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.
Gautama BuddhaSeeker, empty the boat, lighten the load, be free of craving and judgment and hatred, and feel the joy of the way.
Gautama BuddhaFollow not after the vain, understand the ills of sense pleasures. One who is vigilant and meditative, obtains deep joy.
Gautama BuddhaUnkind 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.
Gautama BuddhaDo not be the judge of people; do not make assumptions about others. A person is destroyed by holding judgments about others.
Gautama BuddhaLet 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.
Gautama BuddhaI 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.
Gautama BuddhaHappy indeed are the arahants! No craving can be found in them. Cut off is the conceit 'I am,' Burst asunder is delusion's net.
Gautama BuddhaThis Ariyan Eightfold Path, that is to say: Right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right contemplation.
Gautama BuddhaThose 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.
Gautama BuddhaThere 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
Gautama BuddhaIf a man does what is good, let him do it again; let him delight in it; happiness is the outcome of good.
Gautama BuddhaIt is good to have companions when occasion arises, and it is good to be contented with whatever comes.
Gautama 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.'
Gautama BuddhaIn our lives, change is unavoidable, loss is unavoidable. In the adaptability and ease with which we experience change, lies our happiness and freedom.
Gautama BuddhaBe 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.
Gautama BuddhaJust as a picture is drawn by an artist, surroundings are created by the activities of the mind
Gautama BuddhaLook 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.
Gautama BuddhaA raft needed to cross the river is discarded when the other shore is reached, not carried about on one's head.
Gautama BuddhaOur mind is full of anger, jealousy and other negative feelings. Yet we do not realize that these are incompatible with inner peace and joy.
Gautama 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.
Gautama BuddhaFor 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.
Gautama BuddhaThe 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.
Gautama BuddhaMaintain a state of balance between physical acts and inner serenity,like a lute whose strings are finely tuned.
Gautama BuddhaHatred does not cease in this world by hating, but by not hating; this is an eternal truth.
Gautama BuddhaHe who, seeking his own happiness, punishes or kills beings who also long for happiness, will not find happiness after his death.
Gautama BuddhaDon't give way to heedlessness or to intimacy with sensual delight - for a heedful person, absorbed in jhana, attains an abundance of ease.
Gautama Buddha