The founder of one of the world’s great philosophies, Buddha has inspired countless people through the ages. Here we have gathered some of his quotes about foundational topics in life. Regardless of where you are from or what your current situation is, they will serve as reminders of what is truly important.
Buddha Quotes On Life
If anyone can make sense of the mystery of life, it is Buddha. With these quotes, he has gotten to the very essence of what it means to be alive.
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
What we think, we become.
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.
No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.
Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.
It is better to travel well than to arrive.
The mind is everything. What you think you become.
To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Understanding is the heartwood of well-spoken words.
Purity or impurity depends on oneself.
I do not dispute with the world; rather it is the world that disputes with me.
All experiences are preceded by mind, having mind as their master, created by mind.
Speak only endearing speech, speech that is welcomed. Speech, when it brings no evil to others, is a pleasant thing.
To support mother and father, to cherish partner and children, and to be engaged in peaceful occupation — this is the greatest blessing.
Whatever has the nature of arising has the nature of ceasing.
Understanding is the heartwood of well-spoken words.
All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?
Buddha Quotes On Love
He may have renounced his family life in his quest for understanding, but few people know more about universal love and compassion than Buddha. Expand your heart with this selection of his quotes.
You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
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.
Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.
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.
He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.
Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.
Radiate boundless love towards the entire world…
Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.
In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?
If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another.
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.
Love the whole world as a mother lovers her only child.
Until he has unconditional and unbiased love for all beings, man will not find peace.
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.
Never in the world does hatred cease by hatred; hatred ceases by love.
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 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.
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.
To him in whom love dwells, the whole world is but one family.
Full of love for all things in the world, practicing virtue, in order to benefit others, this man alone is happy.
Buddha Quotes On Karma
What goes around comes around. You reap what you sow. You’ve made your bed, now lie in it. These are the kinds of sayings that people associate with karma. However, the following quotes show that it has a deeper meaning.
Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find 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.
Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.
Karma grows from our hearts. Karma terminates from our hearts.
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.
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.
All that we are is the result of what we have thought; what we think we become.
Once you know the nature of anger and joy is empty and you let them go, you free yourself from karma.
When action comes out of nothing it creates no karma.
One who previously made bad karma, but who reforms and creates good karma, brightens the world like the moon appearing from behind a cloud.
To be selfish, greedy and unwilling to help the needy gives rise to future starvation and clothlessness.
Man should make himself a lot of good karma.
Not even death can wipe out our good deeds.
If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good.
Buddha Quotes On Death
Few people can face death with as much equanimity as the Buddha did. Put this painful topic into perspective with these quotes and perhaps they will help you find some peace too.
Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
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.
Without health life is not life; it is only a state of langour and suffering – an image of death.
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.
Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it?
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).
Even loss and betrayal can bring us awakening.
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.
In our lives, change is unavoidable, loss is unavoidable. In the adaptability and ease with which we experience change, lies our happiness and freedom.
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.
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.
He who never thinks of anything as ‘mine’ does not feel the lack of anything: he is never worried by a sense of loss.
Everything is changeable, everything appears and disappears; there is no blissful peace until one passes beyond the agony of life and death.
No one can escape death and unhappiness. If people expect only happiness in life, they will be disappointed.
Without health life is not life; it is only a state of langour and suffering – an image of death.
Buddha Quotes About Happiness
People are driven by the search for happiness, whether they recognise this or not. Ironically, the process can cause a tremendous amount of suffering. Allow the following quotes of Buddha to help you find lasting satisfaction.
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows them like a never-departing shadow.
Whatever is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness and benefit.
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.
There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.
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.
If a man who enjoys a lesser happiness beholds a greater one, let him leave aside the lesser to gain the greater.
Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.
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.
When you go into the space of nothingness, everything becomes known.
When you have great joy, you will become Buddhas!
He who, seeking his own happiness, punishes or kills beings who also long for happiness, will not find happiness after his death.
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’.
Health is the first benefit. Content is the first fortune. Friendliness is the first kindness. Nirvana is the first happiness.
May everyone be happy and safe, and may their hearts be filled with joy.
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 mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness.
Freedom and happiness are found in the flexibility and ease with which we move through change.
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
True love is born from understanding.
Buddha Quotes On Anger
Why would you listen to anything the Buddha says about anger? He may have a reputation as one of the world’s most peaceful men, but he understands the full spectrum of human emotion better than anyone else, as these quotes show.
You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
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.
In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Through effort you will cross any raging flood, through energy you will pass any sorrow.
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.
It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
The tongue like a sharp knife… Kills without drawing blood.
There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed.
Buddha Quotes On Suffering
Witnessing the suffering of those around him started the Buddha on his path of discovery, and as such it is a vast topic of study in Buddhism. These quotes illuminate the nature of suffering and help us dispel it.
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.
Only within our body, with its heart and mind, can bondage and suffering be found, and only here can we find true liberation.
May all that have life be delivered from suffering.
To understand everything is to forgive everything.
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]
“All conditioned things are impermanent” – when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.
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.
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.
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?
A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering.
One should strive to understand what underlies sufferings and diseases – and aim for health and well-being while gaining in the path.
The root of suffering is attachment.
Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.
Pain is certain, suffering is optional.
The second noble truth is the cause of suffering. The cause of suffering is lust. The surrounding world affects sensation and begets a craving thirst, which clamors for immediate satisfaction. The illusion of self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to things. The desire to live for the enjoyment of self entangles us in the net of sorrow. Pleasures are the bait and the result is pain.
The wise who injure no living being, who keep themselves under self-control, they go to the unchangeable realm of Nirvana where sorrow and suffering are no more.
There is no suffering for the traveler who has reached the end of his journey. He is free from all sorrows: the fetters that bound him are thrown away and the burning fever of life is no more.
Let each person direct himself to what is right and proper, and then teach others. By doing so, he can avoid pain and suffering.
Men, driven by fear, go for refuge in the mountains and forests, the grooves and sacred shrines. But these places are not safe refuge for they do not free a man from suffering.
Let a man forsake anger and pride, let him overcome all bondage. No sorrow or suffering can befall a man who is free from attachment to existence and calls nothing his own.
Buddha Quotes On Friendship
In a way, the Buddha was a friend to all of humanity, to all living forms in fact. Read the following quotes and let them provide you with a new perspective on your relationships.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If you knew how perfect things are… you would tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.
To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance.
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn the past nor worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.
Buddha Quotes On Love And Marriage
Before embarking on his journey of discovery, the Buddha was married and even had a child. So it is not only from his boundless wisdom but also his personal history that he speaks to us about love and marriage in these quotes.
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Buddha Quotes About Change
One of the most important concepts in Buddhism deals with the inevitability of change. It is no surprise then that quotes about this phenomenon are one of our main categories of quotes. Use them as an opportunity to reflect on impermanence.
Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.
Everything changes, nothing remains without change.
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.
Your work is to discover the world, and then with all your heart give yourself to it.
An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.
However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do If you do not act upon them?
Teach this triple truth to all… A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.
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 reasons and your own common sense.
Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind they can change our world.
There are only two mistakes one can make along the road of truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
If we destroy something around us we destroy ourselves. If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves.
Life is dear to all beings, they have the right to live the same that we do.
I never see what has to be done. I only see what remains to be done.
Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.
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.
Live like a mighty river.
Well-makers lead the water (wherever they like) ; fletchers bend the arrow ; carpenters bend a log of wood ; wise people fashion themselves.
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.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Times of luxury do not last long, but pass away very quickly; nothing in this world can be long enjoyed.
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