Gautama Buddha Quotes
-
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.
-
When one feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie, there is no evil, I tell you, he will not do.
-
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.
-
Realizing the doctrine of dependent-arising, the wise do not at all partake of extreme views.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
And he who lives a hundred years, idle and weak, a life of one day is better if a man has attained firm strength.
-
Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.
-
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 man who wears the yellow-dyed robe but is not free from stains himself, without self-restraint and integrity, is unworthy of the robe.
-
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 kingdom of heaven is closer than the brow above the eye but mankind does not see it.
-
You must take action yourself, for Buddhas only teach the way.
-
Treat others with respect. How you treat others will be how they treat you.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Joyously participate in the sorrows of others.
-
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.
-
Three things can not hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth.
-
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.
-
All things that are born must die. Work hard for your own freedom from sorrow.
-
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 greatest impurity is ignorance. Free yourself from it. Be pure.