I describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk. No more, no less. — Dalai Lama
Becoming a monk was a hard decision. Leaving being a monk was harder, but it's given me so much faith in my ability to transition, and that what I learned as a monk can still serve me. — Jay Shetty
If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him. — Linji Yixuan
Buddhism teaches you to embrace change. — Koo Stark
Buddha was not a Christian, but Jesus would have made a good Buddhist. — Ray Wylie Hubbard
Instead of becoming the world’s expert on Buddhism, just let go, let go, let go. — Ajahn Sumedho
I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity ... I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can. — Thomas Merton
Then are they truly monks when they live by the labor of their hands. — Benedict of Nursia
He who has renounced all violence towards all living beings, weak or strong, who neither kills nor causes others to kill - him I do call a holy man. — Buddha
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. — Buddha
Buddha means awareness, the awareness of body and mind that prevents evil from arising in either. — Bodhidharma
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
Buddhism has become a socially recognized religious philosophy for Americans, whereas it used to be considered an exotic religion. — Thurston Moore
Short Buddhist Monk Quotes
The mouth prays to Buddha, but the heart is full of evil. — Vietnamese Proverbs
I haven't got any Buddhism. I live by letting things happen. — Dogen
Zen Buddhism is a discipline where belief isn't necessary. — David Sylvian
Freedom from desire leads to inner peace. — Lao Tzu
Let me be reborn. I would like to be born again twenty-five times to spread Lord Buddha's Dhamma. — Anagarika Dharmapala
Delight in meditation and solitude. Compose yourself, be happy. You are a seeker. — Buddha
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
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
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
Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. — Confucius
Monk Quotes
The road to Hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls of bishops are the lamp posts that light the path. — Saint John Chrysostom
I desire to go to Hell and not to Heaven. In the former I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings and princes, while in the latter are only beggars, monks and apostles — Niccolo Machiavelli
My heart has become capable of every form: It is a pasture for gazelles And a monastery for Christian monks, And the pilgrim's Ka'ba, And the tablets of the Torah, And the book of the Koran. I follow the religion of Love: Whatever way love's camel takes, That is my religion, my faith. — Ibn Arabi
I say, play your own way. Don't play what the public want - you play what you want and let the public pick up on what you doing - even if it does take them fifteen, twenty years. — Thelonious Monk
My heart can be pasture for deer and a convent for monks, a temple for idols and a Kaaba for the pilgrims. It is both the tables of the Torah and the Koran. It professes the religion of Love wherever its caravans are heading. Love is my law. Love is my faith. — Ibn Arabi
My heart can take on any form:
A meadow for gazelles,
A cloister for monks,
For the idols, sacred ground,
Ka'ba for the circling pilgrim,
The tables of the Torah,
The scrolls of the Quran.
My creed is Love;
Wherever its caravan turns along the way,
That is my belief,
My faith. — Ibn Arabi
The prayer of the monk is not perfect until he no longer recognizes himself or the fact that he is praying. — Anthony of Padua
I went through the whole number, you know. The swing era, the boogie woogie era, the bebop era. Thelonious Monk is still one of my favorites. So a lot of these people had their effect on me. — Mose Allison
The more you know the less you talk. — A. R. Rahman
Buddhist Life Quotes
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
If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path. — Buddha
Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day. — A. A. Milne
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
He who experiences the unity of life sees his own self in all beings. — Buddha
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
In a controversy, the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for truth and have begun striving for ourselves. — Abraham Joshua Heschel
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
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
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
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
Life is fragile, like the dew hanging delicately on the grass, crystal drops that will be carried away on the first morning breeze. — Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
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
Monastic Life Quotes
Cooperation in the most natural thing in the world — Janine Benyus
The curse should no longer rest upon the world itself, but upon that which is sinful in it, and instead of monastic flight from the world the duty is now emphasized of serving God in the world, in every position in life. — Abraham Kuyper
Working conditions for me have always been those of the monastic life: solitude and frugality. Except for frugality, they are contrary to my nature, so much so that work is a violence I do to myself. — Albert Camus
I like the monastic life... in the prayer and the praising... this has charged me with new energy, spiritual energy. This is very important for my ministry outside the monastery. — Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria
Working in film, I'm sure you have insight into this, there's something great that only comes by way of interactions with others that a monastic life does not afford. — John Maus
Monastic life cuts off the distractions and emotional entanglements one becomes involved in, in the lay life. — Tenzin Palmo
There is a basic problem that a lot of Western monks and nuns become ordained without really understanding or appreciating what the monastic life is all about. — Tenzin Palmo
My Dad used to say that the balance of the world relied on all of the monks who were living outside of society in creative isolation. I don't quite understand the ascetic life or the private life or the monastic private life. But I definitely understand privacy's value. — Sufjan Stevens
Art is a vocation, as much as anything in this world. For the real artist, it is the most natural thing in the world, not as necessary as air and water, perhaps, but as food and water. But we really do lead almost a monastic life, you know; to follow it you very often have to give up something. — Katherine Anne Porter
Monastic life thus became a living protest against the secularization of Christianity, against the cheapening of grace. — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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
Movement is good for the body. Stillness is good for the mind. — Sakyong Mipham
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
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
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 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
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
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
Mind is everything. What we think, we become. — Buddha
If you have a glass full of liquid you can discourse forever on its qualities, discuss whether it is cold, warm, whether it is really and truly composed of H-2-O, or even mineral water, or saki. Meditation is Drinking it! — Taisen Deshimaru
Zen Buddhist Quotes
Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself. — Matsuo Basho
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. — Buddha
Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. — Alan Watts
Harmonizing opposites by going back to their source is the distinctive quality of the Zen attitude, the Middle Way: embracing contradictions, making a synthesis of them, achieving balance. — Taisen Deshimaru
Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everythiong else. — Buddha
To say one is revolutionary is a little like saying one is a Zen Buddhist - if you say you are, you probably aren't. — Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The greatest effort is not concerned with results. — Atisa
The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground. — Buddha
If you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it? — Dogen
Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. — Shunryu Suzuki
Monastic Quotes
I have devoted my energies to the study of the scriptures, observing monastic discipline, and singing the daily services in church; study, teaching, and writing have always been my delight. — Venerable Bede
At the age of 15, I was obsessed with monasteries… I wanted to be a nun for a while. That’s maybe reflected in my work as a scientist: many hours are spent alone, cut off from the world. — Emmanuelle Charpentier
If you have an idea of what you want to do in your future, you must go at it with almost monastic obsession. [...] You have to go at it single-mindedly and let nothing get in your way. — Henry Rollins
The God of the incarnation is more domestic than monastic. — Ronald Rolheiser
You know, I live a monastic lifestyle. No, I do. I do live in extremes, basically. I go back and forth. Once every six months, I'll have a day where I eat more chocolate than has ever been consumed by a human being. — Jim Carrey
Monastic incarceration is castration. — Victor Hugo
I like the church, I like a cowl,
I love a prophet of the soul;
And on my heart monastic aisles
Fall like sweet strains or pensive smiles;
Yet not for all his faith can see,
Would I that cowled churchman be. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Because someone is a lama or is part of a monastic order or claims to be part of a succession, doesn't really mean they know anything. Always examine the individual's consciousness, their ability to transmit light. — Frederick Lenz
It is more to the honor of a Christian by faith to overcome the world, than by monastical vows to retreat from it; more for the honor of Christ to serve him in the city, than to serve him in the cell. — Matthew Henry
A true military officer is in one particular like a true monk. Not with more self-abnegation will the latter keep his vows of monastic obedience than the former his vows of allegiance to martial duty. — Herman Melville
A last word on slow breathing. It goes by another name: prayer. When Buddhist monks chant their most popular mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, each spoken phrase lasts six seconds, with six seconds to inhale before the chant starts again. The traditional chant of Om, the 'sacred sound of the universe' used in Jainism and other traditions, takes six seconds to sing, with a pause of about six seconds to inhale. — James Nestor
I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go. — Sheng-yen
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
How does one stay mindful? Where feelings are known as they arise, known as they persist, known as they pass away. Thoughts are known as they arise, known as they persist, known as they pass away. Perceptions are known they arise, known as they persist, known as they pass away. This is how a monk stays awake. — Buddha
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
Monks, when ignorance is abandoned, and knowledge arises in the monk, with the ending of ignorance and the arising of knowledge he clings neither to sense-pleasures, nor does he cling to views, nor to precepts and vows, nor to a Self-doctrine. Not clinking, he is not disturbed; not disturbed, he attains individually nibbana. — Buddha
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
For me, a male image that I'm really moved by is somewhere between of Oscar Wilde type of a male: the fop, the long hair, the suits, too witty for his own good, incredibly smart, scathingly funny - all that. But then my other ideal is more like the Buddhist monk - the shaved head, actually someone who sublimates their sexuality. — Madonna Ciccone
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
I'm nothing special, just an ordinary human being. That's why I always describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk. — Dalai Lama
Some consider me as a living Buddha. That's nonsense. That's silly. That's wrong. If they consider me a simple Buddhist monk, however, that's probably okay. — Dalai Lama
As Buddhist monks, our task is to bring ourselves resolutely more and more into light, to forgive and forget, to forget those who create problems for us because to remember them is only to keep problems is mind. — Frederick Lenz
There are techniques of Buddhism, such as meditation, that anyone can adopt. And, of course, there are Christian monks and nuns who already use Buddhist methods in order to develop their devotion, compassion, and ability to forgive. — Dalai Lama
In Buddhist culture, offering food to the monk symbolizes the action of goodness, and if you have no opportunity to support the practice of spirituality, then you are somehow left in the realm of darkness. — Thich Nhat Hanh
One day I saw a picture of the Buddha on a Buddhist magazine and he was sitting on the grass, and he was sitting on the grass, very peaceful, smiling, and I was impressed. Around me people were not like that, so I had the desire to be someone like him. I nourished that kind of desire until the age of sixteen, when I had the permission from my parents to go and ordain as a Buddhist monk. — Nhat Hanh
One of the books that has guided me in the last ten years of my life to help me to be that leader is the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh's Being Peace. He's a Vietnamese monk. He was nominated for a Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King. — Sandra Cisneros
I never really got around to discussing that specific topic which I think it crucially important to understand. If you were a monk in Buddhist time and you had sex, there was a good chance a child would be conceived. — Brad Warner
Firstly, as a Buddhist monk, I hold that violence is not good. Secondly, I am a firm believer in the Gandian ethic of passive resistance. And thirdly, in reality, violence is not our strength. — Dalai Lama
I just want to live as a simple Buddhist monk, but during the last thirty years I have made many friends around the world and I want to have close contact with these people. I want to contribute to harmony and peace of mind, for less conflict. Wherever the possibililty is, I'm ready. This is my life's goal. — Dalai Lama
I am a simple Buddhist monk. — Dalai Lama
Buddhism is in your heart. Even if you don't have any temple or any monks, you can still be a Buddhist in your heart and life. — Nhat Hanh
If I say, "I am a monk." or "I am a Buddhist," these are, in comparison to my nature as a human being, temporary. To be human is basic. — Dalai Lama
I certainly haven't lived the life of a Buddhist monk. — Burton Cummings
Just studying Buddhism, then meditating and going to Buddhist monasteries, talking to Buddhist monks, combined with the Thai people themselves, changed the way I look at the world. — John Burdett
From my own personal encounters and studies with both Tantric and Zen Buddhist monks, I have found them to be humorous, warm, charming, and compassionate. — Frederick Lenz
A Buddhist monk has a responsibility first and foremost to themselves, and that's to find the truth each day in every part of their life. — Frederick Lenz
As a monk you have a responsibility to meditate many hours a day. Not just to sit there but to think of the ten thousand radiances. — Frederick Lenz
Put the mind in alignment with the ten thousand radiances of enlightenment and experience them in various gradations forever. That's the total purpose of a monk. — Frederick Lenz
Being a Buddhist monk means never losing one's optimism in spite of all difficulties. It also means being harder on yourself than any of your teachers ever were. — Frederick Lenz
I was initiated as a Buddhist monk at the age of 19, but I think that initiation is simply a starting point. — Frederick Lenz
Many people, including Buddhist monks, spend thousands of hours sitting in what they call meditation. In reality, what they're doing is thinking and ruminating upon their problems. — Frederick Lenz
Only Zorbas become Buddhas - and Buddha was never a monk, A monk is one who has never been a Zorba and has become enchanted by the words of Buddhas. A monk is an imitator, he is false, pseudo. He imitates Buddhas. He may be Christian, he may be Buddhist, he may be a Hindu - that doesn't make much difference - but he imitates Buddhas. — Osho
During the last 2,500 years in Buddhist monasteries, a system of seven practices of reconciliation has evolved. Although these techniques were formulated to settle disputes within the circle of monks, i think they might also be of use in our households and in our society.The first practice is Face-to-Face-Sitting. — Nhat Hanh
Celibacy is one of the most unnatural things. It has destroyed so many human beings - millions - Catholic monks, Hindu monks, Buddhist monks, Jaina monks, nuns. For centuries they have been teaching celibacy; and the most amazing thing is, even in the twentieth century, not a single medical expert, physiologist, has stood up and said that celibacy is impossible, that in the very nature of things, it cannot happen. — Osho
When a monk is an arahant, with his fermentations ended - one who has reached fulfillment, done the task, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, totally destroyed the fetter of becoming, and is released through right gnosis - the thought doesn't occur to him that 'There is someone better than me,' or 'There is someone equal to me,' or 'There is someone worse than me.' — Buddha
Believe nothing, O monks, just because you have been told it, or it is commonly believed, or because it is traditional or because you yourselves have imagined it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings - that doctrine believe and cling to and take as your guide. — Buddha
In Conclusion
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