Wisdom can come from many places and experiences. Many religions rely on wisdom from deities, but with Buddhism, it all started with a person who simply saw too much suffering in this world. With suffering, though, it often brings a lot of wisdom into the world. And to understand this suffering, these Buddha quotes act like a helping hand for people navigating through life.
Buddhist quotes carry these peaceful messages within them, so if you’re looking for calming quotes, you’re in for a treat. Each and every one of these sayings can bring you one step closer to achieving nirvana and enlighten you to a level where you’ll be able to consider yourself newly reborn.
Perhaps you’ve been wondering what could be the motto of Buddha? While there isn’t one and it would be quite hard to summarize the extent of Buddhist wisdom in one quote, with countless Buddhism quotes, it’s possible to see the general direction Buddhism is heading to.
Scroll through these Buddha quotes on life and take a moment to really understand each and every one, as it might take some philosophical thinking to truly comprehend the meaning.
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“A man asked Gautama Buddha, "I want happiness." Buddha said, "First remove "I," that's Ego, then remove "want," that's Desire. See now you are left with only "Happiness".”
“Nothing is forever except change.”
“Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.”
“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.”
"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."
“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.”
“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”
"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves."
“Set your heart on doing good. Do it over and over again, and you will be filled with joy.”
"Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others."
"When watching after yourself, you watch after others. When watching after others, you watch after yourself."
“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.”
“To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance.”
"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."
“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are, it solely relies on what you think.”
"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."
“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you.”
“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.”
“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.”
“It is like a lighted torch whose flame can be distributed to ever so many other torches which people may bring along; and therewith they will cook food and dispel darkness, while the original torch itself remains burning ever the same. It is even so with the bliss of the Way.”
“As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise, you will miss most of your life.”
“A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”
“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.”
“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.”
“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.”
“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.”
“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.”
“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
“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.”
“We are what we think. All that we are arises from our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”
“Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.”
"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."
"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world."
"Our theories of the eternal are as valuable as are those which a chick which has not broken its way through its shell might form of the outside world."
“Most problems, if you give them enough time and space, will eventually wear themselves out.”
“One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world.”
“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.”
“If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows them like a never-departing shadow.”
“However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?”
“Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking and pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness.”
“Words do not express thoughts very well; every thing 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.”
“Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.”
“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.”
“As rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, do not burden your heart with judgments but rain your kindness equally on all. ”
“Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame.”
“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.”
“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.”
"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."
"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, rob men of their steadfast heart."
“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.”
“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.”
“To keep the body in good health is a duty… Otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
“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.”
“He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.”
“Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two.”
“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.”
“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.”
"There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind."
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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 speak or act with an evil thought, suffering follows him as the wheel follows the hoof of the beast that draws the wagon... If a man speak or act with a good thought, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him.”
“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. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. 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.”
“There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed.”
“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.”
"He who walks in the eightfold noble path with unswerving determination is sure to reach Nirvana."
"With fools, there is no companionship. Rather than to live with men who are selfish, vain, quarrelsome, and obstinate, let a man walk alone."
"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."
“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.”
“Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”
“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.”
“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.”
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”
“The virtues, like the Muses, are always seen in groups. A good principle was never found solitary in any breast.”
"Silence the angry man with love. Silence the ill-natured man with kindness. Silence the miser with generosity. Silence the liar with truth."
"Ceasing to do evil, cultivating the good, purifying the heart: this is the teaching of the Buddhas."
"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."
"Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes."
"Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is Awakened."
“More than those who hate you, more than all your enemies, an undisciplined mind does greater harm.”
"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 Buddhahood."
“Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.”
“Should you find a wise critic to point out your faults, follow him as you would a guide to hidden treasure.”
“Should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let them resolutely pursue a solitary course.”
“All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.”
“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.”
“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."
"Without health, life is not life; it is only a state of languor and suffering - an image of death."
“In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.”
“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”
"A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving, and fearless then he is in truth called wise."
"Delight in meditation and solitude. Compose yourself, be happy. You are a seeker."
Some of these are contradictory but I suppose that's inevitable with so damn many of them.
Some of these are contradictory but I suppose that's inevitable with so damn many of them.
