I haven't got any Buddhism. I live by letting things happen. — Dogen
To define Buddhism without a lot of words and phrases, we can simply say, 'Don't cling or hold on to anything. Harmonize with actuality, with things as they are.' — Ajahn Chah
I describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk. No more, no less. — Dalai Lama
Let me be reborn. I would like to be born again twenty-five times to spread Lord Buddha's Dhamma. — Anagarika Dharmapala
Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken. Take heed, do not squander your life. — Dogen
Ju jitsu is very Buddhist. All that we fear we hold close to ourselves to survive. So if you're drowning and you see a corpse floating by, hang on to it because it will rescue you. — Tom Hardy
Buddha was not a Christian, but Jesus would have made a good Buddhist. — Ray Wylie Hubbard
Ultimately one must abandon the path to enlightenment. If you still define yourself as a Buddhist, you are not a buddha yet. — Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
The complete teachings of all Buddhas - past, present, and future - are to be found within the essence of every human being. — Huineng
In the Light of interbeing, peace and happiness in your daily life means peace and happiness in the world. — Nhat Hanh
In the monastery of your heart, you have a temple where all Buddhas unite. — Milarepa
Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires. — Lao Tzu
To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana. — Buddha
Zen Buddhism is a discipline where belief isn't necessary. — David Sylvian
Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you your all. — Kahlil Gibran
Nurture the spontaneous peaceful life. — Lao Tzu
Buddhist Life Image Quotes
Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day. — A. A. Milne
He who experiences the unity of life sees his own self in all beings. — Buddha
For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and, if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over.
Buddhist Past Life Quotes
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. — Nhat Hanh
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past. — Dalai Lama
Concentrate the mind on the present moment. — Buddha
Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence.
Buddhists believe that you are who you are today is because of who you have been in all your past lives. — Frederick Lenz
By practicing Buddhist Yoga, you can become happy, ecstatic and free in your current incarnation, even if you have never been that way before in any of your past lives. — Frederick Lenz
Life Quotes
One day you will ask me which is more important? My life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you are my life. — Kahlil Gibran
Judge not, before you judge yourself.
Judge not, if you're not ready for judgment.
The Road of life is rocky and you may stumble too,
so while you talk about me, someone else is judging you. — Bob Marley
The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us. — Bill Watterson
Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life. — Omar Khayyam
Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else. — Les Brown
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. — Marie Curie
There comes a point in your life when you need to stop reading other people's book and write your own.
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them. — Dalai Lama
The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life. — Confucius
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. — George Washington Carver
Buddhist Quotes
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared. — Buddha
Follow the three R's: - Respect for self. - Respect for others. - Responsibility for all your actions. — Dalai Lama
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. — Dalai Lama
I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done. — Marie Curie
The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass. — Dogen
Every civilization:
Hindu, Buddhist, Confucianist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim, all of them understood that LEARNING was to make a BETTER HUMAN BEING, LEARNING was NOT to MAKE MORE MONEY;
It was to make a BETTER HUMAN BEING. — Hamza Yusuf
Some days I wish I could go back in life. Not to change anything, but to feel a few things twice.
We suffer because we want life to be different from what it is. We suffer because we try to make pleasurable what is painful, to make solid what is fluid, to make permanent what is always changing. — Sakyong Mipham
If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good. — Shantideva
Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. — Confucius
All rising to great places is by a winding stair. — Buddha
Buddhism Quotes
If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? — Dogen
Do not encumber your mind with useless thoughts. What good does it do to brood on the past or anticipate the future? Remain in the simplicity of the present moment. — Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Getting knocked down in life is a given. Getting up and moving forward is a choice.
If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher. — Pema Chodron
In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create disticntions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. — Buddha
On the day that you were born, you began to die. Do not waste a single moment more! — Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure.
However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them? — Buddha
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. — Buddha
Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else. — Shunryu Suzuki
If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path. — Buddha
Buddhist Meditation Quotes
Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. What you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. — Ajahn Chah
All meditation must begin with arousing deep compassion. Whatever one does must emerge from an attitude of love and benefitting others. — Milarepa
I'm expressin' with my full capabilities,
And now I'm livin in correctional facilities.
Cause some don't agree with how I do this,
I get straight and meditate like a Buddhist. — Dr. Dre
Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tip top if you must, but take the step.
If you let cloudy water settle, it will become clear. If you let your upset mind settle, your course will also become clear. — Buddha
In horror of death, I took to the mountains - again and again I meditated on the uncertainty of the hour of death, capturing the fortress of the deathless unending nature of mind. Now all fear of death is over and done. — Milarepa
You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too. — Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar
Don't wait for everything to be perfect before you decide to enjoy your life.
Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment. — Nhat Hanh
When sitting in meditation, say, "That's not my business!" with every thought that comes by. — Ajahn Chah
Movement is good for the body. Stillness is good for the mind. — Sakyong Mipham
Mind is everything. What we think, we become. — Buddha
Good Buddhist Quotes
Good men and bad men differ radically. Bad men never appreciate kindness shown them, but wise men appreciate and are grateful. Wise men try to express their appreciation and gratitude by some return of kindness, not only to their benefactor, but to everyone else — Buddha
Since everything is but an apparition, having nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may well burst out in laughter. — Longchenpa
Saints and ordinary folks are the same from the start. Inquiring about a difference is like asking to borrow string when you've got a good strong rope. Every Dharma is known in the heart. — Hsu Yun
Don't compare your life to others. There's no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it's their time.
I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity ... I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can. — Thomas Merton
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him. — Buddha
If you cannot find a good companion to walk with, walk alone, like an elephant roaming the jungle. It is better to be alone than to be with those who will hinder your progress. — Buddha
Life is like a piano, the white keys represent happiness and the black shows sadness, but as you go through life's journey, remember that the black keys also makes music.
There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it. — Buddha
The right time to show your good character is when you are pestered by someone weaker than you. — Buddha
It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others. — Dalai Lama
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. — Buddha
Buddhist Philosophy Quotes
"All conditioned things are impermanent" - when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. — Buddha
I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go. — Sheng-yen
Failure are part of life. If you don't fail, you don't learn. If you don't learn you'll never change.
If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. — Buddha
To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue. — 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
Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. — 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
All philosophies are mental fabrications. There has never been a single doctrine by which one could enter the true essence of things. — Akkineni Nagarjuna
From the high spiritual flights of the Vedanta philosophy, of which the latest discoveries of science seem like echoes, to the low ideas of idolatry with its multifarious mythology, the agnosticism of the Buddhists and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hinduism religion. — Swami Vivekananda
Real Buddhist Quotes
There is no fire like passion
No crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation,
No sickness like hunger,
And no joy like the joy of freedom. — Buddha
Master your words. Master your thoughts. Never allow your body to do harm. Follow these three roads with purity And you will find yourself upon the one way, The way of wisdom. — Buddha
A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering. — Buddha
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts. — Buddha
How easy it is to see your brother's faults, How hard it is to face your own. — Buddha
The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage! Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves, but they are like heat haze. — Buddha
A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals the secret of some hidden treasure. — Dalai Lama
Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love. — Buddha
Let a man avoid evil deeds as a man who loves life avoids poison. — Buddha
There is no fire like passion: there is no evil and hatred. — Buddha
Buddhist Monk Quotes
You haven't partied until you've partied at dawn in complete silence with Buddhist monks. — Cameron Diaz
Anger and hatred are the real enemies that we must confront and defeat, not the 'enemies' who appear from time to time in our lives. — Dalai Lama
No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change. — Nhat Hanh
Buddhist monks have known for centuries that meditation can change the mind. Now we are inspired by His Holiness to examine with our technology the precise brain changes that occur with practice... The unique collaboration on meditation is just beginning. — Richard Davidson
I can't tell how moving it is to open my email and see a picture of 1,500 Buddhist monks and nuns in the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh forming a human 350 against the backdrop of the melting glaciers. This is not their fault, and yet they're stepping up to be part of the solution. — Bill McKibben
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
When I was a teenager, I wanted to be in a group, or I wanted to work for Greenpeace, or I wanted to be a Buddhist monk. Those were the only three things I really wanted to do. I was doing some sort of soul searching in life. — Dave Wakeling
Originally, I was interested in athletic pursuits like snowboarding, martial arts and surfing. When I went to the Himalayas and met a number of Buddhist monks I was introduced to a new way of looking at life. — Frederick Lenz
There is, Oh Monks, a not-born, a not-become, a not-made, a not-compounded. Monks, if that unborn, not-become, not-made, not-compounded were not, there would be no escape from this here that is born, become, made and compounded. — Buddha
It's probably even the case that if you stoked up some Buddhist monks with tons of testosterone, they'd become wildly competitive as to who can do the most acts of random kindness. — Robert M. Sapolsky
Buddhism Happiness Quotes
Learn to be happy in any and all circumstances, whether you're experiencing pleasure or pain, whether there's loss or gain, whether the world loves you or hates you. Learn to be happy. — Frederick Lenz
By breaking down our sense of self-importance, all we lose is a parasite that has long infected our minds. What we gain in return is freedom, openness of mind, spontaneity, simplicity, altruism: all qualities inherent in happiness. — Matthieu Ricard
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
The basic root of happiness lies in our minds; outer circumstances are nothing more than adverse or favourable. — Matthieu Ricard
In a controversy, the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for truth and have begun striving for ourselves. — Abraham Joshua Heschel
In the chakras, it's the heart chakra, anahata, the central chakra, three above and three below, which symbolizes happiness and love, psychic oneness, spiritual understanding. — Frederick Lenz
All that we are is the result of what we have thought; what we think we become. — Buddha
Many people think excitement is happiness.... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace. — Nhat Hanh
We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. — Buddha
Take a couple of days by yourself and rent a nice cabin in some nice, happy place. Stay a day or two and meditate and take walks in areas that feel good to you. Find out who you are again. Remember. — Frederick Lenz
Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality. — Dalai Lama
One moment can change a day, One day can change a life and One life can change the world — Buddha
This is bravery: using the challenge of daily life to sharpen our mind and open our heart. — Sakyong Mipham
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. — Nhat Hanh
Realization is not knowledge about the universe, but the living experience of the nature of the universe. Until we have such living experience, we remain dependent on examples, and subject to their limits. — Namkhai Norbu
As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life. — Buddha
Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine. — Buddha
The beauty of life is, while we cannot undo what is done, we can see it, understand it, learn from it and change. So that every new moment is spent not in regret, guilt, fear or anger, but in wisdom, understanding and love. — Jennifer Edwards
Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life. — Buddha
May all that have life be delivered from suffering. — Buddha
We have two alternatives: either we question our beliefs - or we don't. Either we accept our fixed versions of reality- or we begin to challenge them. In Buddha's opinion, to train in staying open and curious - to train in dissolving our assumptions and beliefs - is the best use of our human lives. — Pema Chodron
Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts — Buddha
Life can only take place in the present moment. If we lose the present moment, we lose life. — Buddha
What yoga philosophy and all the great Buddhist teachings tells us is that solidity is a creation of the ordinary mind and that there never was anything permanent to begin with that we could hold on to. Life would be much easier and substantially less painful if we lived with the knowledge of impermanence as the only constant. — Donna Farhi
Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care. — Buddha
To understand everything is to forgive everything. — Buddha
When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. — Dalai Lama
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. — 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
Our visit to this planet is short, so we should use our time meaningfully, which we can do by helping others wherever possible. And if we cannot help others, at least we should try not to create pain and suffering for them. — Dalai Lama
Here in this body are the sacred rivers, here are the sun and moon, as well as the pilgrimage places. I have not encountered another temple as blissful as my own body — Saraha
Don't hang on to your failures, because you can always try again. Trying gives hope. Hope gives us life. — Tsem Tulku
Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everythiong else. — Buddha
The trouble is you think you have time. — Buddha
In Conclusion
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