will transport us to the furthest shore. – The Buddha

Surely if living creatures saw the results of all their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in disgust. But selfhood blinds them, and they cling to their obnoxious desires. They crave pleasure for themselves and they cause pain to others; when death destroys their individuality, they find no peace; their thirst for existence abides and their selfhood reappears in new births. Thus they continue to move in the coil and can find no escape from the hell of their own making. – The Buddha

Surely if living creatures saw the results of all their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in disgust. But selfhood blinds them, and they cling to their obnoxious desires. … – The Buddha

Sustaining a loving heart, even for a moment, makes one a spiritual being. – The Buddha

Teach you? I cannot teach you. Go; experience for yourself. – The Buddha

Temperance is a tree which as for its root very little contentment, and for its fruit calm and peace. – The Buddha

That which goeth up must needs come down; and that which is down must needs go up. But Brahma has ordained that the that that goeth up is seldom the same as the that that hath gone down. – The Buddha

The Beautiful chariots of kings wear out, This body too undergoes decay. But the Dhamma of the good does not decay: So the good proclaim along with the good. – The Buddha

The big belly can accommodate all kinds of things. The benevolence is never let a dust behind. – The Buddha

The The Buddhas do but tell the way; it is for you to swelter at the task. – The Buddha

The The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, for one great cause alone appear in the world. The The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the world because they wish to cause the beings to hear of the The Buddha’s knowledge and insight and thus enable them to gain purity. They appear in the world because they wish to demonstrate the The Buddha’s knowledge and insight to the beings. They appear in the world because they wish to cause the beings to understand. They appear in the world because they wish to cause the beings to enter into the path of the The Buddha’s knowledge and insight. – The Buddha

The cause of all pain and suffering is ignorance. – The Buddha

The darkest night is ignorance. – The Buddha

The deluding passions are inexhaustible. I vow to extinguish them all. – The Buddha

The discipline which I have imparted to you will lead you when I am gone. Practice mindfulness diligently, to attain the goal of awakening. – The Buddha

The easiest beneficence is a smile. The simplest release is to have a vegetarian meal. – The Buddha

The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of Great Kindness. – The Buddha

The end of desire is the end of sorrow. – The Buddha

The evils of the body are murder, theft, and adultery; of the tongue, lying, slander, abuse and idle talk; of the mind, covetousness, hatred and error. – The Buddha

The fiercest fire is hatred. – The Buddha

The fool is his own enemy. Seeking wealth, he destroys himself. Seek rather the other shore. – The Buddha

The fool says, “These are my sons, this is my land, this is my money.” In reality, the fool does not own himself, much less sons, land, or money. – The Buddha

The fool thinks he has won a battle when he bullies with harsh speech, but knowing how to be forbearing alone makes one victorious. – The Buddha

The fool who recognizes his foolishness, is a wise man. But the fool who believes himself a wise man, he really is a fool. – The Buddha

The fool who thinks he is wise is just a fool. The fool who knows he is a fool is wise indeed. – The Buddha

The foolish man conceives the idea of ‘self.’ The wise man sees there is no ground on which to build the idea of ‘self;’ thus, he has a right conception of the world and well concludes that all compounds amassed by sorrow will be dissolved again, but the truth will remain. – The Buddha

The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity; it affords protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axeman who destroys it. – The Buddha

The four catagories of existance, non-existance, both existance and non-existance, and neither existance nor non-existance, are spiderwebs among spiderwebs which can never take hold of the enormous bird of reality. – The Buddha

The Four Reliances:
First, rely on the spirit and meaning of the teachings, not on the words;
Second, rely on the teachings, not on the personality of the teacher;
Third, rely on real wisdom, not superficial interpretation;
And fourth, rely on the essence of your pure Wisdom Mind, not on judgmental perceptions. – The Buddha

The fragrance of sandalwood and rosebay does not travel far. But the fragrance of virtue rises to the heavens. – The Buddha

The gift of the Truth beats all other gifts. The flavour of the Truth beats all other tastes. The joy of the Truth beats all other joys, and the cessation of desire conquers all suffering – The Buddha

The Gift of Truth excels all other Gifts. – The Buddha

The gift of Truthovercomes all gifts.The joy of Truthovercomes all pleasures.The taste of Truthovercomes all sweetness. – The Buddha

The glorious chariots of kings wear out, and the body wears out and grows old; but the virtue of the good never grows old. – The Buddha

The good renounce everything. The pure don’t babble about sensual desires. Whether touched by pleasure or pain, the wise show no change of temper. – The Buddha

The good shine from afar Like the snowy Himalayas. The bad don’t appear Even when near, Like arrows shot into the night. – The Buddha

The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways. – The Buddha

The greatest gift is to give people your enlightenment, to share it. It has to be the greatest. – The Buddha

The greatest impurity is ignorance. Free yourself from it. Be pure. – The Buddha

The greatest prayer is patience. – The Buddha

The greatest victory is the one over oneself. – The Buddha

The grudge you hold on to is like a hot coal that you intend to throw at someone, only you’re the one who gets burned. – The Buddha

The heavens and the earth may be captured by the mind’s eye. – The Buddha

The holy man is beyond time, he does not depend on any view nor subscribe to any sect; all current theories he understands, but he remains unattached to any of them. – The Buddha

The hunger of passions is the greatest disease. – The Buddha

The ignorant man is an ox. He grows in size, not in wisdom. – The Buddha

The Ill-directed mind can do to you even worse. – The Buddha

The judgment: You are now before Yama, King of the Dead. In vain will you try to…deny or conceal the evil deeds you have done. … the mirror in which Yama seems to read your past is your own memory, and also his judgment is your own. It is you yourself who pronounce your own judgment. – The Buddha

The kingdom of heaven is closer than the brow above the eye but mankind does not see it. – The Buddha

The less you have, the less you have to worry about. – The Buddha

The man that is dominated by Anger Doth not know what is seemly and seeth not the Law; That man whom Hate doth accompany, Becometh like unto murky darkness. – The Buddha

The man who foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my most ungrudging love; and the more evil comes from him, the more good shall go from me. – The Buddha

The man who wears the yellow-dyed robe but is not free from stains himself, without self-restraint and integrity, is unworthy of the robe. – The Buddha

The masters only point the way. But if you meditate And follow the dharma You will free yourself from desire. ‘Everything arises and passes away.’ When you see this, you are above sorrow. This is the shining way. – The Buddha

The mentor can be identified by four things: by restraining you from wrongdoing, guiding you towards good actions, telling you what you ought to know, and showing you the path to heaven. – The Buddha

The method of trying to conquer hatred through hatred never succeeds in overcoming hatred. But, the method of overcoming hatred through non-hatred is eternally effective. That is why that method is described as eternal wisdom. – The Buddha

The more completely we give of ourselves, the more completely the world gives back to us. – The Buddha

The more fully we give our energy, the more it returns to us. – The Buddha

The no-mind not-thinks no-thoughts about no-things. – The Buddha

The non-doing of any evil,
the performance of what’s skillful,
the cleansing of one’s own mind:
this is the teaching of the Awakened. – The Buddha

The number of beings is endless. I vow to save them all. – The Buddha

The number of those endowed with human life is as small as the amount of earth one can place on a fingernail. Life as a human being is hard to sustain–as hard as it is for the dew to remain on the grass. But it is better to live a single day with honor than to live to 120 and die in disgrace. – The Buddha

The ocean, king of mountains and the mighty continents Are not heavy burdens to bear when compared To the burden of not repaying the world’s kindness. – The Buddha

The one in whom no longer exist the craving and thirst that perpetuate becoming; how could you track that Awakened one, trackless, and of limitless range? – The Buddha

The one who has conquered himself is a far greater hero than he who has defeated a thousand times a thousand men. – The Buddha

The one who wanders independent in the world, free from opinions and viewpoints, does not grasp them and enter into disputations and arguments. As the lotus rises on its stalk unsoiled by the mud and the water, so the wise one speaks of peace and is unstained by the opinions of the world. – The Buddha

The only way to bring peace to the earth is to learn to make our own life peaceful. – The Buddha

The past is already gone, the future is not yet here. There’s only one moment for you to live, and that is the present moment – The Buddha

The person who masters himself through self-control and discipline is truly undefeatable. – The Buddha

The poisonous serpent of afflictions is sleeping in your mind; just as if a black viper were asleep in your room. You must use the hook of precepts to quickly remove it. When the sleeping snake is gone, then you can rest at ease. – The Buddha

(The real Brahmin is the one who:) … has crossed beyond duality …knows no this shore, other shore, or both …(is) settled in mind … without inflowing thoughts …is without attachment …endures undisturbed criticism, ill-treatment and bonds, (and is) strong in patience …(is) without anger, devout, upright, free from craving, disciplined and in his last body …has experienced the end of his suffering here in this life, who has set down the burden, freed! – The Buddha

A Brahmin once asked The Blessed One: “Are you a God?” “No, Brahmin” said The Blessed One. “Are you a saint?” “No, Brahmin” said The Blessed One. “Are you a magician?” “No, Brahmin” said The Blessed One. “What are you then?” “I am awake.” – The Buddha

The recollected go forth to lives of renunciation. They take no pleasure in a fixed abode. Like wild swans abandoning a pool, they leave one resting place after another. – The Buddha

The right time to show your good character is when you are pestered by someone weaker than you. – The Buddha

The rule of friendship means there should be mutual sympathy between them, each supplying what the other lacks and trying to benefit the other, always using friendly and sincere words. – The Buddha

The secret of happiness lies in the mind’s release from worldly ties. – The Buddha

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly. There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. – The Buddha

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. – The Buddha

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, nor to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly. – The Buddha

The secret of health for both mind and body is…live the present moment wisely and earnestly. – The Buddha

The seeker is that which is being sought. – The Buddha

The self of which you speak, whether it is the great self or the small self, is only a concept that does not correspond to any reality. – The Buddha

The shallow is easy to embrace, but the profound is difficult. To discard the shallow and seek the profound is the way of a person of courage. – The Buddha

The stages of the Noble Path are: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Behavior, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. – The Buddha

The Tathagatha… is the originator of the path unarisen before, the producer of the path unproduced before, the declarer of the path undeclared before. He is the knower of the path, the discoverer of the path, the one skilled in the path. And his disciplines now dwell following that path and become possessed of it afterwards. – The Buddha

The teaching is simple. Do what is right. Be pure. – The Buddha

The Tempter masters the lazy and irresolute man who dwells on the attractive side of things, ungoverned in his senses, and unrestrained in his food, like the wind overcomes a rotten tree. But the Tempter cannot master a man who dwells on the distasteful side of things, self-controlled in his senses, moderate in eating, resolute and full of faith, like the wind cannot move a mountain crag. – The Buddha

The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care. And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings. – The Buddha

The tongue [is]like a sharp knife… [It] kills without drawing blood. – The Buddha

The true master lives in truth, in goodness and restraint, non-violence, moderation, and purity. – The Buddha

The Truth cannot be told. I vow to explain it. – The Buddha

The Truth is not Arbitrary or a Matter of Opinion, but can be Investigated, and Those who Earnestly Search for the Truth will Find It. The Truth is Hidden to the Blind, but he who has the Mental Eye Sees the Truth. – The Buddha

The virtuous man delights in this world and he delights in the next. – The Buddha

The way to happiness is: keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, give much. Fill your life with love. Do as you would be done by. – The Buddha

The Way which cannot be followed is unattainable. I vow to attain it. – The Buddha

The whole secret of era is to specific no nervousness. Never nervousness what fortitude become of you, depend on no one. Free the twinkling you annul all help are you unrestricting. – The Buddha

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. – The Buddha

The wind cannot overturn a mountain. Temptation cannot touch the man Who is awake, strong and humble, Who masters himself and minds the law.

The wind cannot shake a mountain. Neither praise nor blame moves the wise man. – The Buddha

The wise have mastered body, word, and mind. They are the true masters. – The Buddha

The wise man makes an island of himself that no flood can overwhelm. – The Buddha

The wise say that it is not an iron, wooden or fiber fetter which is a strong one, but the besotted hankering after trinkets, children and wives, that, say the wise, is the strong fetter. It drags one down, and loose as it feels, it is hard to break. Breaking this fetter, people renounce the world, free from longing and abandoning sensuality. – The Buddha

The world is a looking glass. It gives back to every man a true reflection of his own thoughts. Rule your mind or it will rule you. – The Buddha

The world is continuous flux and is impermanent. – The Buddha

The world is full of suffering. Birth is suffering, decrepitude is suffering, sickness and death are sufferings. To face a man of hatred is suffering, to be separated from a beloved one is suffering, to be vainly struggling to satisfy one’s needs is suffering. In fact, life that is not free from desire and passion is always involved with suffering. – The Buddha

The world is on fire! And you are laughing? You are deep in the dark. Will you not ask for a light? – The Buddha

The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage! Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves, but they are like heat haze. – The Buddha

The worlds originate so that truth may come and dwell therein. – The Buddha

There are five things which no one is able to accomplish in this world: first, to cease growing old when he is growing old; second, to cease being sick; third, to cease dying; fourth, to deny dissolution when there is dissolution; fifth, to deny non-being. – The Buddha

There are friendships to one who lives in society; thus our present grief arises from having friendships; observing the evils resulting from friendship, let one walk alone like a rhinoceros. – The Buddha

There are having flowers in Spring, breezes in Summer, moon in Autumn, snows in Winter. If there is nothing worrying over you, it will be the best seasons at all times. – The Buddha

There are no chains like hate… Dwelling on your brother’s faults multiplies your own. You are far from the end of your journey. – The Buddha

There are these two kinds of gifts: a gift of material things & a gift of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: a gift of the Dhamma. – The Buddha

There are those who discover they can leave behind destructive reactions and become patient as the earth, unmoved by fires of anger or fear, unshaken as a pillar, unperturbed as a clear and quiet pool. – The Buddha

There are three things that cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth. – The Buddha

There are three ways to correct our faults:
We can change through behavior
We can change through understanding
We can change heart. – The Buddha

There are two obstacles to enlightenment:
1. Thinking you know.
2 Thinking you don’t know. – The Buddha

There are two things that we should avoid, oh disciple! A life of pleasures, that is low and vain. A life of mortification, that is useless and vain. – The Buddha

There are, O monks, these four lights. What four? The light of the moon, the light of the sun, the light of fire, and the light of wisdom. Of these four lights, the light of wisdom is supreme. – The Buddha

There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it. To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance. – The Buddha

There have been many The Buddhas before me and will be many The Buddhas in the future. – The Buddha

There is a way to be purified, to overcome sorrows and grief, to release suffering, to secure the right path to realize nirvana. This is to be mindful. – The Buddha

There is no fear for one whose mind is not filled with desires. – The Buddha

There is no fire like greed, No crime like hatred, No sorrow like separation, No sickness like hunger of heart, And no joy like the joy of freedom. Health, contentment and trust Are your greatest possessions, And freedom your greatest joy. Look within. Be still. Free from fear and attachment, Know the sweet joy of living in the way. – The Buddha

There is no fire like passion
No crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation,
No sickness like hunger,
And no joy like the joy of freedom. – The Buddha

There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed. – The Buddha

There is no fire like passion. There are no chains like hate. Illusion is a net, Desire is a rushing river. – The Buddha

There is no fire like passion: there is no evil and hatred. – The Buddha

There is no meditation without wisdom, and there is no wisdom without meditation. When a man has both meditation and wisdom, he is indeed close to nirvana. – The Buddha

There is no more self-contradictory concept than that of idle thoughts. What gives rise to the perception of a whole world can hardly be called idle. Every thought we have either contributes to truth or to illusion. – The Buddha

There is no satisfying the senses, not even with a shower of money. “The senses are of slight pleasure and really suffering.” When a wise man has realised this, he takes no pleasure, as a disciple of the The Buddhas, even in the pleasures of heaven. Instead he takes pleasure in the elimination of craving. – The Buddha

There is nothing like lust. Lust may be said to be the most powerful passion. Fortunately, we have but one thing which is more powerful. If the thirst for truth were weaker than passion, how many of us in the world would be able to follow the way of righteous? – The Buddha

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. – The Buddha

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant. – The Buddha

There is nothing you need to achieve. – The Buddha

There is one thing that, when cultivated and regularly practiced, leads to deep spiritual intention, to peace, to mindfulness and clear comprehension, to vision and knowledge, to a happy life here and now, and to the culmination of wisdom and awakening. And what is that one thing? It is mindfulness centred on the body. – The Buddha

There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now. – The Buddha

There is pleasure And there is bliss. Forgo the first to possess the second. If you are happy At the expense of another man’s happiness, You are forever bound. – The Buddha

There is, monks, an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned. If, monks, there were no unborn… no escape would be discerned from what is born, become, made, conditioned. But because there is an unborn…, therefore an escape is discerned from what is born, become, made, conditioned. – The Buddha

There is, Oh Monks, a not-born, a not-become, a not-made, a not-compounded. Monks, if that unborn, not-become, not-made, not-compounded were not, there would be no escape from this here that is born, become, made and compounded. – The Buddha

Therefore, be islands unto yourselves. Be your own refuge. Have recourse to none else for refuge. Hold fast to the Dharma as a refuge. Resort to no other refuge. Whosoever, either now or after I am gone, shall be islands unto themselves, shall seek no eternal refuge, it is they, among my disciples who shall reach the very topmost height! But they must be keen to progress. – The Buddha

Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height. – The Buddha

Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be ye a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to the truth as a lamp; hold fast as a refuge to the truth. Look not for refuge to anyone besides yourselves. – The Buddha

Therefore, do not eat meat which will cause terror among people, because it hinders the truth of emancipation; not to eat meat? this is the mark of the wise. – The Buddha

There’s a treasury full of jade and jewels; It is in you. Don’t go searching far from home for it-it’s here. – The Buddha

These are the roots of trees, O monks, these are empty huts. Meditate, monks, do not be negligent, or else you will regret it later. This is our instruction to you. – The Buddha

These teachings are like a raft, to be abandoned once you have crossed the flood. Since you should abandon even good states of mind generated by these teachings, How much more so should you abandon bad states of mind! – The Buddha

They are not following dharma who resort to violence to achieve their purpose. But those who lead others through nonviolent means, knowing right and wrong, may be called guardians of the dharma. Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination. – The Buddha

They are not following dharma who resort to violence to achieve their purpose. But those who lead others through nonviolent means, knowing right and wrong, may be called guardians of the dharma. – The Buddha

They blame those who remain silent, they blame those speak much, they blame those who speak in moderation. There is none in the world who is not blamed. – The Buddha

They blame those who remain silent, they blame those who speak much, they blame those who speak in moderation. There is none in the world who is not blamed. – The Buddha

They who imagine truth in untruth and see untruth in truth will never arrive at the truth. – The Buddha

Things are not what they appear to be: nor are they otherwise. – The Buddha

Think not lightly of evil, saying, ‘It will not come to me.’ Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little, fills himself with evil. – The Buddha

This Ariyan Eightfold Path, that is to say: Right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right contemplation. – The Buddha

This existence of ours is as transient as autumn clouds To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance. A lifetime is like a flash of lightning in the sky, Rushing by, like a torrent down a steep mountain. – The Buddha

This I tell you: decay is inherent in all conditioned things. Work out your own salvation, with diligence. – The Buddha

This indeed is a safe refuge, it is the refuge supreme. It is the refuge whereby one is freed from all suffering. – The Buddha

This is deathless: the liberation of the mind through lack of clinging. – The Buddha

This is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this fleeting world:
Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream;
Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
Or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream.
So is all conditioned existence to be seen. – The Buddha

This is my child, this is my wealth: such thoughts are the preoccupations of fools. If we are unable to own even ourselves, why make such claims? – The Buddha

This is the entire spiritual life, Ananda, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. When a monk has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path. – The Buddha

This life of separateness may be compared to a dream, a phantasm, a bubble, a shadow, a drop of dew, a flash of lightning. – The Buddha

Those sages who are inoffensive and ever-restrained in body, go to the Deathless State, where, having gone, they grieve no more. – The Buddha

Those which are produced from causes are not produced. They do not have an inherent nature of production. Those which depend on causes are said to be empty; those who know emptiness are aware. – The Buddha

Those which arise dependently are free of inherent existence. – The Buddha

Those who act with few desires are calm, without worry or fear. – The Buddha

Those who are ashamed of what they ought not to be ashamed; and are not ashamed of what they ought to be – such men, embracing erroneous views, enter the woeful path. – The Buddha

Those who are pure in heart and single in purpose are able to understand the most supreme Way. It is like polishing a mirror, which becomes bright when the dust is removed. Remove your passions, and have no hankering. – The Buddha

Those who are truly wise will remain unmoved by feelings of happiness and suffering, fame and disgrace, praise and blame, gain and loss.They will remain calm like the eye of a hurricane. – The Buddha

Those who awaken never rest in one place. Like swans, they rise and leave the lake. On the air they rise and fly an invisible course. Their food is knowledge. They live on emptiness. They have seen how to break free. Who can follow them? – The Buddha

Those who by form did see me and those who followed me by voice. Wrong the efforts they engaged in, those people will not see me. – The Buddha

Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people. – The Buddha

Those who consider the inessential to be essential
And see the essential as inessential
Don’t reach the essential,
Living in the field of wrong intention – The Buddha

Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination. – The Buddha

Those who recognize the existence of suffering, its cause, its remedy, and its cessation, have fathomed the four noble truths. They will walk in the right path. – The Buddha

Those who speak much are blamed, those who speak little are blamed. In this world there are none who are not blamed. Try not to blame. – The Buddha

Those who walk in the Way should avoid sensualism as those who carry hay would avoid coming near the fire. – The Buddha

Those who, relying upon themselves only, not looking for assistance to anyone besides themselves, it is they who will reach the top-most height. – The Buddha

Those… who find delight in freedom from attachment in the renunciation of clinging, free from the inflow of thoughts, they are like shining lights, having reached final liberation in the world. – The Buddha

Though he should conquer a thousand men in the battlefield a thousand times, yet he, indeed, who would conquer himself is the noblest victor. – The Buddha

Though one should live a hundred years without wisdom and control, yet better, indeed, is a single day’s life of one who is wise and meditative. – The Buddha

Though thousand times a thousand in battle one may conquer, yet should one conquer just oneself, one is the greatest conqueror. – The Buddha

Though through all his life a fool associates with a wise man, he yet understands not the Dharma, as the spoon, the flavor of soup. – The Buddha

Thoughtfulness is the way to deathlessness, thoughtlessness the way to death. The thoughtful do not die: the thoughtless are as if dead already. – The Buddha

Thought-habits can harden into character. So watch your thoughts. – The Buddha

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared. – The Buddha

Through countless births in the cycle of existence
I have run, not finding
although seeking the builder of this house;
and again and again I faced the suffering of new birth.
Oh housebuilder! Now you are seen.
You shall not build a house again for me.
All your beams are broken,
the ridgepole is shattered.
The mind has become freed from conditioning:
the end of craving has been reached. – The Buddha

Through effort you will cross any raging flood, through energy you will pass any sorrow. – The Buddha

Through one all are known, through one all are also seen – The Buddha

Through our senses the world appears. Through our reactions we create delusions.Without reactions the world becomes clear. – The Buddha

Through true honesty deeply believe that all sentient-beings are one.That all beings have the same true nature, wisdom, virtue. – The Buddha

Through vigilance, restraint and control the wise will construct and island that no flood will overcome. – The Buddha

Through zeal knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal knowledge is lost; let a man who knows this double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow. – The Buddha

Through zeal, knowledge is gotten; through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost. – The Buddha

Through zeal, knowledge is gotten; through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost; let a man who knows the double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow. – The Buddha

Thus all things are subject to death, sorrow and suffering. I became aware that I too was of the same nature, the nature of beginning and end. What if I searched for that which underlies all creation, that which is nirvana, the perfect freedom from unconditioned existence? – The Buddha

Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world: As star at dawn, a bubble in a stream A flash of lightning in a summer cloud A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream – The Buddha

Thus they continue to move in the coil and can find no escape from the hell of their own making. And how empty are their pleasures, how vain are their endeavors!—hollow like the plantain-tree, and without contents like the bubble. – The Buddha

Times of luxury do not last long, but pass away very quickly; nothing in this world can be long enjoyed. – The Buddha

To avoid causing terror to living beings, let the disciple refrain from eating meat. – The Buddha

To avoid causing terror to living beings, let the disciple refrain from eating meat… the food of the wise is that which is consumed by the sadhus [holymen]; it does not consist of meat… There may be some foolish people in the future who will say that I permitted meat-eating and that I partook of meat myself, but… meat-eating I have not permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit meat-eating in any form, in any manner and in any place; it is unconditionally prohibited for all. – The Buddha

To awaken, sit calmly, letting each breath clear your mind and open your heart. – The Buddha

To be concerned with the issue; soul versus non-soul, is to be in bondage to craving for becoming and non-becoming. – The Buddha

To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana. – The Buddha

To cease from evil, to do good, and to purify the mind yourself, this is the teaching of all the The Buddhas. – The Buddha

To do a little good is more than to accomplish great conquests. – The Buddha

To eat meat is just a habit after we were born. In fact, we are not born to eat meat. – The Buddha

To force oneself to believe and to accept a thing without understanding is political, and not spiritual or intellectual. – The Buddha

To have everything is to possess nothing. – The Buddha

To have much learning, to be skillful in handicraft, well-trained in discipline, and to be of good speech — this is the greatest blessing. – The Buddha

To him in whom love dwells, the whole world is but one family. – The Buddha

To insist on a spiritual practice that served you in the past is to carry the raft on your back after you have crossed the river. – The Buddha

To keep the body in good health is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and keep our mind strong and clear. – The Buddha

To know and not to use is not yet to know! – The Buddha

To life in the consciousness of the inevitability of suffering, of becoming enfeebled, of old age and of death, is impossible – we must free ourselves from life, from all possible life. – The Buddha

To live a single day and hear a good teaching is better than to live a hundred years without knowing such teaching. – The Buddha

To master the pride of defiant selfhood, that in truth is the highest bliss. – The Buddha

To meditate is to listen with a receptive heart. – The Buddha

To refrain from evil and from strong drink and to be always, steadfast in virtue; this is the good luck. – The Buddha

To share happiness, and to have done something good before leaving this life is sweet. – The Buddha

To stop suffering, stop greediness. Greediness is a source of suffering. – The Buddha

To support mother and father, to cherish wife and child and to have a simple livelihood; this is the good luck. – The Buddha

To support mother and father, to cherish wife and children, and to be engaged in peaceful occupation — this is the greatest blessing. – The Buddha

To utter pleasant words without practicing them, is like a fine flower without fragrance. – The Buddha

To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue. – The Buddha

Transient are conditioned things. Try to accomplish your aim with diligence. – The Buddha

Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. – The Buddha

Treat others with respect. How you treat others will be how they treat you. – The Buddha

True and lasting inner peace can never be found in external things. It can only be found within in. And then, once we find and nurture it with ourselves, it radiates outward. – The Buddha

True charity occurs only when there are no notions of giving, giver, or gift. – The Buddha

Truth is always truth, untruth is always untruth. This is what matters, this is right desire. – The Buddha

Truths cannot be acquired from words out of other people’s mouths. Before Truths can be internalized, they must come from one’s own realizations and practices. Through a lifetime of personal practice, human beings are capable of revealing all of the secrets of the cosmic essence. You are your own best judge. – The Buddha

Tune as the sitthar, neither high nor low, and we will dance away the hearts of men. – The Buddha

Turn away from mischief. Again and again, turn away. Before sorrow befalls you. – The Buddha

Understand that the body is merely the foam of a wave, the shadow of a shadow. – The Buddha

Understand the suffering of worldly existence. – The Buddha

Understanding is the heartwood of well-spoken words. – The Buddha

Unkind people spread malicious tales, and well-intentioned people also censure; but in either case the tranquil sage remains unconcerned. Nowhere is there to be found a disconcerted sage. – The Buddha

Until he has unconditional and unbiased love for all beings, man will not find peace. – The Buddha

Victory breeds hatred; the defeated live in pain. The peaceful live happily, giving up victory and defeat. – The Buddha

Wakefulness is the way to life. The fool sleeps As if he were already dead, But the master is awake And he lives forever. – The Buddha

Want what you have and you will always get what you want. – The Buddha

War ends only when people love each other. – The Buddha

Watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings. – The Buddha

Water surrounds the lotus flower, but does not wet its petals. – The Buddha

Watering the flowers and the trees, whispering to them, talking to them. Then, they will grow to be more bright and luxuriant. – The Buddha

We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. – The Buddha

We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them. – The Buddha

We are the same as plants, as trees, as other people, as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around us, we are the same as everything. – The Buddha

We are what we think, and all that we are rises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak and act with a pure mind and happiness will follow. – The Buddha

We are what we think.

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.– The Buddha

We begin to die from the moment we are born, for birth is the cause of death. The nature of decay is inherent in youth, the nature of sickness is inherent in health, in the midst of life we are verily in death. – The Buddha

We do not learn by experience, but by our capacity for experience. – The Buddha

We living beings, right down to crickets, ants, mosquitoes , and flies, all possess life that is without beginning or end. – The Buddha

We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it? – The Buddha

We will be thankful and grateful. Not even the last thing that is done for us shall be forgotten. – The Buddha

We will develop love, we will practice it, we will make it both a way and a basis. – The Buddha

Well-makers lead the water (wherever they like) ; fletchers bend the arrow ; carpenters bend a log of wood ; wise people fashion themselves. – The Buddha

What I know is like the leaves on that tree; what I teach is only a small part. But I offer it to all with an open hand. What do I not teach? Whatever is fascinating to discuss, divides people against each other, but has no bearing on putting an end to sorrow. What do I teach? Only what is necessary to take you to the other shore. – The Buddha

What is evil? Killing is evil, lying is evil, slandering is evil, abuse is evil, gossip is evil, envy is evil, hatred is evil, to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things are evil. And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil, illusion is the root of evil. – The Buddha

What is most needed is a loving heart. – The Buddha

What is the appropriate behavior for a man or a woman in the midst of this world, where each person is clinging to his piece of debris? What’s the proper salutation between people as they pass each other in this flood? – The Buddha

What is the noble truth of suffering? Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering and sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering. – The Buddha

What is this world condition? Body is the world condition. And with body and form goes feeling, perception, consciousness, and all the activities throughout the world. The arising of form and the ceasing of form-everything that has been heard, sensed, and known, sought after and reached by the mind-all this is the embodied world, to be penetrated and realized. – The Buddha

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind. If a man speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering will follow him as the wheel of the cart follows the beast that draws the cart. If a man speaks or acts with a pure mind, joy follows him as his own shadow. – The Buddha

What you are is what you have been. What you’ll be is what you do now. – The Buddha

What you have become is the result of what you have thought – The Buddha

What you think you become. – The Buddha

Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking and pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. – The Buddha

Whatever a person frequently thinks and reflects on, that will become the inclination of their mind. – The Buddha

Whatever an enemy might do to an enemy, or a foe to a foe, the ill-directed mind can do to you even worse. – The Buddha

Whatever grounds there are for making merit productive of a future birth, all these do not equal a sixteenth part of the liberation of mind by loving-kindness. The liberation of mind by loving-kindness surpasses them and shines forth, bright and brilliant. – The Buddha

Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation. – The Buddha

Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is awakened. – The Buddha

Whatever suffering there is in this world,all arises from desiring only myself to be happy.And whatever joy there is in this world,all arises from desiring to share my happiness with everyone. – The Buddha

What’s done to the children is done to society. – The Buddha

Whatsoever misfortunes there are Here in this world or in the next, They all have their root in Ignorance And in the accumulation of Longing and Desire. – The Buddha

Whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings…that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide. – The Buddha

When a man has pity on all living creatures then only is he noble. – The Buddha

When a man is stimulated by his own thoughts, full of desire and dwelling on what is attractive, his craving increases even more. He is making the fetter even stronger. But he who takes pleasure in stilling his thoughts, practising the contemplation of what is repulsive, and remaining recollected, now he will make an end of craving, he will snap the bonds of Mara. His aim is accomplished, he is without fear, rid of craving and without stain. He has removed the arrows of changing existence. This is his last body. – The Buddha

When a man makes utensils out of a metal which has been thoroughly cleansed of dross, the utensils will be excellent. You monks, who wish to follow the Way, make your own hearts clean from the dirt of evil passion, and your conduct will be unimpeachable. – The Buddha

When a man venerates those worthy of veneration, be they The Buddhas or their disciples, who have transcended all obstacles and passed beyond sorrow and tears – venerating such as these, whose passions are extinguished and for whom there is no further source for fear, no one can calculate how great his merit is. – The Buddha

When a monk is an arahant, with his fermentations ended – one who has reached fulfillment, done the task, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, totally destroyed the fetter of becoming, and is released through right gnosis – the thought doesn’t occur to him that ‘There is someone better than me,’ or ‘There is someone equal to me,’ or ‘There is someone worse than me.’ – The Buddha

When a wise man is advised of his errors, he will reflect on and improve his conduct. When his misconduct is pointed out, a foolish man will not only disregard the advice but rather repeat the same error. – The Buddha

When an evil-doer, seeing you practise goodness, comes and maliciously insults you, you should patiently endure it and not feel angry with him, for the evil-doer is insulting himself by trying to insult you. – The Buddha

When faced with the vicissitudes of life, one’s mind remains unshaken, sorrow-less, stainless, secure; this is the greatest welfare. – The Buddha

When giving to others do not linger on thoughts of a giving, what was given, or the one who has received. – The Buddha

When I was a young man, near the beginning of my life, I looked around with true mindfulness and saw that all things are subject to decay. – The Buddha

When ignorant people see someone who is dead, they are disgusted and horrified, even thought they too will be dead some day. I thought to myself: I don’t want to be like the ignorant people. After then, I couldn’t feel the usual intoxication with life anymore. – The Buddha

When one drives away the negligent through vigilance, he climbs the heights of wisdom, and can see the suffering masses. Serene, you look upon the lost like one that stands on a mountain sees those that stand upon the plain. – The Buddha

When one feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie, there is no evil, I tell you, he will not do. – The Buddha

When one is overcome by this wretched, clinging desire in the world, one’s sorrows increase like grass growing up after a lot of rain. – The Buddha

When one sees that everything exists as an illusion, one can live in a higher sphere than ordinary man. – The Buddha

When one, abandoning greed, feels no greed for what would merit greed, greed gets shed from him – like a drop of water from a lotus leaf. – The Buddha

When phenomena are individually analyzed as selfless, and what has been analyzed is meditated upon, that is the cause for attaining the fruit, nirvana. One does not go to peace through any other cause – The Buddha

When the Aggregates arise, decay and die, O bhikkhu, every moment you are born, decay, and die. – The Buddha

When the sleeping snake is gone, then you can rest at ease. – The Buddha

When things are going well, be mindful of adversity
When prosperous, be mindful of poverty
When loved, be mindful of thoughtfulness
When respected, be mindful of humility – The Buddha

When watching after yourself, you watch after others. When watching after others, you watch after yourself. – The Buddha

When we feel happy and peaceful, our happiness and peace radiates around us, and others can enjoy it as well. This is called ‘the enjoyment of others of our body of bliss’. – The Buddha

When we free ourselves of desire, we will know serenity and freedom. – The Buddha

When wishes are few, the heart is happy. When craving ends, there is peace. – The Buddha

When words are both true and kind they can change the world. – The Buddha

When you come upon a path that brings benefit and happiness to all, follow this course as the moon journeys through the stars. – The Buddha

When you dig a well, there’s no sign of water until you reach it, only rocks and dirt to move out of the way. You have removed enough; soon the pure water will flow. – The Buddha

When you go into the space of nothingness, everything becomes known. – The Buddha

When you have great joy, you will become The Buddhas! – The Buddha

When you know for yourselves, ‘These things are wholesome; these things are blameless; these things are praised by the wise; these things, if undertaken and practiced, lead to welfare and happiness,’ then you should engage in them. – The Buddha

When you move your focus from competition to contribution life becomes a celebration. Never try to defeat people, just win their hearts. – The Buddha

When you realize how perfect [or at least better than it could be] everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. – The Buddha

When your mind is set in meditative equipoise, you can see reality exactly as it is. – The Buddha

Whenever and wherever one encounters the arising and passing away of the mental-physical structure, one enjoys bliss and delight, which lead on to the deathless stage experienced by the wise. – The Buddha

‘Wherefore, brethren, thus must ye train yourselves : Liberation of the will through love will develop, we will often practice it, we will make it vehicle and base, take our stand upon it, store it up, throughly set it going.’ – The Buddha

Wherever a person goes, his deeds, like a shadow, will follow. – The Buddha

Wherever there is light, there is shadow; wherever there is length, there is shortness; wherever there is white, there is black. Just like these, as the self-nature of things can not exist alone, they are called non-substantial. – The Buddha

Wherever there is possession of marks, there is fraud ; wherever there is no-possession of no-marks, there is no fraud. Hence the Tathagata is to be seen from no-marks as marks. – The Buddha

Wherever we go, wherever we remain, the results of our actions follow us. – The Buddha

Wherever you live is your temple, if you treat it like one. – The Buddha

Which do you think is more my friend, the water in the four great oceans or the tears that you have shed on this long way of taking birth again and again? – The Buddha

Who ever lives looking for pleasure only, his senses uncontrolled, immoderate in his enjoyments, idle and weak, the tempter will certainly overcome him, as the wind blows down a weak tree. – The Buddha

Whoever counters the malicious with malice can never be free, but one who feels no maliciousness pacifies those who hate. Hate brings misery to humanity so the wise man knows no hatred. – The Buddha

Whoever doesn’t flare up at someone who’s angry wins a battle hard to win. – The Buddha

Whoever has done harmful actions but later covers them up with good is like the moon which, freed from clouds, lights up the world. – The Buddha

Whoever makes love grow boundless, and sets his mind for seeing the end of birth, his fetters are worn thin. If he loves even a single being, Good will follow. But the Noble One with compassionate heart for all mankind, generates abounding good. – The Buddha

Whoever sees me sees the teaching, and whoever sees the teaching sees me. – The Buddha

Why are you so sure parallel lines exist? Believe nothing, merely because you have been told it, or because it is traditional, or because you have imagined it. – The Buddha

Why cling to the pain and the wrongs of yesterday? Why hold on to the very things that keep you from hope and love. – The Buddha

Why do what you will regret? Why bring tears upon yourself? Do only what you do not regret, And fill yourself with joy. – The Buddha

Why since I am myself subject to birth, ageing, disease, death, sorrows and defilement, do I seek after what is also subject to these things? Suppose, being myself subject these things, seeking danger in them, I were to seek the unborn, unageing, und. – The Buddha

Will not be punished for your anger, your anger is the punishment. – The Buddha

Winning gives birth to hostility Losing, one lies down in pain. The calmed lie down with ease, having set winning and losing aside. – The Buddha

Wish I am free from barriers when I die, and The Buddha will welcome me from far away. – The Buddha

With fools, there is no companionship. Rather than to live with men who are selfish, vain, quarrelsome, and obstinate, let a man walk alone. – The Buddha

With gentleness overcome anger. With generosity overcome meanness. With truth overcome deceit. – The Buddha

With good will for the entire cosmos, cultivate a limitless heart: above, below, and all around, unobstructed, without hostility or hate. – The Buddha

With his mind free from the inflow of thoughts and from restlessness, by abandoning both good and evil, an alert man knows no fear. – The Buddha

With our thoughts we make the world. – The Buddha

Within this moment, the only moment that exists, the past, present and future are contained. – The Buddha

Without approval and without scorn, but carefully studying the sentences word by word, one should trace them in the Discourses and verify them by the Discipline. If they are neither traceable in the Discourses nor verifiable by the Discipline, one must conclude thus: ‘Certainly, this is not the Blessed One’s utterance; this has been misunderstood by that bhikkhu – or by that community, or by those elders, or by that elder.’ In that way, bhikkhus, you should reject it. – The Buddha

Wonder of wonders! Intrinsically all living beings are The Buddhas, endowed with wisdom and virtue, but because men’s minds have become inverted through delusive thinking they fail to perceive this. – The Buddha

Words do not express thoughts very well; everything immediately becomes a little different, a little distorted, a little foolish. And yet it also pleases me and seems right that what is of value and wisdom of one man seems nonsense to another. – The Buddha

Ye must leave righteous ways behind, not to speak of unrighteous ways. – The Buddha

Yes, Kālāmas, it is proper that you have doubt, that you have perplexity, for a doubt has arisen in a matter which is doubtful. Now, look you Kālāmas, do not be led by reports, or traditions, or hearsay. Be not led by the authority of religious texts, not by the delight in speculative opinions, nor by seeming possibilities, nor by the idea: ‘this is our teacher’. But, O Kalamas, when you know for yourself that certain things are unwholesome, and wrong, and bad, then give them up… And when you know for yourself that certain things are wholesome and good, then accept them and follow them. – The Buddha

Yet the Teaching is simple. Do what is right. Be pure. At the end of the way is freedom. – The Buddha

You are all The Buddhas. – The Buddha

You are all the The Buddha. – The Buddha

You are as the yellow leaf. The messengers of death are at hand. You are to travel far away. What will you take with you? You are the lamp To lighten the way. Then hurry, hurry. When your light shines. – The Buddha

You are far from the end of your journey. The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. See how you love. – The Buddha

You are the community now. Be a lamp for yourselves. Be your own refuge. Seek for no other. All things must pass. Strive on diligently. Don’t give up. – The Buddha

You are the source of all purity and impurity. No one purifies another. – The Buddha

You are what you think about. – The Buddha

You are your own master, you make your own future. Therefore discipline yourself as a horse-dealer trains a thoroughbred – The Buddha

You can search the entire universe and not find a single being more worthy of love than you. – The Buddha

You can search the world over and you will find no one who is more deserving of your kindness and well wishing than you yourself. – The Buddha

You cannot travel on the path until you become the path itself. – The Buddha

You create what you defend against. – The Buddha

You have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy. – The Buddha

You have to do your own work; Enlightened Ones will only show the way. Those who practise meditation will free themselves from the chains of death – The Buddha

You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love & affection. – The Buddha

You must take action yourself, for The Buddhas only teach the way. – The Buddha

You must use the hook of precepts to quickly remove it. – The Buddha

‎You only lose that which you cling to. – The Buddha

You throw thorns, falling in my silence they become flowers. – The Buddha

You too shall pass away. Knowing this, how can you quarrel? – The Buddha

You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger… Let a man overcome anger by love. – The Buddha

You yourself must earnestly practice, the enlightened ones only proclaim the path. – The Buddha

You yourself must make an effort. The Buddhas are only show the way. The thoughtful who enter the way are freed from the bondage of defilements. – The Buddha

You yourself must strive. The The Buddhas only point the way. – The Buddha

You, as much as anyone in the universe, deserve your love and respect. – The Buddha

Your actions are your only belongings. – The Buddha

Your actions are your only true belongings. – The Buddha

Your days pass like rainbows, like a flash of lightning, like a star at dawn. Your life is short. How can you quarrel? – The Buddha

Your enemy can be your greatest teacher. – The Buddha

Your greatest weapon is your enemy’s mind. – The Buddha

Your mind is a powerful thing. When you filter it with positive thoughts, your life will start to change. – The Buddha

Your suffering is my suffering and your happiness is my happiness. – The Buddha

Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it. – The Buddha

Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts. Develop the mind of equilibrium. You will always be getting praise and blame, but do not let either affect the poise of the mind: follow the calmness, the absence of pride. – The Buddha

Your worst enemy is your best teacher. – The Buddha

Action

A jug fills drop by drop. – The Buddha

A wrong action may not bring its reaction at once, even as fresh milk turns not sour at once: like a smouldering fire concealed under ashes it consumes the wrongdoer, the fool. – The Buddha

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea. – The Buddha

Abstain from all sinful, unwholesome actions, perform only pious wholesome ones, purify the mind; this is the teaching of enlightened ones – The Buddha

Being generous, just helping one’s relatives and being blameless in one’s actions; this is the best good luck. – The Buddha

Beings are owners of their action, heirs of their action. – The Buddha

Beings are owners of their actions, heirs of their actions; they originate from their actions, are bound to their actions, have their actions as their refuge. It is action that distinguishes beings as inferior and superior. – The Buddha

Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence. – The Buddha

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. – The Buddha

However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them? – The Buddha

I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act. – The Buddha

I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done. – The Buddha

If you are facing in the right direction, all you need to do is keep walking. – The Buddha

It is better to travel well than to arrive. – The Buddha

To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent. – The Buddha

Anger, Forgiveness, and Compassion

An outside enemy exists only if there is anger inside. – The Buddha

Anger can quickly become aggression or violence. You have already probably experienced the devastating effects of anger left unchecked. – The Buddha

Anger, therefore, is an emotion that needs to be understood and dealt with properly so that its destructive potential is contained and channeled appropriately. – The Buddha

Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. – The Buddha

Beware of the anger of the body. Master the body. Let it serve truth. Beware of the anger of the mouth. Master your words. Let them serve truth. Beware of the anger of the mind. Master your thoughts. Let them serve truth. – The Buddha

Beware of the anger of the mouth. Master your words. Let them serve truth. – The Buddha

Conquer anger by love, evil by good; Conquer the miser with liberality, and the liar with truth. – The Buddha

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer badness with goodness. Conquer meanness with generosity. Conquer dishonesty with truth. – The Buddha

Friendship is the only cure for hatred, the only guarantee of peace. – The Buddha

Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law. – The Buddha

Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal. – The Buddha

Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little. – The Buddha

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. – The Buddha

In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves. – The Buddha

In the beginning, compassion is like the seed without which we cannot have any fruit; in the middle, compassion is like water to nourish the see we have planted; in the end, compassion is like the warmth of the sun that brings the fruit to ripening. – The Buddha

In the end it is nothing other than the loving kindness with which the woman cares for her child that makes the difference. Her concern concentrates on one thing just like the Buddhist practice of concentration. She thinks of nothing but her child, which is similar to Buddhist compassion. That must be why, although she created no other causes to bring about it, she was reborn in the Brahma heaven. – The Buddha

Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion. – The Buddha

Shame on him who strikes a holy man, and more shame to him who gives way to anger. – The Buddha

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. – The Buddha

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed. – The Buddha

To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others. – The Buddha

To understand everything is to forgive everything. – The Buddha

When it is impossible for anger to arise within you, you find no outside enemies anywhere. – The Buddha

You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. – The Buddha

On Change

Better to conquer yourself than a thousand battles. Only then can the victory truly be yours. No one can take it away from you – not heaven, hell, demons or angels. – The Buddha

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. – The Buddha

Everything changes, nothing remains without change. – The Buddha

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. – The Buddha

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. – The Buddha

Never envy others or take what you have for granted. Those who envy others will never find peace of mind. – The Buddha

One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world. – The Buddha

Resolutely train yourself to attain peace. – The Buddha

The universe itself is change and life itself is but what you deem it – The Buddha

Those who have failed to work toward the truth have missed the purpose of living. – The Buddha

Three things cannot hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth. – The Buddha

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. – The Buddha

Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world. – The Buddha

You can only make two mistakes when traveling on the road to truth: not starting, and not going all the way. – The Buddha

On Death and Fear

All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill. – The Buddha

Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes. – The Buddha

As a mighty flood sweeps away the sleeping village, so death carries away the person of distracted mind who only plucks the flowers (of pleasure). – The Buddha

But those who act according to the perfectly taught Dharma will cross the realm of Death, so difficult to cross. – The Buddha

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. – The Buddha

Everything is changeable, everything appears and disappears; there is no blissful peace until one passes beyond the agony of life and death. – The Buddha

From endearment springs grief, from endearment springs fear. From him who is wholly free from endearment there is no grief, whence then fear? – The Buddha

Good health is simply the slowest way a human being can die, … – The Buddha

Heedfulness is the path to the Deathless. Heedlessness is the path to Death. The heedful die not. The heedless are as if dead already. – The Buddha

Just as a cowherd drives the cattle to pasture with a staff, so do old age and death drive the life force of beings (from existence to existence). – The Buddha

Let go of the past, let go of the future, let go of the present, and cross over to the farther shore of existence. With mind wholly liberated, you shall come no more to birth and death. – The Buddha

Many do not realize that we here must die. For those who realize this, quarrels end. – The Buddha

Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean, nor by entering into mountain clefts, nowhere in the world is there a place where one may will not be overcome by death. – The Buddha

Perhaps the deepest reason why we are afraid of death is because we do not know who we are. – The Buddha

Some do not understand that we must die, but those who do realize this settle their quarrels. – The Buddha

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed. – The Buddha

The world is afflicted by death and decay. But the wise do not grieve, having realized the nature of the world. – The Buddha

This city (body) is built of bones, plastered with flesh and blood; within are decay and death, pride and jealousy. – The Buddha

This world is shrouded in darkness. Here, only a few can see their way free. These few birds escape from the net, and fly away to the heavens. – The Buddha

Those sages who are inoffensive and ever-restrained in body, go to the Deathless State, where, having gone, they grieve no more.

Whatever has the nature of arising has the nature of ceasing. – The Buddha

When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear. – The Buddha

On Happiness

A disciplined mind brings happiness. – The Buddha

Blind is the world; here only a few possess insight. Only a few, like birds escaping from the net, go to realms of bliss. – The Buddha

Entangled by the bonds of hate, one who seeks happiness by inflicting pain on others is never delivered from hatred. – The Buddha

Full of joy, full of faith in the Teaching of the Buddha, the monk attains the Peaceful State, the bliss of cessation of conditioned things. – The Buddha

Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others. – The Buddha

Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think. – The Buddha

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. – The Buddha

Happiness is not having a lot. Happiness is giving a lot. – The Buddha

Happiness never decreases by being shared. – The Buddha

Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have. – The Buddha

Happy indeed we live, we who possess nothing. – The Buddha

Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to others. – The Buddha

Happiness follows sorrow, sorrow follows happiness, but when one no longer discriminates happiness and sorrow, a good deal and a bad deed, one is able to realize freedom. – The Buddha

Happiness is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be happy. No person will make you happy unless you decide to be happy. Your happiness will not come to you. It can only come from you. – The Buddha

Happiness or sorrow- whatever befalls you, walk on untouched, unattached. – The Buddha

Happy are those who have overcome their egos; happy are those who have attained peace; happy are those who have found the Truth. – The Buddha

Happy indeed are the arahants! No craving can be found in them. Cut off is the conceit ‘I am,’ Burst asunder is delusion’s net. – The Buddha

If by renouncing a lesser happiness one may realize a greater happiness, let the wise one renounce the lesser, having regard for the greater. – The Buddha

If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows them like a never-departing shadow. – The Buddha

If you are quiet enough, you will hear the flow of the universe. You will feel its rhythm. Go with this flow. Happiness lies ahead. Meditation is key. – The Buddha

It is in the nature of things that joy arises in a person free from remorse. – The Buddha

It is ridiculous to think that somebody else can make you happy or unhappy. – The Buddha

Let him associate with friends who are noble, energetic, and pure in life, let him be cordial and refined in conduct. Thus, full of joy, he will make an end of suffering. – The Buddha

May all beings have happy minds. – The Buddha

Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine. – The Buddha

One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter. – The Buddha

Purity or impurity depends on oneself. No one can purify another. – The Buddha

Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good. – The Buddha

There is no fire like lust and no crime like hatred. There is no ill like the aggregates of existence and no peace higher than the peace of Nirvana. – The Buddha

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path. – The Buddha

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. – The Buddha

To one ever eager to revere and serve the elders, these four blessings accrue: long life and beauty, happiness and power. – The Buddha

What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create. – The Buddha

Whatever is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness and benefit. – The Buddha

When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. – The Buddha

Health

Every human being is the author of his own health or disease. – The Buddha

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. – The Buddha

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. – The Buddha

Let us rise up and be thankful. For if we didn’t learn a lot at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful. – The Buddha

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly. – The Buddha

This eternal wisdom is to meet hatred with non-hatred. The method of trying to conquer hatred through hatred never succeeds in overcoming hatred. But, the method of overcoming hatred through non-hatred is eternally effective. That is why that method is described as eternal wisdom. – The Buddha

Those who attempt to conquer hatred by hatred are like warriors who take weapons to overcome others who bear arms. This does not end hatred, but gives it room to grow. But, ancient wisdom has advocated a different timeless strategy to overcome hatred. – The Buddha

Those who consider the unessential to be essential, and see the essential as unessential, don’t reach the essential, living in the field of wrong intention. – The Buddha

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. – The Buddha

To be angry is to let others’ mistakes punish yourself. – The Buddha

To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him. – The Buddha

To keep the body in good health is a duty … otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. – The Buddha

Without health life is not life; it is only a state of languor and suffering an image of death. – The Buddha

Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it. – The Buddha

On Karma

All that we are is the result of what we have thought; what we think we become. – The Buddha

Dependent Origination is the teaching (that life) is not the mere play of blind chance, but has an existence that is dependent upon conditions. That, precisely with the removal of these conditions, those things that have arisen in dependence upon them-thus also all suffering-must perforce disappear and cease to be. – The Buddha

For, owners of their deeds (karma) are the beings, heirs of their deeds; their deeds are the womb from which they sprang; with their deeds they are bound up; their deeds are their refuge. Whatever deeds they do-good or evil-of such they will be the heirs. And wherever the beings spring into existence, there their deeds will ripen; and wherever their deeds ripen, there they will earn the fruits of those deeds, be it in this life, or be it in the next life, or be it in any other future life. – The Buddha

I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that I will fall heir. – The Buddha

Just as one can make a lot of garlands from a heap of flowers, so man, subject to birth and death as he is, should make himself a lot of good karma. – The Buddha

Karma grows from our hearts. Karma terminates from our hearts. – The Buddha

Man should make himself a lot of good karma. – The Buddha

Not even death can wipe out our good deeds – The Buddha

Once you know the nature of anger and joy is empty and you let them go, you free yourself from karma. – The Buddha

One who previously made bad karma, but who reforms and creates good karma, brightens the world like the moon appearing from behind a cloud. – The Buddha

Surely if living creatures saw the results of all their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in disgust. But selfhood blinds them, and they cling to their obnoxious desires. They crave pleasure for themselves and they cause pain to others; when death destroys their individuality, they find no peace; their thirst for existence abides and their selfhood reappears in new births. Thus they continue to move in the coil and can find no escape from the hell of their own making. – The Buddha

Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. – The Buddha

To be selfish, greedy and unwilling to help the needy gives rise to future starvation and clothlessness. – The Buddha

When action comes out of nothing it creates no karma. – The Buddha

Life and Living

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become. – The Buddha

All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If the mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain? – The Buddha

As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life. – The Buddha

Avoid evil deeds as a man who loves life avoids poison. – The Buddha

Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts. – The Buddha

Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life. – The Buddha

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. – The Buddha

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace. – The Buddha

Every human being is the author of his own health or disease. – The Buddha

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. – The Buddha

Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds. – The Buddha

Generosity brings happiness at every stage of its expression. We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous. We experience joy in the actual act of giving something. And we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given. – The Buddha

He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye. – The Buddha

I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done. – The Buddha

If you knew what I know about the power of giving you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way. – The Buddha

In the end, these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go? – The Buddha

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you – The Buddha

Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life. – The Buddha

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue. – The Buddha

Learn this from water: loud splashes the brook but the oceans depth are calm. – The Buddha

Life is so very difficult. How can we be anything but kind? – The Buddha

Life is suffering. – The Buddha

Life at home is cramped and dirty, it is difficult to live a spiritual life completely, perfect and pure in all its parts while cabinned. – The Buddha

Life can only take place in the present moment. If we lose the present moment, we lose life. – The Buddha

Life is a river always flowing. Do not hold onto things. Work hard. – The Buddha

Life is dear to all beings, they have the right to live the same that we do. – The Buddha

Life is easy For the man who is without shame, Impudent as a crow, A vicious gossip, Vain, meddlesome, dissolute. But life is hard For the man who quietly undertakes The way of perfection, With purity, detachment and vigor. He sees light. – The Buddha

Life is like the harp string, if it is strung too tight it won’t play, if it is too loose it hangs, the tension that produces the beautiful sound lies in the middle. – The Buddha

Life is uncertain; death is certain. – The Buddha

Live contemplating the body through mindfulness. Live contemplating feelings. In this way you will be aware of and control wrong desires. – The Buddha

Live contemplating the body. Contemplate internally and externally. Contemplate the origination of things in the body. Contemplate the dissolution of things in the body. – The Buddha

Live every act fully, as if it were your last. – The Buddha

Live happily, not hating even those who are hostile. Live peacefully even amongst those that hate. – The Buddha

Live in joy and love even among those who hate; live in joy and peace even among the troubled. – The Buddha

Live in Joy, In love, Even among those who hate. Live in joy, In health, Even among the afflicted. Live in joy, In peace, Even among the troubled. Look within. Be still. Free from fear and attachment, Know the sweet joy of living in the way. – The Buddha

Live joyfully, without desire. – The Buddha

Live like a mighty river. – The Buddha

On life’s journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him. – The Buddha

Our theories of the eternal are as valuable as are those that a chick which has not broken its way through its shell might form of the outside world. – The Buddha

Pain is certain. Suffering is optional. – The Buddha

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.

The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground. – The Buddha

The past is already gone, the future is not yet here. There’s only one moment for you to live. – The Buddha

The tongue like a sharp knife… Kills without drawing blood. – The Buddha

The trouble is, you think you have time. – The Buddha

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. – The Buddha

There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it. – The Buddha

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – The Buddha

To abstain from lying is essentially wholesome. – The Buddha

To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance. – The Buddha

What we think, we become. – The Buddha

When you like a flower, you just pluck it. But when you love a flower, you water it daily. – The Buddha

When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. – The Buddha

You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself. – The Buddha

You only lose what you cling to. – The Buddha

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. – The Buddha

Love, Connection, and Unity

All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else. – The Buddha

Ambition is like love, impatient both of delays and rivals. – The Buddha

Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law. – The Buddha

Hatreds never cease through hatred in this world; through love alone they cease. This is an eternal law. – The Buddha

He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes. – The Buddha

If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart. – The Buddha

If you truly loved yourself, you could hurt another. – The Buddha

If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another. – The Buddha

If you wish to be gentle with others, be gentle first with yourself. – The Buddha

Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings. – The Buddha

Love is a gift of one’s innermost soul to another so both can be whole. – The Buddha

Love and serve the world through your work. – The Buddha

Love in the past is only a memory. Love in the future is only a fantasy. True love lives in the here and now. – The Buddha

Love is a fleeting emotion, to reach true nirvana one must know themselves and forsake love, for it breeds contempt – The Buddha

Love is beauty and beauty is truth, and that is why in the beauty of a flower we can see the truth of the universe. – The Buddha

Love lasts when the relationship comes first – The Buddha

Love the whole world as a mother lovers her only child. – The Buddha

Love You, Responsibility, Watches – The Buddha

Love You, Simple, Loving Yourself – The Buddha

Love yourself and be awake- Today, tomorrow, always. First establish yourself in the way, Then teach others, And so defeat sorrow. To straighten the crooked You must first do a harder thing- Straighten yourself. You are your only master. Who else? Subdue yourself, And discover your master. – The Buddha

Love yourself and watch – Today, tomorrow, always. To straighten the crooked You must first do a harder thing – Straighten yourself. – The Buddha

Radiate boundless love towards the entire world. – The Buddha

The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. – The Buddha

True love is born from understanding. – The Buddha

Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two. – The Buddha

We will develop and cultivate the liberation of mind by loving kindness, make it our vehicle, make it our basis, stabilize it, exercise ourselves in it, and fully perfect it. – The Buddha

You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. – The Buddha

You should respect each other and refrain from disputes; you should not, like water and oil, repel each other, but should, like milk and water, mingle together. – The Buddha

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. – The Buddha

Meditation

A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker. – The Buddha

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become. – The Buddha

All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain? – The Buddha

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea. – The Buddha

Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten. – The Buddha

Believe nothing, merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide. – The Buddha

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. – The Buddha

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace. – The Buddha

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. – The Buddha

Doubt everything. Find your own light. – The Buddha

Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. – The Buddha

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. – The Buddha

Every human being is the author of his own health or disease. – The Buddha

For soon the body is discarded, Then what does it feel? A useless log of wood, it lies on the ground, Then what does it know? Your worst enemy cannot harm you As much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, No one can help you as much, Not even your father or your mother. – The Buddha

Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law. – The Buddha

Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little. – The Buddha

He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes. – The Buddha

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. – The Buddha

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. – The Buddha

However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them? – The Buddha

If a man’s thoughts are muddy, If he is reckless and full of deceit, How can he wear the yellow robe? Whoever is master of his own nature, Bright, clear and true, He may indeed wear the yellow robe. – The Buddha

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. – The Buddha

If you are quiet enough, you will hear the flow of the universe. You will feel its rhythm. Go with this flow. Happiness lies ahead. Meditation is key. – The Buddha

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. – The Buddha

In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. – The Buddha

Inward calm cannot be maintained unless physical strength is constantly and intelligently replenished. – The Buddha

Meditate … do not delay, lest you later regret it. – The Buddha

Meditate, Ānanda, do not delay, or else you will regret it later. This is our instruction to you. – The Buddha

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. – The Buddha

Neither fire, nor wind, birth, nor death, can erase our good deeds. – The Buddha

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. – The Buddha

One should strive to understand what underlies sufferings and diseases – and aim for health and well-being while gaining in the path. – The Buddha

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. – The Buddha

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. – The Buddha

The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground. – The Buddha

The mind is everything. What you think you become. – The Buddha

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows. – The Buddha

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. – The Buddha

The tongue like a sharp knife… Kills without drawing blood. – The Buddha

The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. – The Buddha

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed. – The Buddha

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. – The Buddha

There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it. – The Buddha

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills. – The Buddha

Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. – The Buddha

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. – The Buddha

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – The Buddha

To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. – The Buddha

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. – The Buddha

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.– The Buddha

What we think, we become. – The Buddha

What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create. – The Buddha

Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. – The Buddha

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others. – The Buddha

You only lose what you cling to. – The Buddha

You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. – The Buddha

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. – The Buddha

Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care. – The Buddha

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. – The Buddha

Mind, Thought, and Thinking

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become. – The Buddha

All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain? – The Buddha

An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind. – The Buddha

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. – The Buddha

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. – The Buddha

Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have. – The Buddha

Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little. – The Buddha

He is able who thinks he is able. – The Buddha

In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. – The Buddha

It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways. – The Buddha

People with opinions just go around bothering one another. – The Buddha

Speak or act with an impure mind and trouble will follow you. – The Buddha

Mind is everything. What we think, we become. – The Buddha

Mind precedes all phenomena, mind matters most, everything is mind-made. If with an impure mind, you speak or act, then suffering follows you as the cartwheel follows the foot of the draft animal. If with a pure mind, you speak or act, then happiness follows you as a shadow that never departs – The Buddha

Mindfulness of the body leads to nirvana. – The Buddha

The mind is everything. What you think you become. – The Buddha

The mind contains all possibilities. – The Buddha

The mind is pure and luminous by nature. It is defiled only by adventitious thoughts and emotions – The Buddha

The mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness by what it chooses to compare the experience with. If it chooses to compare it to something worse then it will create happiness, gratitude and pride but if it chooses to compare it to something better then it will create unhappiness, bitterness and envy. – The Buddha

The mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness. – The Buddha

The mind precedes all things, the mind dominates all things, the mind creates all things. – The Buddha

The mind that perceives the limitation is the limitation. – The Buddha

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. – The Buddha

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills. – The Buddha

There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind. – The Buddha

Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. – The Buddha

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – The Buddha

To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise, we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. – The Buddha

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. – The Buddha

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. – The Buddha

Wear your ego like a loose fitting garment. – The Buddha

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind. – The Buddha

You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. – The Buddha

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. – The Buddha

Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts. – The Buddha

Peace

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace. – The Buddha

Better than a thousand useless words is one useful word, hearing which one attains peace. – The Buddha

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well. – The Buddha

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. – The Buddha

Peace is the highest bliss. – The Buddha

Set your heart on doing good. Do it over and over again and you will be filled with joy. – The Buddha

The root of suffering is attachment. – The Buddha

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed. – The Buddha

There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it. – The Buddha

Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. – The Buddha

Personal Development

Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind. – The Buddha

The virtues, like the Muses, are always seen in groups. A good principle was never found solitary in any breast. – The Buddha

To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others. – The Buddha

Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good. – The Buddha

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. – The Buddha

Self-Reliance

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. – The Buddha

This I tell you: decay is inherent in all conditioned things. Work out your own salvation, with diligence. – Buddha

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others. – The Buddha

Speech

A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker. – The Buddha

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace. – The Buddha

Speak only endearing speech, speech that is welcomed. Speech, when it brings no evil to others, is pleasant. – The Buddha

Speak only endearing speech, speech that is welcomed. Speech, when it brings no evil to others, is a pleasant thing. – The Buddha

Speak only the speech that neither torments self nor does harm to others. That speech is truly well spoken. – The Buddha

Speak or act with a pure mind, and happiness will follow you as your shadow, unshakable. – The Buddha

Speak the truth, do not become angered, and give when asked, even be it a little. By these three conditions, one goes to the presence of the gods. – The Buddha

Speak the truth. – The Buddha

Speak the truth.
Give whatever you can.
Never be angry.
These three steps will lead you
Into the presence of the gods. – The Buddha

The tongue like a sharp knife … Kills without drawing blood. – The Buddha

The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve. – The Buddha

Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. – The Buddha

On Spirituality

However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them? – The Buddha

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. – The Buddha

If you find no one to support you on the spiritual path, walk alone. There is no companionship with the immature. – The Buddha

If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path. – The Buddha

In separateness lies the world’s greatest misery; in compassion lies the world’s true strength. – The Buddha

Purity or impurity depends on oneself. No one can purify another. – The Buddha

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows. – The Buddha

Those who have failed to work toward the truth have missed the purpose of living. – The Buddha

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – The Buddha

You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself. – The Buddha

Truth

In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. – The Buddha

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. – The Buddha

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – The Buddha

Enlightenment

As a mountain of rock is unshaken by wind, so also, the wise are unperturbed by blame or by praise. – The Buddha

Better than a hundred years in the life of a person who is idle and inactive, is a day in the life of one who makes a zealous and strenuous effort. – The Buddha

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace. – The Buddha

By liberation of the self through love, we will develop love, we will practice it, we will make it both a way and a basis. – The Buddha

Conquer the angry one by not getting angry; conquer the wicked by goodness; conquer the stingy by generosity, and the liar by speaking the truth. – The Buddha

Do not look for a sanctuary in anyone except yourself. – The Buddha

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good. – The Buddha

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. – The Buddha

Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth. – The Buddha

If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart. – The Buddha

If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him. – The Buddha

If you don’t tend to one another, who then will tend to you? – The Buddha

If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way. – The Buddha

It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe,  that lures him to evil ways. – The Buddha

It is easy to see the faults of others, but difficult to see one’s own faults. – The Buddha

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. – The Buddha

Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded. – The Buddha

People with opinions just go around bothering each other. – The Buddha

Silence the angry man with love. Silence the ill-natured man with kindness. Silence the miser with generosity. Silence the liar with truth. – The Buddha

That deed is not well done, if one has to repent for having done it, and if, with a tearful face, one has to weep as a result of that deed. – The Buddha

The foolish and the ignorant give themselves over to negligence; whereas the wise treasure mindfulness as a precious jewel. – The Buddha

Three things cannot hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth. – The Buddha

On Teaching

As an elephant in the battlefield withstands arrows shot from bows all around, even so shall I endure abuse. – The Buddha

Be a lamp for yourselves. Be your own refuge. Seek for no other. All things must pass. Strive on diligently. Don’t give up. – The Buddha

Better it is to live one day seeing the rise and fall of things than to live a hundred years without ever seeing the rise and fall of things. – The Buddha

Conquer the angry one by not getting angry; conquer the wicked by goodness; conquer the stingy by generosity, and the liar by speaking the truth. – The Buddha

Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind. – The Buddha

In separateness lies the world’s greatest misery; in compassion lies the world’s true strength. – The Buddha

My teaching is a means of practice, not something to hold onto or worship. – The Buddha

My teaching is like a raft used to cross the river. – The Buddha

My teaching is not a philosophy. It is the result of direct experience… – The Buddha

Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds. – The Buddha

Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all. – The Buddha

Should you find a wise critic to point out your faults, follow him as you would a guide to hidden treasure. – The Buddha

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. – The Buddha

The calmed say that what is well-spoken is best; second, that one should say what is right, not unrighteous; third, what’s pleasing, not displeasing; fourth, what is true, not false. – The Buddha

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting. – The Buddha

Those who have failed to work toward the truth have missed the purpose of living. – The Buddha

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – The Buddha

Wear your ego like a loose fitting garment. – The Buddha

Wisdom

No light is brighter than wisdom. Wisdom is the light in the world. – The Buddha

A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker. – The Buddha

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but is he peaceful, loving, and fearless then he is in truth called wise. – The Buddha

Chaos in inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence. – The Buddha

Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame. – The Buddha

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. – The Buddha

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. – The Buddha

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. – The Buddha

If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good. – The Buddha

In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go? – The Buddha

It is better to travel well than to arrive. – The Buddha

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue. – The Buddha

Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. – The Buddha

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know what leads you forward and what holds you back and choose the path that leads to wisdom. – The Buddha

Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else. – The Buddha

Nothing is permanent. – The Buddha

Pain is certain, suffering is optional. – The Buddha

Remembering a wrong is like carrying a burden on the mind. – The Buddha

Those who attempt to conquer hatred by hatred are like warriors who take weapons to overcome others who bear arms. This does not end hatred but gives it room to grow. But, ancient wisdom has advocated a different timeless strategy to overcome hatred. This eternal wisdom is to meet hatred with non-hatred. The method of trying to conquer hatred through hatred never succeeds in overcoming hatred. But, the method of overcoming hatred through non-hatred is eternally effective. That is why that method is described as eternal wisdom. – The Buddha

To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him. – The Buddha

Quotes From Wikiquote

Pali Canon

Sutta Pitaka

• There are these four ways of answering questions. Which four? There are questions that should be answered categorically [straightforwardly yes, no, this, that]. There are questions that should be answered with an analytical (qualified) answer [defining or redefining the terms]. There are questions that should be answered with a counter-question. There are questions that should be put aside. These are the four ways of answering questions.
  • As quoted in: Ṭhānissaro (Bhikkhu.) (2004) Handful of leaves. Vol. 3, p. 80

Digha Nikaya (Long Discourses)

Main article: Digha Nikaya

• Now in those days, brethren, there shall arise in the world an Exalted One by name Maitreya (the Kindly One) an Arhat, a Fully Enlightened One, endowed with wisdom and righteousness, a Happy One, a World-knower, the Peerless Charioteer of men to be tamed, a teacher of the devas and mankind, an Exalted One, a Buddha like myself. He of His own abnormal powers shall realize and make known the world, and the worlds of the devas, with their Maras, their Brahmas, the host of recluses and brahmins, of devas and mankind alike, even as I do now. He shall proclaim the Norm, lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, and lovely in the end thereof. He shall make known the wholly perfect life of righteousness in all its purity, both in the spirit and in the letter of it, even as I do now. He shall lead an Order of Brethren numbering many thousands, even as I do now lead an order of Brethren numbering many hundreds.
  • Gautama Buddha in Digha Nikaya as quoted in Avatars down the ages by Felicity Elliot

• ‘Brethren, if outsiders should speak against me, or against the Doctrine, or against the Order, you should not on that account either bear malice, or suffer heart-burning, or feel ill will. If you, on that account, should be angry and hurt, that would stand in the way of your, own self-conquest. If, when others speak against us, you feel angry at that, and displeased, would you then be able to judge how far that speech of theirs is well said or ill?’
  ‘That would not be so, Sir.’
  ‘But when outsiders speak in dispraise of me, or of the Doctrine, or of the Order, you should unravel what is false and point it out as wrong, saying: “For this or that reason this is not the fact, that is not so, such a thing is not found among us, is not in us.”
  ‘But also, brethren, if outsiders should speak in praise of me, in praise of the Doctrine, in praise of the Order, you should not, on that account, be filled with pleasure or gladness, or be lifted up in heart. Were you to be so that also would stand in the way of your self-conquest. When outsiders speak in praise of me, or of the Doctrine, or of the Order, you should acknowledge what is right to be the fact, saying: “For this or that reason this is the fact, that is so, such a thing is found among us, is in us.”
  • T. W. Rhys Davids trans. (1899), Brahmajāla Sutta, verse 1.5-6 (text at archive.org), as cited in: Hajime Nakamura (1992). A Comparative History of Ideas, p. 221-2

• Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins remain addicted to attending such shows as dancing, singing, music, displays, recitations, hand-music, cymbals and drums, fairy-shows, acrobatic and conjuring tricks, combats of elephants, buffaloes, bulls, goats, rams, cocks and quail, fighting with staves, boxing, wrestling, sham-fights, parades, manoeuvres and military reviews, the ascetic Gotama refrains from attending such displays.
  • M. Walshe, trans. (1987), Sutta 1, verse 1.13

• “The tongue is like a sharp knife, it kills without drawing blood; words in the hands of someone skilled can do more damage than a weapon in the hands of a warrior.”
  • M. Walshe, trans. (1987), Sutta 1, verse 5

• “Well, Lord, is the soul the same as the body, is the soul one thing and the body another?”

“I have not declared that the soul is one thing and the body another.”

“Well, Lord, does the Tathāgata exist after death?” …

“I have not declared that the Tathāgata exists after death.” …

“But, Lord, why has the Lord not declared these things?”

“Potthapada, that is not conducive to the purpose, not conducive to Dhamma, not the way to embark on the holy life; it does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is why I have not declared it.”

• M. Walshe, trans. (1987), Sutta 9, verse 28, p. 164

Majjhima Nikaya (Middle Length Discourses)

Main article: Majjhima Nikaya

as translated by B. Nanamoli and B. Bodhi (Wisdom Publications: 1995)

• Just as a bird, wherever it goes, flies with its wings as its only burden, so too, the bhikkhu becomes content with robes to protect his body and with almsfood to maintain his stomach, and wherever he goes he sets out taking only these with him. Possessing this aggregate of noble virtue, he experiences within himself a bliss that is blameless.
  • Sutta 51, Verse 15, p. 450

• Any kind of material form whatever, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all material form should be seen as it actually is with proper wisdom thus: “This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.”
  • Sutta 62, verse 3, p. 527

• Rahula, whatever internally, belonging to oneself, is solid, solidified, and clung-to, that is, head-hairs, body-hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone-marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, large intestines, small intestines, contents of the stomach, feces, or whatever else internally, belonging to oneself, is solid, solidified, and clung-to: this is called the internal earth element. Now both the internal earth element and the external earth element are simply earth element. And that should be seen as it actually is with proper wisdom thus: “This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.” When one sees it thus as it actually is with proper wisdom, one becomes disenchanted with the earth element and makes the mind dispassionate towards the earth element.
  • Sutta 62, verse 8, p. 528

• Rahula, develop meditation that is like water. … Just as people wash clean things and dirty things, excrement, urine, spittle, pus, and blood in water, and the water is not horrified, humiliated, and disgusted because of that, so too, Rahula, develop meditation that is like water.
  • Sutta 62, verse 14, p. 530

Samyutta Nikaya (Connected Discourses)

• (…) Just this noble eightfold path: right view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. That is the ancient path, the ancient road, traveled by the Rightly Self-awakened Ones of former times. I followed that path. Following it, I came to direct knowledge of aging & death, direct knowledge of the origination of aging & death, direct knowledge of the cessation of aging & death, direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of aging & death. I followed that path. Following it, I came to direct knowledge of birth… becoming… clinging… craving… feeling… contact… the six sense media… name-&-form… consciousness, direct knowledge of the origination of consciousness, direct knowledge of the cessation of consciousness, direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of consciousness. I followed that path.
  • Nagara Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya II.124, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
• Just as the eldest son of a wheel-turning monarch properly keeps in motion the wheel of sovereignty set in motion by his father, so do you, Sāriputta, properly keep in motion the Wheel of Dhamma set in motion by me.
  • Vangisasamyutta, as translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000), p. 287

Anguttara Nikaya (Numerical Discourses)

• Do not go by revelation;
  Do not go by tradition;
  Do not go by hearsay;
  Do not go on the authority of sacred texts;
  Do not go on the grounds of pure logic;
  Do not go by a view that seems rational;
  Do not go by reflecting on mere appearances;
  Do not go along with a considered view because you agree with it;
  Do not go along on the grounds that the person is competent;
  Do not go along because “the recluse is our teacher.”
  Kalamas, when you yourselves know: These things are unwholesome, these things are blameworthy; these things are censured by the wise; and when undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill, abandon them…
  Kalamas, when you know for yourselves: These are wholesome; these things are not blameworthy; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness, having undertaken them, abide in them.
  • Kalama Sutta – Angutarra Nikaya 3.65

• Monks, a lay follower should not engage in five types of business. Which five? Business in weapons, business in human beings, business in meat, business in intoxicants, and business in poison.
  • 5.177: Vanijja Sutta, as translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2001)

Khuddaka Nikaya (Minor Collection)

Dhammapada

Main article: Dhammapada

• As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind.
  • Ch. 1: The Twin Verses, verse 13

• He abused me, he struck me, he overcame me, he robbed me’ — in those who do not harbor such thoughts hatred will cease.
  • 1.3-4; as translated by Radhakrishnan.
• Can there be joy and laughter When always the world is ablaze? Enshrouded in darkness Should you not seek a light?

• No one saves us but ourselves,
  No one can and no one may.
  We ourselves must walk the path
  Buddhas merely teach the way.
  By ourselves is evil done,
  By ourselves we pain endure,
  By ourselves we cease from wrong,
  By ourselves become we pure.
  • Ch. 165, as translated in The Dharma, or The Religion of Enlightenment; An Exposition of Buddhism (1896) by Paul Carus; variants for some years have included “We ourselves must walk the path but Buddhas clearly show the way”, but this is not yet located in any of the original publications of Carus.

• Conquer anger with love, evil with good, meanness with generosity, and lies with truth.
  • Ch. 17, Verse 223

• Indeed, wisdom is born of meditation; without meditation wisdom is lost. Knowing this twofold path of gain and loss of wisdom, one should conduct oneself so that wisdom may increase.
  • Ch. 20, Verse 282

• To cease from evil, to do good, and to purify the mind yourself, this is the teaching of all the Buddhas.
  • Ch. 14, Verse 183

Sutta Nipata (Suttas falling down)

The Group of Discourses, K. R. Norman, trans. (Oxford: 2001)

• That bhikkhu who has cut off passion in its entirety, like one picking a lotus, both flower and stalk, leaves this shore and the far shore as a snake leaves its old worn-out skin.

That bhikkhu who has cut off craving in its entirety, like one drying up a fast-flowing stream, leaves this shore and the far shore as a snake leaves its old worn-out skin.

• § 2-3

• Leaving behind son and wife, and father and mother, and wealth and grain, and relatives, and sensual pleasures to the limit, one should wander solitary as a rhinoceros horn.

‘This is an attachment; here there is little happiness, and little satisfaction; here there is very much misery; this is a hook.’ Knowing this, a thoughtful man should wander solitary as a rhinoceros horn.

Having torn one’s fetters asunder, like a fish breaking a net in the water, not returning, like a fire not going back to what is already burned, one should wander solitary as a rhinoceros horn.

• § 60-62

• The brahman Kasibhāradvāja addressed the Blessed One with a verse.

‘You say you are a ploughman, but we do not see your ploughing. Being asked, tell us about your ploughing, so that we may know your ploughing.’

‘Faith is the seed, penance is the rain, wisdom is my yoke and plough; modesty is the pole, mind is the yoke-tie, mindfulness is my ploughshare and goad. …

Thus is this ploughing of mine ploughed. It has the death-free as its fruit. Having ploughed this ploughing one is freed from all misery.

• § 75-80

• Not by birth does one become an outcaste, not by birth does one become a brahman. By one’s action one becomes an outcaste, by one’s action one becomes a brahman.
  • § 136

• Faith is the best wealth for a man in this world. Righteousness when well practised brings happiness. Truth is the sweetest of flavours. They say the life of one living by wisdom is the best.
  • § 182

• Joined together with bones and sinews, having a plastering of skin and flesh, covered with hide, the body is not seen as it really is—full of intestines, full of stomach, of the lump of the liver, of bladder, of heart, of lungs, of kidneys and of spleen, of mucus, of saliva, and of sweat, and of lymph, of blood, of synovial fluid, of bile, and of fat, … and its hollow head is filled with brain. A fool, overwhelmed by ignorance, thinks of it as beautiful, but when it lies dead, swollen up and discoloured, cast away in a cemetery, relatives have no regard for it. Dogs devour it, and jackals, and wolves and worms. Crows and vultures devour it, and whatever other living creatures there are. The bhikkhu possessing knowledge here, having heard the Buddha’s word, indeed understands it, for he sees the body as it really is.
  • § 194-202

• The seers of old had fully restrained selves, and were austere. Having abandoned the five strands of sensual pleasures, they practiced their own welfare. The brahmans had no cattle, no gold, no wealth. They had study as their wealth and grain. They guarded the holy life as their treasure.
  • § 284-285

Sutta 3.2. Padhana Sutta

As translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1999) Full text online,

• Sensual passions are your first enemy.

Your second is called Discontent.

Your third is Hunger & Thirst.

Your fourth is called Craving.

Fifth is Sloth & Drowsiness.

Sixth is called Terror.

Your seventh is Uncertainty.

Hypocrisy & Stubbornness, your eighth.

Gains, Offerings, Fame, & Status wrongly gained,

and whoever would praise self

& disparage others.

That, Namuci, is your enemy,

the Dark One’s commando force.

A coward can’t defeat it,

but one having defeated it

gains bliss.

• I spit on my life.
  Death in battle would be better for me
  than that I, defeated, survive.
  • This statement is made in reference to his battle against the personification of temptation to evil, Mara.

• That army of yours,

that the world with its devas can’t overcome,

I will smash with discernment

• I will go about, from kingdom to kingdom,

training many disciples.

They — heedful, resolute

doing my teachings —

despite your wishes, will go

where, having gone,

there’s no grief.

• Sn 3.2, Buddha’s Purpose

Mahayana

Brahmajala Sutra

• The innumerable worlds in the cosmos are like the eyes of the net. Each and every world is different, its variety infinite. So too are the Dharma Doors (methods of cultivation) taught by the Buddhas.
  • Sutra Translation Committee of the US and Canada (2000). The Brahma Net Sutra, New York Brahmajala Sutra (Mahayana)

Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra

Main article: Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra

As translated from the Sanskrit by D. T. Suzuki (1932). Full text online.

Chapter Eight. On Meat-eating

• Thus, Mahāmati, wherever there is the evolution of living beings, let people cherish the thought of kinship with them, and, thinking that all beings are [to be loved as if they were] an only child, let them refrain from eating meat. So with Bodhisattvas whose nature is compassion, [the eating of] meat is to be avoided by him. Even in exceptional cases, it is not [compassionate] of a Bodhisattva of good standing to eat meat.

• For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahāmati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.

• The food of the wise, Mahāmati, is what is eaten by the Rishis; it does not consist of meat and blood.

• … how can I permit my disciples, Mahāmati, to eat food consisting of flesh and blood, which is gratifying to the unwise but is abhorred by the wise, which brings many evils and keeps away many merits; and which was not offered to the Rishis and is altogether unsuitable?
  Now, Mahāmati, the food I have permitted [my disciples to take] is gratifying to all wise people but is avoided by the unwise; it is productive of many merits, it keeps away many evils; and it has been prescribed by the ancient Rishis. It comprises rice, barley, wheat, kidney beans, beans, lentils, etc., clarified butter, oil, honey, molasses, treacle, sugar cane, coarse sugar, etc.; food prepared with these is proper food. Mahāmati, there may be some irrational people in the future who will discriminate and establish new rules of moral discipline, and who, under the influence of the habit-energy belonging to the carnivorous races, will greedily desire the taste [of meat]: it is not for these people that the above food is prescribed. Mahāmati, this is the food I urge for the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattvas who have made offerings to the previous Buddhas, who have planted roots of goodness, who are possessed of faith, devoid of discrimination, who are all men and women belonging to the Śākya family, who are sons and daughters of good family, who have no attachment to body, life, and property, who do not covet delicacies, are not at all greedy, who being compassionate desire to embrace all living beings as their own person, and who regard all beings with affection as if they were an only child.

• If, Mahāmati, meat is not eaten by anybody for any reason, there will be no destroyer of life.

• Again, Mahāmati, there may be some unwitted people in the future time, who, beginning to lead the homeless life according to my teaching, are acknowledged as sons of the Śākya, and carry the Kāshāya robe about them as a badge, but who are in thought evilly affected by erroneous reasonings. They may talk about various discriminations which they make in their moral discipline, being addicted to the view of a personal soul. Being under the influence of the thirst for [meat-] taste, they will string together in various ways some sophistic arguments to defend meat-eating. They think they are giving me an unprecedented calumny when they discriminate and talk about facts that are capable of various interpretations. Imagining that this fact allows this interpretation, [they conclude that] the Blessed One permits meat as proper food, and that it is mentioned among permitted foods and that probably the Tathagata himself partook of it. But, Mahāmati, nowhere in the sutras is meat permitted as something enjoyable, nor it is referred to as proper among the foods prescribed [for the Buddha’s followers].

• … all [meat-eating] in any form, in any manner, and in any place, is unconditionally and once for all, prohibited for all. Thus, Mahāmati, meat-eating I have not permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit. Meat-eating, I tell you, Mahāmati, is not proper for homeless monks.

• From eating [meat] arrogance is born, from arrogance erroneous imaginations issue, and from imagination is born greed; and for this reason refrain from eating [meat].

• There is no meat to be regarded as pure in three ways: not premeditated, not asked for, and not impelled; therefore, refrain from eating meat.

Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (or Nirvana Sutra)

As translated from the Chinese by Kosho Yamamoto (1973) and revised by Tony Page (2007). Full text online.

• From now on, I do not permit my sravaka disciples to eat meat. … One who eats meat kills the seed of great compassion. … I, from now on, tell my disciples to refrain from eating any kind of meat. O Kasyapa! When one eats meat, this gives out the smell of meat while one is walking, standing, sitting or reclining. People smell this and become fearful. This is as when one comes near a lion. One sees and smells the lion, and fear arises. O good man! When one eats garlic, the dirty smell is unbearable. … It is the same with one who eats meat. It is a similar situation with all people who, on smelling the meat, become afraid and entertain the thought of death. All living things in the water, on land and in the sky desert such a person and run away. They say that this person is their enemy.
  • Chapter Seven: On the Four Aspects

Śūraṅgama Sūtra

As translated from the Chinese by the Buddhist Text Translation Society (2009). Full text online.

• After my nirvana, how will people who eat the flesh of beings deserve to be called disciples of Śākyamuni? You should understand that these people who eat flesh may gain some modicum of mental awakening while practicing samādhi, but they are all great rākṣasas who in the end must fall into the sea of death and rebirth. They are not disciples of the Buddha. Such people kill and devour each other, feeding on each other in an endless cycle. How could they possibly get out of the three realms? When you teach people in the world to practice samādhi, teach them to renounce all killing.
  • Part VII, Chapter 2: On Killing

• How then can it be compassionate to gorge on other beings’ blood and flesh? Monks who will not wear silks from the East, whether coarse or fine; who will not wear shoes or boots of leather, nor furs, nor birds’ down from our own country; and who will not consume milk, curds, or ghee, have truly freed themselves from the world.
  • Part VII, Chapter 2: On Killing

• I can affirm that a person who neither eats the flesh of other beings nor wears any part of the bodies of other beings, nor even thinks of eating or wearing these things, is a person who will gain liberation.
  • Part VII, Chapter 2: On Killing

Vimalakirti Sutra

Main article: Vimalakirti Sutra

• Listen well, listen well, and mull it over in your thoughts!
  • To Ratnākara, on the practices carried out by bodhisattvas in purifying the lands. Chapter I, as translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN: 0231106572.

• Ratnākara, the various kinds of living beings are in themselves the Buddha lands (buddhakṣetra) of the bodhisattvas . Why so? Because it is by converting various beings to the teachings that the bodhisattvas acquire their Buddha lands. It is by persuading various beings and overcoming their objections that the bodhisattvas acquire their Buddha lands. It is by inducing the various living beings to enter into the Buddha wisdom in such-and-such a land that they acquire their Buddha lands. It is by inducing the various living beings to develop the capacity for bodhisattva practices in such-and-such a land that they acquire their Buddha lands.

  Why is this? Because the bodhisattva’s acquisition of a pure land is wholly due to his having brought benefit to living beings. Suppose a man proposes to build a mansion on a plot of open land. He may do so as he wishes without hindrance. But if he tries to build it in the empty air, he will never be successful. It is the same with the bodhisattvas. It is because they wish to help others to achieve success that they take their vow to acquire Buddha lands. Their vow to acquire Buddha lands in not founded on emptiness.

  • To Ratnākara, on the practices carried out by bodhisattvas in purifying the lands. Chapter I, as translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN: 0231106572.

• Ratnākara, you should understand that an upright mind is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, then beings who are free of flattery will be born in his country.
  A deeply searching mind is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings who are endowed with blessings will be born in his country.
  A mind that aspires to bodhi or enlightenment is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings dedicated to the Great Vehicle will be born in his country
  Almsgiving is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings who are capable of casting away everything will be born in his country.
  Keeping of the precepts is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings who fulfill their vow to carry out the ten good actions will be born in his country.
  Forbearance is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings who are adorned with the thirty-two features will be born in his country.
  Assiduousness is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings who strive diligently to acquire all manner of blessings will be born in his country
  Meditation is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings who can regulate their minds and keep them from disorder will be born in his country.
  Wisdom is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings who are correct and certain in understanding will be born in his country.
  A mind devoted to the four immeasurable qualities is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings perfect in the exercise of pity, compassion, joy, and indifference will be born in his country.
  The four methods of winning people are the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings who are regulated by the emancipations will be born in his country.
  Expedient means are the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings who can employ all manner of expedient means with complete freedom will be born in his country.
  The thirty-seven elements of the Way are the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings will be born in his country who are proficient in the four states of mindfulness, the four types of correct effort, the four bases of supernatural power, the five roots of goodness, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the eightfold holy path.
  A mind intent on transferring merit to others is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, he will acquire a country endowed with all manner of blessings.
  Teaching others to avoid the eight difficulties is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, his country will be free of the three evils and the eight difficulties. Observing the precepts himself but not taxing others with their shortcomings is the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, no one in his country will be called a violater of prohibitions.
  The ten good actions are the pure land of the bodhisattva. When he attains Buddhahood, beings will be born in his country who suffer no untimely death, possess great wealth, are pure in action, sincere and truthful in word, ever mild in speech, never alienated from kin or associates, skillful in solving disputes, invariably speaking profitable words, never envious, never irate, and correct in understanding.
  Therefore, Ratnākara, because the bodhisattva has an upright mind, he is impelled to action. Because he is impelled to action, he gains a deeply searching mind. Because he has a deeply searching mind, his will is well controlled. Because his will is well controlled, he acts in accord with the teachings. Because he acts in accord with the teachings, he can transfer merit to others. Because he transfers merit to others, he knows how to employ expedient means. Because he knows how to employ expedient means, he can lead others to enlightenment. Because he leads others to enlightenment, his Buddha land is pure. Because his Buddha land is pure, his preaching of the Law is pure. Because his preaching of the Law is pure, his wisdom is pure. Because his wisdom is pure, his mind is pure. And because his mind is pure, all the blessings he enjoys will be pure.
  Therefore, Ratnākara, if the bodhisattva wishes to acquire a pure land, he must purify his mind. When the mind is pure, the Buddha land will be pure.
  • On the practices carried out by bodhisattvas in purifying the lands. Chapter I, as translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN: 0231106572.

• Shariputra, it is the failings of living beings that prevent them from seeing the marvelous purity of the land of the Buddha, the Thus Come One. The Thus Come One is not to blame. Shariputra, this land of mine is pure, but you fail to see it.
  • Chapter I, as translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN: 0231106572.

The Bequeathed Teachings Sutra

Translated from Sanskrit by: Dharma Master Kumarajiva, then Translated from Chinese by: The Buddhist Text Translation Society (full text online)

• All of you Bhikshus, after my Nirvana, you should revere and honor the Pratimoksha. It is like finding a light in darkness, or like a poor person obtaining a treasure. You should know that it is your great teacher, and is not different from my actual presence in the world.

• If you have wisdom, you will be without greed or attachment. Always examine yourselves, and do not allow yourselves to have faults, for it is in this way that you will be able to obtain liberation within my Dharma.

• One with true wisdom is a secure boat for crossing over the ocean of old age, sickness, and death. He is also like a great bright lamp in the darkness of ignorance, a good medicine for all kinds of illnesses , and a sharp axe for cutting down the tree of afflictions.

• You should increasingly benefit yourselves by acquiring hearing, contemplating , and cultivating wisdom. Even though a person only has flesh eyes, if he has illuminating wisdom, he has clear understanding.

• If you have all sorts of idle discussions, your mind will be scattered, and even though you have left the home life, you will not attain liberation… you should quickly renounce and distance yourself from having a scattered mind and idle discussions. If you wish to be one who attains the bliss of still Extinction, you only need to be skillfully eliminate the peril of idle discussions.

• If you have doubt about suffering and the other Four Truths, you may quickly ask about them now. Do not harbor doubts and fail to clear them up.

• When those in this assembly who have not yet done what should be done, see the Buddha cross over to Extinction, they will certainly feel sorrow. Those who have newly entered the Dharma and heard what the Buddha taught, will all cross over. They have seen the Way, like a flash of lightning in the night.

• The Dharma for benefiting oneself and others is complete. If I were to live longer it would be of no further benefit. All of those who could be crossed over, whether in the heavens above or among humans, have already crossed over, and all of those who have not yet crossed over have already created the causes and conditions for crossing over. From now on all of my disciples must continuously practice. Then the Thus Come One’ s Dharma body will always be present and indestructible.

• You should know therefore, that everything in the world is impermanent. Meetings necessarily have separations, so do not harbor grief. Every appearance in the world is like this, so you should be vigorous and seek for an early liberation. Destroy the darkness of delusion with the brightness of wisdom. The world is truly dangerous and unstable, without any durability. My present attainment of Nirvana is like being rid of a malignant sickness. The body is a false name, drowning in the great ocean of birth, sickness, old age and death. How can one who is wise not be happy when he gets rid of it,

• All of you Bhikshus, you should always singlemindedly and diligently seek the way out of all the moving and unmoving dharmas of the world, for they are all decaying, destructible, insecure appearances. All of you, stop; there is nothing more to say. Time is passing away, and I wish to cross over to Nirvana. These are my very last instructions.

Gautama Buddha’s Last Sermon

1. The more desires one has, the more they will suffer. Our mere existence is suffering. In our life we distinguish pleasure from suffering and tend to cling to pleasure. This is our inherent nature. But suffering is inseparable from pleasure, for one is never found without the other. Therefore, the more we seek pleasure and avoid suffering, the more entangled we become in the duality of pleasure and suffering.
2. Be content with our state of being. If we are not satisfied with our state of being we will be slaves to the five desires which stem from the five senses.
3. When the self and the external world become one, eternal serenity is enjoyed… Become one with no barrier between the self and the outside world.
4. Without any interruption, practice meditation. Meditation includes not only sitting. Every moment of one’s life is meditation. This means to experience the oneness of yourself, time, and place.
5. Do not forget what the Buddha taught. As Buddha was dying, he told his disciples to forget about him and his belongings. The important thing was to remember his teachings.
6. When we enter samadhi and understand impermanence, we are unshaken. Everything is constantly changing, including ourselves.
7. Nonattachment (detachment) is the essential wisdom. Because all existence is fleeting, attachment to them is wasteful.
8. When we reach enlightenment we and the world become one, and there is no duality.

• Dr. Kato’s Zen Buddhism Lecture Series, Zenshuji Soto Mission

Unclassified

• Behold now, Bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to decay. Strive with diligence!
  • Last words, as quoted in DN 16; Mahaparinibbana Sutta 6:8
  • Variant translations:
  • Mendicants, I now impress it upon you, the parts and powers of man must be dissolved; work out your own salvation with diligence.
    • As quoted in Present Day Tracts on the Non-Christian Religions of the World (1887) by Sir William Muir, p. 24
  • Now, then, monks, I exhort you: All fabrications are subject to decay. Bring about completion by being heedful.
    • translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
  • Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!
    • translated by Sister Vajira & Francis Story

• Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
  • As quoted in Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing (2006) edited by Larry Chang, p. 193
  • This is actually a pithy modern-day ‘summary’ of the “Abhaya Sutta” (AN 4.184). It appears in “Buddha’s Little Instruction Book” by Jack Kornfield (p88).
• Let my skin and sinews and bones dry up, together with all the flesh and blood of my body! I welcome it! But I will not move from this spot until I have attained the supreme and final wisdom.
  • The Jatka (From the Attainment of the Buddhaship. Also is in the Nirvana Sutta.)

• Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, And the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
  • From The Teaching of Buddha, by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism), Pg 132. It is a paraphrased version of Section 10 of the Sutra of Forty-two Sections

• I will not take final Nirvana until I have nuns and female disciples who are accomplished… until I have laywomen followers…who will…. teach the Dhamma
  • as quoted by Dr Bettany Hughes Telegraph

• Do not complain and cry and pray, but open your eyes and see, for the light is all about you, and it is so wonderful, so beautiful, so far beyond anything of which men have ever dreamt, for which they have ever prayed, and it is for ever and for ever.
  • Quoted by Charles Webster Leadbeater, in The Masters and the Path (1925) p. 229

• In all things, there is neither male nor female.
  • Vimalakriti Sutra, as quoted by Dr Bettany Hughes Telegraph

• Whatever an enemy might do to an enemy, or a foe to a foe, the ill-directed mind can do to you even worse.
  Whatever a mother, father or other kinsman might do for you, the well-directed mind can do for you even better.
  • Pali Canon 42-43 Cittavagga The Mind.

• Monks, these two extremes ought not to be practiced by one who has gone forth from the household life. (What are the two?) There is addiction to indulgence of sense-pleasures, which is low, coarse, the way of ordinary people, unworthy, and unprofitable; and there is addiction to self-mortification, which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable. Avoiding both these extremes, the Tathagata (the Perfect One) has realized the Middle Path; it gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment and to Nibbana. And what is that Middle Path realized by the Tathagata? … It is the Noble Eightfold Path, and nothing else, namely: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
  • Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, as translated by Piyadassi Maha Thera (1999)

• In a world become blind,
  I beat the drum of the Deathless.
  • Ariyapariyesana Sutta

• Develop the mind of equilibrium. You will always be getting praise and blame, but do not let either affect the poise of the mind: follow the calmness, the absence of pride.
  • Gautama Buddha, Sutta Nipāta

• One day, Ananda, who had been thinking deeply about things for a while, turned to the Buddha and exclaimed: “Lord, I’ve been thinking – spiritual friendship is at least half of the spiritual life!” The Buddha replied: “Say not so, Ananda, say not so. Spiritual friendship is the whole of the spiritual life!”
  • Gautama Buddha, Samyutta Nikaya, Mahāvagga, verse 2

• In what is seen, there should be just the seen;
  In what is heard, there should be just the heard;
  In what is sensed;
  there should be just the sensed;
  In what is thought, there should be just the thought.
  …
  He should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should he incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak in the world.
  • Gautama Buddha, Sutta Nipāta II,14

• One should follow a man of wisdom who rebukes one for one’s faults, as one would follow a guide to some buried treasure. To one who follows such a wise man, it will be an advantage and not a disadvantage.
  …
  These teachings are like a raft, to be abandoned once you have crossed the flood. Since you should abandon even good states of mind generated by these teachings, how much more so should you abandon bad states of mind!
  …
  Conquer the angry man by love.
  Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.
  Conquer the miser with generosity.
  Conquer the liar with truth.
  • Gautama Buddha, Dhammapada

• In Aryans’ Discipline, to build a friendship is to build wealth, to maintain a friendship is to maintain wealth and to end a friendship is to end wealth.
  • Gautama Buddha, Cakkavatti Sutta, Patika Vagga, Digha Nikaya

• Let your love flow outward through the universe,
  To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
  A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
  Then, as you stand or walk,
  Sit or lie down,
  As long as you are awake,
  Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
  Your life will bring heaven to earth.
  …
  I teach one thing and one only: suffering and the end of suffering.
  …
  Just as a mother would protect with her life her own son, her only son, so one should cultivate an unbounded mind towards all beings, and loving-kindness towards all the world. One should cultivate an unbounded mind, above and below and across, without obstruction, without enmity, without rivalry.
  Standing, or going, or seated, or lying down, as long as one is free from drowsiness, one should practice this mindfulness. This, they say, is the holy state here.
  • Gautama Buddha, Sutta Nipata

• What is this world condition? Body is the world condition. And with body and form goes feeling, perception, consciousness, and all the activities throughout the world. The arising of form and the ceasing of form–everything that has been heard, sensed, and known, sought after and reached by the mind–all this is the embodied world, to be penetrated and realized.
  …
  The fool thinks he has won a battle when he bullies with harsh speech, but knowing how to be forbearing alone makes one victorious.
  • Gautama Buddha, Samyutta Nikaya ^{[citation needed]}

• Make an island of yourself,
  make yourself your refuge;
  there is no other refuge.
  Make truth your island,
  make truth your refuge;
  there is no other refuge.
  • Gautama Buddha, Digha Nikaya, 16

• Solitude is happiness for one who is content, who has heard the Dhamma and clearly sees. Non-affliction is happiness in the world – harmlessness towards all living beings.
  • Gautama Buddha, Udana 10

• Things are not what they appear to be: nor are they otherwise.
  • Gautama Buddha, Surangama Sutra ^{[citation needed]}

• From Ignorance spring the samkharas of threefold nature—productions of body, of speech, of thoughts. From the samkharas springs consciousness, from consciousness springs name and form, from this spring the six regions (of the six senses the seventh being the property of but the enlightened); from these springs contact from this sensation; from this springs thirst (or desire, Kama, tanha) from thirst attachment, existence, birth, old age and death, grief, lamentation, suffering, dejection and despair. Again by the destruction of ignorance, the Sankharas are destroyed, and their consciousness name and form, the six regions, contact, sensation, thirst, attachment (selfishness), existence, birth, old age, death, grief, lamentation, suffering, dejection, and despair are destroyed. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.
  • Mahavagga 1st Khandhaka, as translated/quoted by Koot Hoomi, in The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, (1923), Letter No. X, 1881

• When the real nature of things becomes clear to the meditating Bikshu, then all his doubts fade away since he has learned what is that nature and what it’s cause. From ignorance spring all the evils. From knowledge comes the cessation of this mass of misery, and then the meditating Brahmana stands dispelling the hosts of Mara like the sun that illuminates the sky.
  • Mahavagga 1st Khandhaka, as translated/quoted by Koot Hoomi, in The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, Letter No. X, (1923), Letter No. X, 1881

Quotes about Buddha

Sorted alphabetically by author or source

• The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have … Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
  • Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, in The Buddha and His Dhamma (1957)

• The Buddha came approximately five hundred years before Christ. . . . Buddha answered the questions posited in His time by giving the Four Noble Truths, which satisfactorily and eternally answer man’s demand of why. These Truths can be summarised as follows: the Buddha taught that misery and suffering were of man’s own making, and that the focussing of human desire upon the undesirable, the ephemeral and the material, was the cause of all despair, all hatred and competition, and the reason why man found himself living in the realm of death…”
  • Alice Bailey in The Reappearance of the Christ p. 106, (1948)

• The story is connected with the Buddha, and with a happening in His life which left Him in the position wherein (following the dictates of His heart) He determined to return once a year from the high place in which He dwells and works, to bless the world. The two great Sons of God, the Buddha and the Christ, are one the custodian and the other the recipient of this blessing. Both of Them hold it in trust for transmission to a needy world, and both of Them act as transmitters of this spiritual energy to humanity.
  • The Wesak Festival, A Technique of Spiritual Contact, Alice Bailey, Lucis Trust

• This heavenly event takes place annually at the time of the full moon of Taurus (often called the “May Full Moon”), and at that event there is released upon Earth (according to the measure of man’s demand) the blessing of God Himself, transmitted through the Buddha and His Brother, the Christ. This happening, however, can and does work out into physical manifestation and has its physical counterpart. Paralleling the subjective and spiritual ceremony, an event of some importance takes place simultaneously in a little valley in Tibet, on the further side of the Himalayas.
  • The Wesak Festival, A Technique of Spiritual Contact, Alice Bailey, Lucis Trust

• The chanting and the rhythmic weaving grows stronger, and all the participants and the watching crowd raise their eyes towards the sky in the direction of the narrow part of the valley. Just a few minutes before the exact time of the full moon, in the far distance, a tiny speck can be seen in the sky. It comes nearer and nearer, and grows in clarity and definiteness of outline, until the form of the Buddha can be seen, seated in the cross-legged Buddha position, clad in His saffron-coloured robe, bathed in light and colour, and with His hand extended in blessing. When He arrives at a point exactly over the great rock, hovering there in the air over the heads of the three Great Lords, a great mantram, used only once a year, at the Festival, is intoned by the Christ, and the entire group of people in the valley fall upon their faces… Thus, so the legend runs, the Buddha returns once a year to bless the world, transmitting through the Christ renewed spiritual life.
  • The Wesak Festival, A Technique of Spiritual Contact, Alice Bailey, Lucis Trust

• The age in which true history appeared in India was one of great intellectual and spiritual ferment. Mystics and sophists of all kinds roamed through the Ganga Valley, all advocating some form of mental discipline and asceticism as a means to salvation; but the age of the Buddha, when many of the best minds were abandoning their homes and professions for a life of asceticism, was also a time of advance in commerce and politics. It produced not only philosophers and ascetics, but also merchant princes and men of action.
  • Arthur Llewellyn Basham in The Wonder that was India (1954)

• There is, in the Buddhist philosophy, a wonderful sentence of the Lord Gautama Buddha, where he is striving to indicate in human language something that would be intelligible about the condition of Nirvana. You find it in the Chinese translation of the Dhammapada, and the Chinese edition has been translation into English in Trübner’s Oriental Series. He puts it there that, unless there were Nirvana, there could be nothing; and he uses various phrases in order to indicate what he means, taking the uncreated and then connecting with it the created; taking the Real and then connecting with it the unreal. He sums it up by saying that Nirvana is; and that if it were not, naught else could be. That is an attempt (if one may call it so with all reverence) to say what cannot be said. It implies that unless there existed the Uncreate, the invisible and the Real, we could not have a universe at all. You have there, then, the indication that Nirvana is a plenum, not a void. That idea should be fundamentally fixed in your mind, in your study of every great system of Philosophy. So often the expressions used may seem to indicate a void. Hence the western idea of annihilation. If you think of it as fullness, you will realize that the consciousness expands more and more, without losing utterly the sense of identity; if you could think of a centre of a circle without a circumference, you would glimpse the truth.
  • Annie Besant quoted by Charles Webster Leadbeater, in The Masters and the Path (1925) p. 221

• Buddha Siddhârta (Sk.) The name given to Gautama, the Prince of Kapilavastu, at his birth. It is an abbreviation of sarvârtthasiddha and means, the “realization of all desires”. Gautama, which means, on earth (gâu) the most victorious (tama) “was the sacerdotal name of the Sâkya family, the kingly patronymic of the dynasty to which the father of Gautama, the King Suddhodhana of Kapilavastu, belonged. Kapilavastu was an ancient city, the birth-place of the Great Reformer and was destroyed during his life time. In the title Sâkyamuni, the last component, muni, is rendered as meaning one mighty in charity, isolation and silence”, and the former Sâkya is the family name. Every Orientalist or Pundit knows by heart the story of Gautama, the Buddha, the most perfect of mortal men that the world has ever seen, but none of them seem to suspect the esoteric meaning underlying his prenatal biography, i.e., the significance of the popular story. The Lalitavistûra tells the tale, but abstains from hinting at the truth. The 5,000 jâtakas, or the events of former births (re-incarnations) are taken literally instead of esoterically.
  • H.P. Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary, (1892)

• Gautama, the Buddha, would not have been a mortal man, had he not passed through hundreds and thousands of births previous to his last. Yet the detailed account of these, and the statement that during them he worked his way up through every stage of transmigration from the lowest animate and inanimate atom and insect, up to the highest—or man, contains simply the well-known occult aphorism: “a stone becomes a plant, a plant an animal, and an animal a man”… Buddha Gautama, the fourth of the Sapta (Seven) Buddhas and Sapta Tathâgatas was born according to Chinese Chronology in 1024 B.C; but according to the Singhalese chronicles, on the 8th day of the second (or fourth) moon in the year 621 before our era. He fled from his father’s palace to become an ascetic on the night of the 8th day of the second moon, 597 BC., and having passed six years in ascetic meditation at Gaya, and perceiving that physical self-torture was useless to bring enlightenment, be decided upon striking out a new path, until he reached the state of Bodhi. p. 66
  • H.P. Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary, (1892)

• He became a full Buddha on the night of the 8th day of the twelfth moon, in the year 592, and finally entered Nirvâna in the year 543 according to Southern Buddhism. The Orientalists, however, have decided upon several other dates. All the rest is allegorical. He attained the state of Bodhisattva on earth when in the personality called Prabhâpala. Tushita stands for a place on this globe, not for a paradise in the invisible regions. The selection of the Sâkya family and his mother Mâyâ, as “the purest on earth,” is in accordance with the model of the nativity of every Saviour, God or deified Reformer. The tale about his entering his mother’s bosom in the shape of a white elephant is an allusion to his innate wisdom, the elephant of that colour being a symbol of every Bodhisattva. The statements that at Gautama’s birth, the newly born babe walked seven steps in four directions, that an Udumbara flower bloomed in all its rare beauty and that the Nâga kings forthwith proceeded ‘‘to baptise him”, are all so many allegories in the phraseology of the Initiates and well-understood by every Eastern Occultist.
  • H.P. Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary, (1892)

• Every detail of the narrative after his death and before cremation is a chapter of facts written in a language which must be studied before it is understood, otherwise its dead letter will lead one into absurd contradictions. For instance, having reminded his disciples of the immortality of Dharmakâya Buddha is said to have passed into Samâdhi, and lost himself in Nirvâna—from which none can return, and yet, notwithstanding this, the Buddha is shown bursting open the lid of the coffin, and stepping out of it; saluting with folded hands his mother Mâyâ who had suddenly appeared in the air, though she had died seven (days after his birth, &c., &c. As Buddha. was a Chakravartti (he who turns the wheel of the Law), his body at its cremation could not be consumed by common fire. What happened suddenly a jet of flame burst out of the Swastica on his breast, and reduced his body to ashes… As to his being one of the true and undeniable Saviours of the World… his walk in life is from the beginning to the end, holy and divine.
  • H.P. Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary, (1892)

• During the years of his mission it is blameless and pure as that of a god—or as the latter should be. He is a perfect example of a divine, godly man. He reached Buddhaship—i.e., complete enlightenment—entirely by his own merit and owing to his own individual exertions, no god being supposed to have any personal merit in the exercise of goodness and holiness. Esoteric teachings claim that he renounced Nirvâna and gave up the Dharmakâya vesture to remain a “Buddha of compassion” within the reach of the miseries of this world.
  …The religious philosophy he left… has produced for over 2,000 years generations of good and unselfish men. His is the only absolutely bloodless religion among all the existing religions tolerant and liberal, teaching universal compassion and charity, love and self-sacrifice, poverty and contentment with one’s lot, whatever it may he. No persecutions, and enforcement of faith by fire and sword, have ever disgraced it. No thunder-and-lightning-vomiting god has interfered with its chaste commandments; and if the simple, humane and philosophical code of daily life left to us by the greatest Man-Reformer ever known, should ever come to he adopted by mankind at large, then indeed an era of bliss and peace would dawn on Humanity.
  • H.P. Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary, (1892)

• Every new cosmic cycle — we are entering a new one now, the Age of Aquarius — brings into the world a teacher. People like Hercules and Hermes, Rama, Mithra, Vyasa, Zoroaster, Confucius, Krishna, Shankaracharya, the Buddha, the Christ, Mohammed — these are all Masters who have come from the same spiritual centre of the planet, called the Spiritual, or Esoteric, Hierarchy, which is made up of the Masters and Their initiates and disciples of various degrees.
  • Benjamin Creme in The Ageless Wisdom, An Introduction to Humanity’s Spiritual Legacy, Share International (1996), p.6

• The only difference between the Christ and ourselves, the Buddha or Krishna and ourselves, is that They have manifested Their divinity. They know that They are Sons of God, and They demonstrate it.
  • Benjamin Creme in The Ageless Wisdom, An Introduction to Humanity’s Spiritual Legacy, Share International (1996), p. 29

• For the first time in human history, the Buddha admonished, entreated and appealed to people not to hurt a living being, and it is not necessary to offer prayer, praise or sacrifice to gods. With all the eloquence at his command the Buddha vehemently proclaimed that gods are also in dire need of salvation themselves.
  • Thomas William Rhys Davids, as quoted in Great Personalities on Buddhism (1965) by K. Sri Dhammananda, p. 109

• We should never forget that Gautama was born and brought up a Hindu and lived and died a Hindu. His teaching, far-reaching and original as it was, and really subversive of the religion of the day, was Indian throughout. He was the greatest and wisest and best of the Hindus.
  • T.W. Rhys-Davids: Buddhism, p.116-117, quoted in D. Keer: Ambedkar, p.522. Quoted from Elst, Koenraad (2002). Who is a Hindu?: Hindu revivalist views of Animism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and other offshoots of Hinduism. ISBN 978-8185990743

• Truly did the Buddha seek truth, both in the living and in the dead. For this impermanence was only to suffer by the weight of the physical world, although indeed we were not, as the existence would succumb to form yet hath we been without such. To call unity onto abstraction by the utterance of a word, as no bond or bound could be placed upon thee for there was none to be had. The containment of contention was that of fear and thus the ego, merely relying on the surface to perceive weakness, though within us man could not restrain. Overcome the order by following on ones own path.
  • Didymus the Hermit, in Selected Dissertations

• A maṇi-jewel; magical jewel, which manifests whatever one wishes for (Skt. maṇi, cintā-maṇi, cintāmaṇi-ratna). According to one’s desires, treasures, clothing and food can be manifested, while sickness and suffering can be removed, water can be purified, etc. It is a metaphor for the teachings and virtues of the Buddha. … Said to be obtained from the dragon-king of the sea, or the head of the great fish, Makara, or the relics of a Buddha.
  • The Digital Dictionary of Buddhism Ruyizhu entry

• India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe’s languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all.
  • Will Durant, in The Case for India (1931)

• One of my sons, the eldest boy, accused me of being a follower of Buddha, and some of my Hindu countrymen also do not hesitate to accuse me of spreading Buddhistic teaching under the guise of Sanatana Hinduism.
  I sympathize with my son’s accusations and the accusations of my Hindu friends. And sometimes I feel even proud of being accused of being a follower of the Buddha, and I have no hesitation in declaring in the presence of this audience that I owe a great deal to the inspiration that I have derived from the life of the Enlightened One. Asia has a message for the whole world, if only it would live up to it. There is the imprint of Buddhistic influence on the whole of Asia, which includes India, China, Japan, Burma, Ceylon, and the Malay States. For Asia to be not for Asia but for the whole world, it has to re-learn the message of the Buddha and deliver it to the whole world. His love, his boundless love went out as much to the lower animal, to the lowest life as to human beings. And he insisted upon purity of life.
  • Mahatma Gandhi, as quoted in With Gandhiji in Ceylon (1928) by Mahadev Haribhai Desai, p. 54

• The Buddha is a being who is totally free of all delusions and faults, who is endowed with all good qualities and has attained the wisdom eliminating the darkness of ignorance. The Dharma is the result of his enlightenment. After having achieved enlightenment, a Buddha teaches, and what he or she teaches is called the Dharma. The Sangha is made up of those who engage in the practice of the teachings given by the Buddha. . . . One of the benefits of refuge is that all of the misdeeds you have committed in the past can be purified, because taking refuge entails accepting the Buddha’s guidance and following a path of virtuous action.
  • Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, in The Way to Freedom : Core Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism (1994)

• Now in this realm Buddha’s speeches are a source and mine of quite unparalleled richness and depth. As soon as we cease to regard Buddha’s teachings simply intellectually and acquiesce with a certain sympathy in the age-old Eastern concept of unity, if we allow Buddha to speak to us as vision, as image, as the awakened one, the perfect one, we find him, almost independently of the philosophic content and dogmatic kernel of his teachings, a great prototype of mankind. Whoever attentively reads a small number of the countless speeches of Buddha is soon aware of harmony in them, a quietude of soul, a smiling transcendence, a totally unshakeable firmness, but also invariable kindness, endless patience. As ways and means to the attainment of this holy quietude of soul, the speeches are full of advice, precepts, hints. The intellectual content of Buddha’s teaching is only half his work, the other half is his life, his life as lived, as labour accomplished and action carried out. A training, a spiritual self training of the highest order was accomplished and is taught here, a training about which unthinking people who talk about “quietism” and “Hindu dreaminess” and the like in connection with Buddha have no conception; they deny him the cardinal Western virtue of activity. Instead Buddha accomplished a training for himself and his pupils, exercised a discipline, set up a goal, and produced results before which even the genuine heroes of European action can only feel awe.
  • Herman Hesse, in “”The Speeches of Buddha” (1921), as translated by Denver Lindley, in My Belief : Essays on Life and Art (1974), edited by Theodore Ziolkowski

• When our great Buddha—the patron of all the adepts, the reformer and the codifier of the occult system, reached first Nirvana on earth, he became a Planetary Spirit; i.e.—his spirit could at one and the same time rove the interstellar spaces in full consciousness, and continue at will on Earth in his original and individual body. For the divine Self had so completely disfranchised itself from matter that it could create at will an inner substitute for itself, and leaving it in the human form for days, weeks, sometimes years, affect in no wise by the change either the vital principle or the physical mind of its body. By the way that is the highest form of adeptship man can hope for on our planet. But it is as rare as the Buddhas themselves, the last Khobilgan who reached it being Sang-Ko-Pa of Kokonor (XIV Century), the reformer of esoteric as well as of vulgar Lamaism.
  • Koot Hoomi, The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, Letter No. IX, (1923)

• The deep reverence and the strong affection felt for the Lord Gautama all over the East are due to two facts. One of these is that He was the first of our humanity to attain to the stupendous height of Buddhahood, and so He may be very truly described as the first-fruits and the leader of our race. (All previous Buddhas had belonged to other humanities, which had matured upon earlier chains.) The second fact is that for the sake of hastening the progress of humanity, He took upon Himself certain additional labours of the most stupendous character…
  • C.W. Leadbeater, The Inner Life (1917)

• When the time came at which it was expected that humanity would be able to provide for itself some one who was ready to fill this important office, no one could be found who was fully capable of doing so. But few of our earthly race had then reached the higher stages of adeptship, and the foremost of these were two friends and brothers whose development was equal. These two were the mighty Egos now known to us as the Lord Gautama and the Lord Maitreya, and in His great love for mankind the former at once volunteered to make the tremendous additional exertion necessary to qualify Him to do the work required, while His friend and brother decided to follow Him as the next holder of that office thousands of years later.
  • C.W. Leadbeater, The Inner Life (1917)

• In those far-off times it was the Lord Gautama who ruled the world of religion and education; but now He has yielded that high office to the Lord Maitreya, whom western people call the Christ—who took the body of the disciple Jesus during the last three years of its life on the physical plane; and those who know tell us that it will not be long before He descends among us once again, to found another faith. Anyone whose mind is broad enough to grasp this magnificent conception of the splendid reality of things will see instantly how worse than futile it is to set up in one’s mind one religion as in opposition to another, to try to convert any person from one to another, or to compare depreciatingly the founder of one with the founder of another…. The Lord Maitreya had taken various births before He came into the office which He now holds, but even in these earlier days He seems always to have been a teacher or high-priest.
  • C.W. Leadbeater, The Inner Life (1917)

• Political leaders are never leaders. For leaders we have to look to the Awakeners! Lao Tse, Buddha, Socrates, Jesus, Milarepa, Gurdjiev, Krishnamurti.
  • Henry Miller, in My Bike & Other Friends (1977), p. 12

• If we ask, for instance, whether the position of the electron remains the same, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether the electron’s position changes with time, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether the electron is at rest, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether it is in motion, we must say ‘no’. The Buddha has given such answers when interrogated as to the conditions of a man’s self after his death; but they are not familiar answers for the tradition of seventeenth and eighteenth century science.
  • J. Robert Oppenheimer, as quoted in The New Yorker (19 June 1954), p. 61

• Eyes pure and broad like the blue lotus;
  mind pure, steeped in meditations;
  for pure deeds long accumulated, boundless in fame,
  your quietude guides the assembly-thus we bow our heads.

  We have seen the great sage work miraculous transformations,
  showing us all the countless lands in ten directions,
  the Buddhas expounding the Law therein-
  every one of these we have seen and heard.

  • Ratnākara in Vimalakirti Sutra, Chapter I. As translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN: 0231106572.
  • Pure and beautiful as a lotus leaf; pure are your intentions; you have reached the other shore of tranquility; you have accumulated good actions and conquered a great sea of virtues. Holy One, you lead to the path of peace, all homage to you!
    • Alternative translation in the multilingual edition of Vimalakīrtinirdeśasūtra at the Bibliotheca Polyglotta.

• Three times you turned the wheel of the Law in the thousand-millionfold world,
  the wheel that from the first has always been pure.
  • Ratnākara in Vimalakirti Sutra, Chapter I. As translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN: 0231106572.

• The Buddha preaches the Law with a single voice,
  but each living being understands it in his own way.
  • Ratnākara in Vimalakirti Sutra, Chapter I. As translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN: 0231106572.

• For natures such as Jesus of Nazareth, Mohammed and Gautama Buddha is already the capacity of its openness for a world vision part of its application documents. With its virtues, experiences and abilities they belong to each post written out in the world with each interview to the most promising candidates and easy are erhalten (obtained).
  • James Redfield, in the Manual of the 10th Celestine Prophecy part of I: The threshold; Heyne publishing house Munich, German-language edition 1997,ISBN 3-453-11809X

• The Buddha, the unparalleled one.
  • Vimalakirti Sutra, Chapter I. As translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN: 0231106572.

• At that time the Buddha, reverently surrounded by this multitude of countless hundreds and thousands of beings, expounded the Law for them. He was like Mount Sumeru, king of mountains, rising up out of the great sea. Resting at ease in his lion’s seat clustered with jewels, he shed his radiance over all the great throng gathered there.
  • Vimalakirti Sutra, Chapter I. As translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN: 0231106572.

• When I occasionally quote the words of Jesus or the Buddha, from A Course in Miracles or from other teachings, I do so not in order to compare, but to draw your attention to the fact that in essence there is and always has been only one spiritual teaching, although it comes in many forms. Some of these forms, such as the ancient religions, have become so overlaid with extraneous matter that their spiritual essence has become almost completely obscured by it. To a large extent, therefore, their deeper meaning is no longer recognized and their transformative power lost… I love the Buddha’s simple definition of enlightenment as “the end of suffering.” There is nothing superhuman in that, is there? Of course, as a definition, it is incomplete. It only tells you what enlightenment is not: no suffering. But what’s left when there is no more suffering? The Buddha is silent on that, and his silence implies that you’ll have to find out for yourself. He uses a negative definition so that the mind cannot make it into something to believe in or into a superhuman accomplishment, a goal that is impossible for you to attain. Despite this precaution, the majority of Buddhists still believe that enlightenment is for the Buddha, not for them, at least not in this lifetime.
  • Eckhart Tolle in The Power of Now Introduction (1997)

• The Buddha is said to have given a “silent sermon” once during which he held up a flower and gazed at it. After a while, one of those present, a monk called Mahakasyapa, began to smile. He is said to have been the only one who had understood the sermon. According to legend, that smile (that is to say, realization) was handed down by twentyeight successive masters and much later became the origin of Zen.
  • Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (2005) p. 6

• Spiritual realization is to see clearly that what I perceive, experience, think, or feel is ultimately not who I am, that I cannot find myself in all those things that continuously pass away. The Buddha was probably the first human being to see this clearly, and so anata (no self) became one of the central points of his teaching.
  • Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (2005) p. 50

• Some years ago when visiting China, I came upon a stupa on a mountaintop near Guilin. It had writing embossed in gold on it, and I asked my Chinese host what it meant. “It means ‘Buddha’ “ he said. “Why are there two characters rather than one?” I asked. “One,” he explained, “means ‘man.’ The other means ‘no.’ And the two together means ‘Buddha’.” I stood there in awe. The character of Buddha already contained the whole teaching of the Buddha, and for those who have eyes to see, the secret of life. Here are the two dimensions that make up reality, thingness and nothingness, form and the denial of form, which is the recognition that form is not who you are.
  • Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (2005) p. 134

• The fundamental teachings of Gautama, as it is now being made plain to us by study of original sources, is clear and simple and in the closest harmony with modern ideas. It is beyond all disputes the achievement of one of the most penetrating intelligence the world has ever known. Buddhism has done more for the advance of world civilization and true culture than any other influence in the chronicles of mankind.
  • H. G. Wells, in The Outline of History (1920), Ch. 25

• The Buddha Is Nearer to Us You see clearly a man, simple, devout, lonely, battling for light, a vivid human personality, not a myth. Beneath a mass of miraculous fable I feel that there also was a man. He too, gave a message to mankind universal in its character. Many of our best modern ideas are in closest harmony with it. All the miseries and discontents of life are due, he taught, to selfishness. Selfishness takes three forms — one, the desire to satisfy the senses; second, the craving for immortality; and the third the desire for prosperity and worldliness. Before a man can become serene he must cease to live for his senses or himself. Then he merges into a greater being. Buddha in a different language called men to self-forgetfulness five hundred years before Christ. In some ways he was near to us and our needs. Buddha was more lucid upon our individual importance in service than Christ, and less ambiguous upon the question of personal immortality.
  • H. G. Wells, in The Outline of History (1920), Ch. 25

The Masters and the Path by C.W. Leadbeater, (1925)

• A man came to Him one day, as people in trouble were wont to do, and told him that he had great difficulty with his meditation, which he could scarcely succeed in doing at all. Then the Buddha told him that there was a very simple reason for it—that in a previous life he had foolishly been in the habit of annoying certain holy men and disturbing their meditations. p. 188

• The Buddha of the present time is the Lord Gautama, who took his last birth in India about two thousand five hundred years ago…Seven Buddhas appear in succession during a world-period, one for each race, and each in turn takes charge of the special work of the Second Ray for the whole world, devoting himself to that part of it which lies in the higher worlds, while he entrusts to his assistant and representative, the Bodhisattva (Maitreya), the office of World-Teacher for the lower planes. For One who attains this position Oriental writers think no praise too high, no devotion too deep, and just as we regard those Masters to whom we look up as all but divine in goodness and wisdom, so to an even greater degree do they regard the Buddha. p. 281

• Now at this time in the remote past to which we have referred, humanity should have begun to provide its own Teachers; but we are told that no one had quite reached the level required for the incurring of so tremendous a responsibility. The first-fruits of Humanity at this period were two Brothers who stood equal in occult development; one being he whom we now call the Lord Gautama Buddha, and the other our present World-Teacher, the Lord Maitreya. In what way they fell short of the required qualifications we do not know; but, out of his great love for humanity the Lord Gautama instantly offered to make himself ready to undertake whatever additional effort might be necessary to attain the required development. We learn from tradition that life after life he practised special virtues, each life showing out some great quality achieved. p. 282

• That great sacrifice of the Buddha is spoken of in all the sacred books of the Buddhists; but they have not understood the nature of the sacrifice, for many believe it to have been the descent of the Lord Buddha from Nirvanic levels after his Illumination to teach his Law. It is true that he did so descend, but that would not be anything in the nature of a sacrifice; it would only be an ordinary, but not very pleasant piece of work. The great sacrifice that he made was this spending of thousands of years in order to qualify himself to be the first of mankind who should help his brother-men by teaching to them the Wisdom which is life eternal. That work was done, and nobly done. We know something of the various incarnations that he took after that, as Bodhisattva of his time, though there may be many more of which we know nothing. p. 283

• The Lord Buddha has his own special type of force, which he outpours when he gives his blessing to the world, and this benediction is a unique and very marvellous thing; for by his authority and position a Buddha has access to planes of nature which are altogether beyond our reach, hence he can transmute and draw down to our level the forces peculiar to those planes. Without this mediation of the Buddha these forces would be of no use to us here in physical life; their vibrations are so tremendous, so incredibly rapid, that they would pass through us unsensed at any level we can reach, and we should never even know of their existence. But as it is, the force of the blessing is scattered all over the world; and it instantly finds for itself channels through which it can pour (just as water instantly finds an open pipe), thereby strengthening all good work and bringing peace to the hearts of those who are able to receive it. p. 284

• The Wesak Festival. The occasion selected for this wonderful outpouring is the full moon day of the Indian month of Vaisakh (called in Ceylon Wesak, and usually corresponding to the English May), the anniversary of all the momentous occurrences of His last earthly life, His birth, His attainment of Buddhahood, and His departure from the physical body.
  In connection with this visit of His… an exoteric ceremony is performed on the physical plane… Whether He shows himself to pilgrims I am not certain; they all prostrate themselves at the moment when He appears, but that may be only in imitation of the prostration of the Adepts and their pupils, who do see the Lord Gautama. It seems probable that some at least of the pilgrims have seen Him for themselves, for the existence of the ceremony is widely known among the Buddhists of central Asia, and it is spoken of as the appearance of the Shadow or Reflection of the Buddha, the description given of it in such traditional accounts being as a rule fairly accurate. So far as we can see there appears to be no reason why any person whatever who happens to be in the neighborhood at the time may not be present at the ceremony; no apparent effort is made to restrict the number of spectators; though it is true that one hears stories of parties of pilgrims who have wandered for years without being able to find the spot. P. 285

• The Lord Maitreya, whose name means kindliness or compassion, took up the office of Bodhisattva when the Lord Gautama laid it down, and since then He has made many efforts for the promotion of Religion. One of His first steps on assuming office was to take advantage of the tremendous magnetism generated in the world by the presence of the Buddha, to arrange that great Teachers should simultaneously appear in many different parts of the earth; so that within a comparatively short space of time we find not only the Buddha Himself, Shri Shankaracharya and Mahavira in India, but also Mithra in Persia, Laotse and Confucius in China, and Pythagoras in ancient Greece. p.297

The Life of Buddha and Its Lessons, by H. S. Olcott (1912)

(full text, multiple formats)

• What he taught may be summed up in a few words, as the perfume of many roses may be distilled into a few drops of attar: Everything in the world of Matter is unreal; the only reality is in the world of Spirit.

• The history of Sākya Muni’s life is the strongest bulwark of his religion. As long as the human heart is capable of being touched by tales of heroic self-sacrifice, accompanied by purity and celestial benevolence of motive, it will cherish his memory.

• Though all suggestions of death were banished from the royal palace, though the city was bedecked with flowers and gay flags, and every painful object removed from sight when the young Prince Siḍḍārtha visited it, yet the decrees of destiny were not to be baffled, the “voices of the spirits,” the “wandering winds” and the ḍevas, whispered the truth of human sorrows into his listening ear, and when the appointed hour arrived, the Suḍḍha Ḍevas threw the spell of slumber over the household, steeped in profound lethargy the sentinels (as we are told was done by an angel to the gaolers of Peter’s prison), rolled back the triple gates of bronze, strewed the sweet moghra-flowers thickly beneath his horse’s feet to muffle every sound, and he was free. Free? Yes—to resign every earthly comfort, every sensuous enjoyment, the sweets of royal power, the homage of a Court, the delights of domestic life: gems, the glitter of gold: rich stuffs, rich food, soft beds…

• Gauṭama Buḍḍha, Sākya Muni, has ennobled the whole human race. His fame is our common inheritance. His Law is the law of Justice, providing for every good thought, word and deed its fair reward, for every evil one its proper punishment. His law is in harmony with the voices of Nature, and the evident equilibrium of the universe. It yields nothing to importunities or threats, can be neither coaxed nor bribed by offerings to abate or alter one jot or tittle of its inexorable course.

Foundations of Buddhism, by Helena Roerich (1930)

(full text online)

• The Great Gotama gave to the world a complete Teaching of the perfect construction of life. Each attempt to make a god of the great revolutionist, leads to absurdity. Previous to Gotama there was, of course, a whole succession of those who bore the common welfare, but their teachings crumbled to dust in the course of millenniums. Therefore the Teaching of Gotama should be accepted as the first teaching of the laws of matter and the evolution of the world. Contemporary understanding of the community permits a wondrous bridge from Gotama Buddha up to the present time. We pronounce this formula neither for extolling nor for demeaning, but as an evident and immutable fact.

• One should not think that the life of Gotama Buddha was spent in universal acknowledgment and quiet. On the contrary, there are indications of slander and all kinds of obstacles, through which the Teacher, as a true fighter, only strengthened himself, thus augmenting the significance of his achievement. Many incidents speak about the hostility which he encountered from ascetics and Brahmins, who hated him. The former for his reproval of their fanaticism, the latter for his refusal to admit their rights to social privileges and to the knowledge of truth by right of birth. To the first, he said: “If only through the renunciation of food and human conditions one could attain perfection and liberation from the bonds which tie man to Earth, then a horse or a cow would have reached it long ago.” To the second: “According to his deeds a man becomes a pariah; according to his deeds he becomes a Brahmin. The fire kindled by a Brahmin, and the fire kindled by a Shudra have an equal flame, brightness, and light. To what has your isolation brought you? In order to procure bread you go to the general market, and you value the coins from the purse of a Shudra. Your isolation may be termed merely plunder. And your sacred implements are merely instruments of deception.

• There are established cases when, after his discourses, a great many of the listeners deserted him and the Blessed One said: “The seed has separated from the husk; the remaining community, strong in conviction, is established. It is well that the conceited ones have departed.”

• Let us remember the cruel destiny which visited his clan and country through the vengeance of the neighboring king. The legends relate that Buddha, being far from the city with his beloved disciple Ananda at the time of the attack on his country, felt a severe headache and lay down on the ground, covering himself with his robe, in order to hide from the only witness the sorrow which overcame his stoical heart. Neither was he exempt from physical ailments. Severe pains in his back are often mentioned and even his death was the result of poisonous food. All these details make his image verily human and close to us.

• According to the Pali Suttas, Buddha never claimed the omniscience which was attributed to him by his disciples and followers: “Those who told thee, Vaccha, that the Teacher Gotama knows all, sees all, and asserts his possession of limitless powers of foresight and knowledge and says, ‘In motion or immobility, in vigilance or sleep, always and in all, omniscience dwells in me,’ those people do not say what I said, they accuse me despite all truth.”  (Majjhima-Nikaya)

• The powers possessed by Buddha are not miraculous, because a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature. The supreme power of Buddha coordinates completely with the eternal order of things. His superhuman abilities are miraculous, inasmuch as the activities of a man must appear miraculous to the lower beings. To self-sacrificing heroes, to fighters for true knowledge, it is as natural to manifest their unusual achievements as for a bird to fly or for a fish to swim.

• Buddha, according to one text, “is only the elder of men, differing from them no more than as the hatched chick differs from later chicks of the same hen.” Knowledge uplifted him to a different order of beings, because the principle of differentiation lies in the depth of consciousness. The humanness of Gotama Buddha is especially underlined in the most ancient writings, where the following expression is met, “Gotama Buddha, the most perfect of bipeds.”

• No teaching foresaw the future with such precision as Buddhism. Parallel with reverence to the Buddha, Buddhism develops the veneration of Bodhisattvas—future Buddhas. According to the tradition, Gotama, before reaching the state of Buddha, had been a Bodhisattva for many centuries. The word, Bodhisattva, comprises two concepts: Bodhi—enlightenment or awakening, and Sattva—the essence. Who are these Boddhisattvas? The disciples of Buddhas, who voluntarily have renounced their personal liberation and, following the example of their Teacher, have entered upon a long, weary thorny path of help to humanity. Such Bodhisattvas appear on earth in the midst of the most varying conditions of life. Physically indistinguishable in any way from the rest of humanity, they differ completely in their psychology, constantly being the heralds of the principle of the common welfare.

• According to tradition, the Blessed One preordained the Bodhisattva Maitreya as his successor. “And the Blessed One said to Ananda, ‘I am not the first Buddha who has come upon Earth, nor shall I be the last. In due time another Buddha will arise in the world, a Holy One, a supremely enlightened One, endowed with wisdom in conduct, embracing the Universe, an incomparable leader of men, a ruler of devas and mortals. He will reveal to you the same eternal truths, that I have taught you. He will establish his Law, glorious in its origin, glorious at the climax, and glorious at the goal, in the spirit and in the letter. He will proclaim a righteous life, wholly perfect and pure, such as I now proclaim. His disciples will number many thousands while mine number many hundreds.’ “Ananda said, ‘How shall we know him?’ “The Blessed One said, ‘He will be known as Maitreya!’ ”  (Paul Carus, The Gospel of Buddha) The future Buddha, Maitreya, as his name indicates, is the Buddha of compassion and love. This Bodhisattva, according to the power of his qualities, is often called Ajita—the Invincible.

• It is interesting to note that reverence of many Bodhisattvas was accepted and developed only in the Mahayana school. Nevertheless, the reverence of one Bodhisattva, Maitreya, as a successor chosen by Buddha himself, is accepted also in the Hinayana. Thus, one Bodhisattva, Maitreya, embraces the complete scope, being the personification of all aspirations of Buddhism.
  What qualities must a Bodhisattva possess? In the Teaching of Gotama Buddha and in the Teaching of Bodhisattva Maitreya, given by him to Asanga according to tradition in the fourth century (Mahayana-Sutralankara), the maximum development of energy, courage, patience, constancy of striving, and fearlessness was underlined first of all. Energy is the basis of everything, for it alone contains all possibilities.

• Throughout the entire Buddhist world the rocks on the roadsides, with the images of Maitreya, point out the approaching future. From the most ancient times until now this Image has been erected by Buddhists who know the approach of the New Era. In our day, venerable lamas, accompanied by disciples, painters, and sculptors, travel through the Buddhist countries, erecting new images of the symbol of aspirations toward the radiant future.

• Buddha, as the source, and Maitreya, as a universal hope, will unite the austere followers of the Teaching of the South with the multiformity of the North.
  That which is most essential for the immediate future will definitely manifest itself. Instead of swelling the Teaching with commentaries, it will again be restored to the beauty of the value of concise conviction. The new time of the Era of Maitreya is in need of conviction.

• Life in its entirety must be purified by the flame of achievement. The great Buddha, who preordained Maitreya, prescribed the path for the whole of existence. For those wise and clear covenants, the manifestation of the new evolution is calling. The demand for the purification of the Teaching is not accidental. The dates are approaching. The Image of Maitreya is ready to rise. All the Buddhas of the past have combined their wisdom of experience and have handed it on to the Blessed Coming One.