Inspiring Buddha Quotes to Illuminate Your Path

"Learn this from water: loud splashes the brook but the oceans depth are calm."

- Gautama Buddha

"Avoid evil deeds as a man who loves life avoids poison."

- Gautama Buddha

"You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger."

- Gautama Buddha

"Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others."

- Buddha

"Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it."

- Buddha

"If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path."

- Gautama Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?"

- Gautama Buddha

"The mind is everything. What you think you become."

- Buddha

"Nothing is permanent."

- Gautama Buddha

"Set your heart on doing good. Do it over and over again and you will be filled with joy."

- Gautama Buddha

"True love is born from understanding."

- Gautama Buddha

"To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear."

- Gautama Buddha

"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path."

- Buddha

"a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life."

- Buddha

"What we think, we become."

- Buddha

"Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most."

- Buddha

"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without."

- Gautama Buddha

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change."

- Gautama Buddha

"The mind is everything. What you think, you become."

- Buddha

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you."

- Gautama Buddha

"Three things can not hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth."

- Gautama Buddha

"Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it."

- Gautama Buddha

"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."

- Buddah

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading."

- Lao Tzu

"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."

- Gautama Buddha

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."

- Buddhist quote

"Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace."

- Buddha

"Do not look for a sanctuary in anyone except yourself."

- Gautama Buddha

"Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine."

- Gautama Buddha

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

- Gautama Buddha

"Words do not express thoughts very well; everything 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."

- Gautama Buddha

"Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule."

- Buddha

"If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another."

- Buddha

"You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself."

- Buddha

"Radiate boundless love towards the entire world."

- Buddha

"Peace begins within yourself."

- Buddha

"These... things, householder, are welcome, agreeable, pleasant, & hard to obtain in the world: Long life is welcome, agreeable, pleasant, & hard to obtain in the world. Beauty is welcome, agreeable, pleasant, & hard to obtain in the world. Happiness is welcome, agreeable, pleasant, & hard to obtain in the world. Status is welcome, agreeable, pleasant, & hard to obtain in the world. ...Now, I tell you, these... things are not to be obtained by reason of prayers or wishes. If they were to be obtained by reason of prayers or wishes, who here would lack them? It's not fitting for the disciple of the noble ones who desires long life to pray for it or to delight in doing so. Instead, the disciple of the noble ones who desires long life should follow the path of practice leading to long life. In so doing, he will attain long life..."

- Gautama Buddha

"Love is the key to ending hatred and finding peace."

- Buddha

"Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts."

- Gautama Buddha

"Let go of resentful thoughts and find true peace."

- Buddha

"If you love yourself, you won’t harm others."

- Buddha

"Train your mind to see something good in everything."

- Gautama Buddha

"Spread love and kindness to create a peaceful world."

- Buddha

"To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others."

- Buddha

"All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?"

- Buddha

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear."

- Buddha

"No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again."

- Buddha

"With our thoughts, we make the world."

- Gautama Buddha

"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves."

- Buddha

"You only lose what you cling to."

- Gautama Buddha

"Rule your mind or it will rule you."

- Gautama Buddha

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world."

- Buddha

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded."

- Gautama Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship."

- Buddha

"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting."

- Buddha

"Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well."

- Buddhist saying

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly."

- Buddha

"If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete."

- Buddha

"Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"As rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, do not burden your heart with judgement but rain your kindness equally on all."

- Buddha

"In separateness lies the world’s greatest misery; in compassion lies the world’s true strength."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"The mind is everything; what you think, you become."

- Buddha

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."

- Buddha

"Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom."

- Buddha

"To support mother and father, to cherish wife and children, and to be engaged in peaceful occupation — this is the greatest blessing."

- Buddha

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, 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."

- Buddha

"The past is already gone, the future is not yet here. There’s only one moment for you to live."

- Buddha

"One moment can change a day, one day can change a life, and one life can change the world."

- Buddha

"The greatest gift is to give people your enlightenment, to share it. It has to be the greatest."

- Buddha

"Give, even if you only have a little."

- Buddha

"True charity occurs only when there are no notions of giving, giver, or gift."

- Buddha

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

- Buddha

"Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame."

- Buddha

"Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes."

- Gautama B.

"What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind."

- Buddha

"The one who has conquered himself is a far greater hero than he who has defeated a thousand times a thousand men."

- Buddha

"He who can curb his wrath as soon as it arises, as a timely antidote will check snake’s venom that so quickly spreads — such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin."

- Buddha

"The only real obstacle in your path to success is the story you keep telling yourself that you cannot achieve it."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"The instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for the truth and have begun striving for ourselves."

- Buddha

"Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal."

- Buddha

"To be angry is to let others' mistakes punish yourself."

- Buddha

"If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow."

- Buddha

"Whatever is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit."

- Buddha

"Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace."

- Buddha

"A mind unruffled by the vagaries of fortune, from sorrow freed, from defilements cleansed, from fear liberated — this is the greatest blessing."

- Buddha

"Meditate. Do not delay, lest you later regret it."

- Buddha

"Resolutely train yourself to attain peace."

- Buddha

"Choose words that bring peace, not conflict."

- Buddha

"Understanding brings peace, even in difficult situations."

- Buddha

"Peace comes from accepting things as they are."

- Buddha

"You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think."

- Buddha

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

- Buddha

"Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"In the end, these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?"

- Buddha

"To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance."

- Buddha

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky."

- Buddha

"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace."

- Buddha

"Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill."

- Buddha

"Patience is a powerful tool for finding peace."

- Buddha

"The thing that is disliked by me is also disliked by others. Since I dislike this thing, how can I inflict it on someone else?"

- Buddha

"The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows."

- Buddha

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles."

- Buddha

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."

- Buddha

"He is able who thinks he is able."

- Buddha

"It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways."

- Buddha

"Every human being is the author of his own health or disease."

- Buddha

"The root of suffering is attachment."

- Buddha

"Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind."

- Buddha

"Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth, faithfulness is the best relationship."

- Buddha

"Be grateful for the little things and find peace in them."

- Buddha

"The greatest prayer is patience."

- Buddha

"To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our minds strong and clear."

- Buddha

"To understand everything is to forgive everything."

- Buddha

"A jug fills drop by drop."

- Buddha

"You yourself must strive. The Buddhas only point the way."

- Buddha

"Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence."

- Buddha

"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"Wear your ego like a loose-fitting garment."

- Buddha

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

- Socrates

"Life is suffering."

- Buddha

"Pain is certain; suffering is optional."

- Buddha

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

- Buddha

"It is better to travel well than to arrive."

- Buddha

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

- Steve Jobs

"He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes."

- Buddha

"Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely."

- Buddha

"The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart."

- Buddha

"The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"The way is not in the sky, the way is in the heart."

- Buddha

"The tongue like a sharp knife … Kills without drawing blood."

- Buddha

"Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good."

- Buddha

"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."

- Buddha

"There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it."

- Buddha

"The virtues, like the Muses, are always seen in groups. A good principle was never found solitary in any breast."

- Buddha

"Ambition is like love, impatient both of delays and rivals."

- Buddha

"Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two."

- Buddha

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

"There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path."

"The trouble is, you think you have time."