100 Inspirational Monk Quotes to Ignite Positivity and Inner Peace

"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions."

- Dalai Lama

"There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live."

- Dalai Lama

"Many people think excitement is happiness...But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"It is my conviction that there is no way to peacepeace is the way."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"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

"Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything1anger, anxiety, or possessionswe cannot be free."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."

- 14th Dalai Lama

"Life is available only in the present moment."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live."

- Dalai Lama

"Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos1he trees, the clouds, everything."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

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

- Buddha

"Because you are alive, everything is possible."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Our own life has to be our message."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

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

- Buddha

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

- 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

"If we fail to look after others when they need help, who will look after us?"

- 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

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

- Buddha

"Before giving, the mind of the giver is happy; while giving, the mind of the giver is made peaceful; and having given, the mind of the giver is uplifted."

- Buddha

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

- 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.

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

- Buddha

"Be a lamp for yourselves. Be your own refuge. Seek for no other. All things must pass. Strive on diligently. Don’t give up."

- Buddha

"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

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

- Buddha

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

- Buddha

"When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings. By living with you, I want to learn to love everyone and all species. If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth... This is the real message of love."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."

- Dalai Lama

"Never give up. No matter what is happening, no matter what is going on around you, never give up."

- Dalai Lama

"Compassion naturally creates a positive atmosphere, and as a result, you feel peaceful and content."

- Dalai Lama

"Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek."

- Dalai Lama

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive."

- Dalai Lama

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

- Dalai Lama

"When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace."

- The 14th Dalai Lama

"The purpose of our lives is to be happy."

- Dalai Lama

"When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighbouring communities."

- Dalai Lama

"The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness."

- Dalai Lama

"We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves."

- Dalai Lama XIV

"Creativity itself doesn't care at all about results - the only thing it craves is the process. Learn to love the process and let whatever happens next happen, without fussing too much about it. Work like a monk, or a mule, or some other representative metaphor for diligence. Love the work. Destiny will do what it wants with you, regardless."

- Elizabeth Gilbert

"To be a monk is to have time to practice for your transformation and healing. And after that to help with the transformation and healing of other people."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

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

- Buddha

"Live every act fully, as if it were your last."

- Buddha

"Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a polluted mind, suffering will follow you, as the wheels of the oxcart follow the footsteps of the ox."

- Buddha

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

- Buddha

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

- Buddha

"Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer badness with goodness. Conquer meanness with generosity."

- Buddha

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

- Buddha

"Our life is shaped by our mind. We become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves."

- Buddha

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

- Buddha

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

- Buddha

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

- 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

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

- Buddha

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

- Buddha

"Should someone do good, let them do it again and again. They should develop this habit, for the accumulation of goodness brings joy."

- Buddha

"A positive attitude is essential for one's physical and mental health."

- Dalai Lama

"See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort."

- Dalai Lama

"No one can live without relationship. You may withdraw into the mountains, become a monk, a sannyasi, wander off into the desert by yourself, but you are related. You cannot escape from that absolute fact. You cannot exist in isolation."

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

"Sometimes things go wrong, that’s normal, but we have a saying in Tibetan, ‘Nine times fail, nine times try again.”"

- Dalai Lama

"I describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk. No more, no less."

- Dalai Lama

"Everything you do has some effect, some impact."

- Dalai Lama

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

- Buddha

"Speak only endearing speech, speech that is welcomed. Speech, when it brings no evil to others, is a pleasant thing."

- Buddha

"Someone else’s actions should not determine your response."

- Dalai Lama

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

- Buddha

"Happy people build their inner world, unhappy people blame their outer world."

- Dalai Lama

"Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck."

- Dalai Lama XIV

"Don’t rush anything. When the time is right, it’ll happen."

- Buddha

"The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your action will be."

- Dalai Lama XIV

"The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self."

- Dalai Lama

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

- 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

"Whether or not we follow any particular spiritual tradition, the benefits of love and kindness are obvious to anyone."

- 14th Dalai Lama

"My actions are my only true belongings."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health."

- Dalai Lama

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

- Buddha

"As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all beings."

- Dalai Lama

"If you don’t love yourself. You cannot love others."

- Dalai Lama

"Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay."

- Dalai Lama

"As an elephant in the battlefield withstands arrows shot from bows all around, even so shall I endure abuse."

- Buddha

"Compassion is the radicalism of our time."

- Dalai Lama

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost."

- Dalai Lama

"Although you may not always be able to avoid difficult situations, you can modify the extent to which you can suffer by how you choose to respond to the situation."

- Dalai Lama

"The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred."

- Dalai Lama

"Choose to be optimistic, it feels better."

- Dali Lama

"A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering."

- Dalai Lama

"In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher."

- Dalai Lama

"With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world."

- Dalai Lama

"Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace."

- Dalai Lama

"Our struggle must remain non-violent and free of hatred."

- Dalai Lama

"Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk."

- Dalai Lama

"True change is within; leave the outside as it is."

- Dalai Lama

"When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect towards others."

- Dalai Lama

"Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively."

- Dalai Lama

"If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Smile, breathe and go slowly."

- Thích Nhất Hạnh

"Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos — the trees, the clouds, everything."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

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

"If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way."

"Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before."

"Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. Every breath we take, every step we take, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment."

"Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free."

"Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life."

"Each moment is a chance for us to make peace with the world, to make peace possible for the world, to make happiness possible for the world."

"The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers."

"If we do not know how to take care of ourselves and to love ourselves, we cannot take care of the people we love. Loving oneself is the foundation for loving another person."

"To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now."

"Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering by all means, including personal contact and visits, images, sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world. If we get in touch with the suffering of the world, and are moved by that suffering, we may come forward to help the people who are suffering."

"Anyone can practice some nonviolence, even soldiers. Some army generals, for example, conduct their operations in ways that avoid killing innocent people; this is a kind of nonviolence. To help soldiers move in the nonviolent direction, we have to be in touch with them. If we divide reality into two camps - the violent and the nonviolent - and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence in ourselves. We must work on ourselves and also with those we condemn if we want to have a real impact. It never helps to draw a line and dismiss some people as enemies, even those who act violently. We have to approach them with love in our hearts and do our best to help them move in a direction of nonviolence. If we work for peace out of anger, we will never succeed. Peace is not an end. It can never come about through non-peaceful means."

"To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea is simply not to allow yourself to get lost in regrets about the past or worries about the future. If you are firmly grounded in the present moment, the past can be an object of inquiry, the object of your mindfulness and concentration. You can attain many insights by looking into the past. But you are still grounded in the present moment."

"If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work."

"If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence"

"I am inviting you to go deeper, to learn and to practice so that you become someone who has a great capacity for being solid, calm, and without fear, because our society needs people like you who have these qualities, and your children, our children, need people like you, in order to go on, in order to become solid, and calm, and without fear."

"Root out the violence in your life, and learn to live compassionately and mindfully. Seek peace. When you have peace within, real peace with others is possible."

"You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free."

"Words and thoughts concerning compassionate action that are not put into practice are like beautiful flowers that are colorful but have no fragrance."

"Your true home is in the here and the now."

"If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything."

"To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is."

"I am determined to practice deep listening. I am determined to practice loving speech."

"When we walk like we are rushing, we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth... Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet."

"The fact is that when you make the other suffer, he will try to find relief by making you suffer more. The result is an escalation of suffering on both sides."

"There is no enlightenment outside of daily life."

"Those who are without compassion cannot see what is seen with the eyes of compassion."

"If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people."

"A human being is like a television set with millions of channels. We cannot let just one channel dominate us. We have the seed of everything in us, and we have to recover our own sovereignty."

"Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow because even today I still arrive."

"We who have touched war have a duty to bring the truth about war to those who have not had a direct experience of it. We are the light at the tip of the candle. It is really hot, but it has the power of shining and illuminating. If we practice mindfulness, we will know how to look deeply into the nature of war and, with our insight, wake people up so that together we can avoid repeating the same horrors again and again."

"Nonviolent action, born of the awareness of suffering and nurtured by love, is the most effective way to confront adversity."

"Please don't wait until the doctors tell you that you are going to have a baby to begin to take care of it. It is already there. Whatever you are, whatever you do, your baby will get it. Anything you eat, any worries that are on your mind will be for him or her. Can you tell me that you cannot smile? Think of the baby, and smile for him, for her, for the future generations. Please don't tell me that a smile and your sorrow just don't go together. It's your sorrow, but what about your baby? It's not his sorrow, it’s not her sorrow."

"Know that life can only be found in the present moment."

"It is possible to live twenty-four hours a day in a state of love. Every movement, every glance, every thought, and every word can be infused with love."

"Only the present moment contains life."

"Happiness does not come from consumption of things."

"I always encourage them to practice in a way that will help them go back to their own tradition and get re-rooted. If they succeed at becoming reintegrated, they will be an important instrument in transforming and renewing their tradition. When we respect our blood ancestors and our spiritual ancestors, we feel rooted. If we find ways to cherish and develop our spiritual heritage, we will avoid the kind of alienation that is destroying society, and we will become whole again. ... Learning to touch deeply the jewels of our own tradition will allow us to understand and appreciate the values of other traditions, and this will benefit everyone."

"A real love letter is made of insight, understanding, and compassion. Otherwise it's not a love letter. A true love letter can produce a transformation in the other person, and therefore in the world. But before it produces a transformation in the other person, it has to produce a transformation within us. Some letters may take the whole of our lifetime to write."

"Our notions about happiness entrap us. We forget that they are just ideas. Our idea of happiness can prevent us from actually being happy. We fail to see the opportunity for joy that is right in front of us when we are caught in a belief that happiness should take a particular form."

"If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love."

"Breathing in, there is only the present moment. Breathing out, it is a wonderful moment."

"My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand."

"Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world."

"In true love, you attain freedom."

"The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms."

"The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it."

"The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life."

"The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person’s suffering and bring that person joy."

"When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love."

"If you love someone but rarely make yourself available to him or her, that is not true love."

"When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight."

"You are not an observer, you are a participant."

"I would not look upon anger as something foreign to me that I have to fight. I have to deal with my anger with care, with love, with tenderness, with nonviolence."

"From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax and be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on Earth."

"In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change."

"May our heart's garden of awakening bloom with hundreds of flowers."

"When you say something really unkind, when you do something in retaliation your anger increases. You make the other person suffer, and he will try hard to say or to do something back to get relief from his suffering. That is how conflict escalates."

"I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live."

"Usually when we hear or read something new, we just compare it to our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing."

"Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible."

"We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize."

"The true miracle is not walking on water or walking in air, but simply walking on this earth."

"The raft is used to cross the river. It isn't to be carried around on your shoulders. The finger which points at the moon isn't the moon itself."

"Guarding knowledge is not a good way to understand. Understanding means to throw away your knowledge."

"Attachment to views is the greatest impediment to the spiritual path."

"I have noticed that people are dealing too much with the negative, with what is wrong. ... Why not try the other way, to look into the patient and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?"

"Being rich is an obstacle to loving. When you are rich, you want to continue to be rich, and so you end up devoting all your time, all your energy, in your daily life to stay rich."

"Many people think excitement is happiness.... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace."

"If you suffer and make your loved ones suffer, there is nothing that can justify your desire."

"Understanding means throwing away your knowledge."

"For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them."

"If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change"