Gautama Buddha Quotes

The virtuous man delights in this world and he delights in the next

Thousands upon thousands of lights is inferior to a light of heart.

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

One should refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs.

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

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.

He who slings mud loses ground.

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

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking and pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness.

When watching after yourself, you watch after others. When watching after others, you watch after yourself.

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

Right perspective is no perspective or all perspectives.

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.

Life can only take place in the present moment. If we lose the present moment, we lose life.

With gentleness overcome anger. With generosity overcome meanness. With truth overcome deceit.

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

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 wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve.

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 tongue like a sharp knife ... Kills without drawing blood.

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

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.

It is better to travel well then arrive.

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

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.

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

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.

Happy are those who have overcome their egos; happy are those who have attained peace; happy are those who have found the Truth.

Drink deeply. Live in serenity and joy.

Truth is always truth, untruth is always untruth. This is what matters, this is right desire.

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

When a man has pity on all living creatures then only is he noble.

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.

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.

Remember that the only constant in life is change.

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.

Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.

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

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.

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

To avoid causing terror to living beings, let the disciple refrain from eating meat.

Thought-habits can harden into character. So watch your thoughts.

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

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.

When wishes are few, the heart is happy. When craving ends, there is peace.

It is easy to see the faults of others... it is hard to see our own.

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.