48 Buddha Quotes

Let me be reborn. I would like to be born again twenty-five times to spread Lord Buddha's Dhamma. ~ Anagarika Dharmapala

When the Buddha gave a talk to a large gathering of businessmen, the core of his message to them was, "It is possible to live happily right in the present moment. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

To support mother and father, to cherish wife and children, and to be engaged in peaceful occupation - this is the greatest blessing. ~ Gautama Buddha

There is no self, yet we all exist. All phenomena are "empty," yet they have Buddha nature. ~ Frederick Lenz

Don't blame other people for your problems. Only you can do anything about your problems. Inspect, reflect, realize, and then find the cure. No one can do it for you. ~ Debasish Mridha

I manifested in a dreamlike way to dreamlike beings and gave a dreamlike Dharma, but in reality I never taught and never actually came. ~ Gautama Buddha

This is deathless: the liberation of the mind through lack of clinging. ~ Gautama Buddha

A great gift - a gift of Dharma conquers all gifts. ~ Gautama Buddha

In the camera business, you won't survive if you don't innovate. In the guitar business you may or may not. The guitars being sold were designed between '48 and '59, Gibson SGs in '61. ~ Paul Reed Smith

Knowledge is the most essential ingredient of life, and it comes from curiosity. ~ Debasish Mridha

When ever Buddhism has taken root in a new land, there has been a certain variation in the style in which it is observed. The Buddha himself taught differently according to the place, the occasion and the situation of those who were listening to him. ~ Dalai Lama

Happiness comes when your words are of benefit to yourself and others. ~ Gautama Buddha

To do a little good is more than to accomplish great conquests. ~ Gautama Buddha

I see Lord Buddha doing to our collective spiritual well-being what global trade did to our collective economic well-being and the digital internet did to our collective intellectual well-being. ~ Narendra Modi

Every faith in the world is based on fabrication. That is the definition of faith―acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove. Every religion describes God through metaphor, allegory, and exaggeration, from the early Egyptians through modern Sunday school. Metaphors are a way to help our minds process the unprocessible. The problems arise when we begin to believe literally in our own metaphors.

Should we wave a flag and tell the Buddhists that we have proof the Buddha did not come from a lotus blossom? Or that Jesus was not born of a literal virgin birth? Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical. ~ Dan Brown

Since everything is already the Supreme Buddha Nature, where are you going to find it? ~ Adyashanti

So, I still say Batman is way better than Superman." She looked smugly at him.
"You're crazy," he said between bites totally taking her bait. "Superman is practically immortal unless he's exposed to Kryptonite. That's the only thing that can kill him. Batman's human. He's killable."
"Killable?" She snorted. "Is that even a word, Buddha Boy? ~ Harper Bentley

The Four Noble Truths are pragmatic rather than dogmatic. They suggest a course of action to be followed rather than a set of dogmas to be believed. The four truths are prescriptions for behavior rather than descriptions of reality. The Buddha compares himself to a doctor who offers a course of therapeutic treatment to heal one's ills. To embark on such a therapy is not designed to bring one any closer to 'the Truth' but to enable one's life to flourish here and now, hopefully leaving a legacy that will continue to have beneficial repercussions after one's death. (154) ~ Stephen Batchelor

Just as gold is burnt, cut and rubbed, Examine my words carefully and Do not accept them simply out of respect ~ Gautama Buddha

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. ~ Gautama Buddha

Laughter is spiritual health. And laughter is very unburdening. While you laugh, you can put your mind aside very easily. For a man who cannot laugh the doors of the buddha are closed. To me, laughter is one of the greatest values. No religion has ever thought about it. They have always been insisting on seriousness, and because of their insistence the whole world is psychologically sick. ~ Rajneesh

Eloquence which does not startle I don't consider eloquence. CICERO, LETTER TO BRUTUS, 48 B.C. ~ Robert Harris

Stop, stop. Do not speak. The ultimate truth is not even to think. ~ Gautama Buddha

If you fall into poverty, live that way without grumbling - then your poverty will not burden you. Likewise, if you are rich, live with your riches. All this is the functioning of Buddha-nature. In short, Buddha-nature has the quality of infinite adaptability. ~ Philip Kapleau

There are, on the other hand, very great men, very holy men, very pure men in every way, whose knowledge is wide and vast and deep, whose spiritual stature is great; but when they reach Buddhahood, instead of feeling the call of almighty love to return and help those who have gone less far, they go ahead into the supernal light - pass onwards and enter the unspeakable bliss of nirvana - and leave mankind behind. Such are the Pratyeka Buddhas. Though exalted, nevertheless they do not rank in unutterable sublimity with the Buddhas of Compassion.

The Pratyeka Buddha, he who achieves Buddhahood for himself, does not do it selfishly, however; does not do it merely in order to gratify self, and he does no harm to others; if he did he could never reach even his solitary Buddhahood. But he does it and achieves nirvana automatically, so to speak, following the lofty impulses of his being. Nevertheless he leaves the world behind enslaved in the chains of matter and forgotten by him.

The Pratyeka Buddha concentrates on the one thing - self-advancement for spiritual ends. It is a noble path in a way, but although it is a more rapid path, nevertheless being essentially a selfish path, the karmic records will show deeper lines ultimately to be wiped out than will those of the other striver after the spiritual life who follows the path of complete self-renunciation, and who even gives up all hope of self-advancement. The latter is of course by far the nobler path ~ G. De Purucker

Drink deeply. Live in serenity and joy. ~ Gautama Buddha

The "Higher Self" camp is notoriously immune to social concerns. Everything that happens to one is said to be "one's own choice" - the hyper-agentic Higher Self is responsible for everything that happens - this is the monological and totally disengaged Ego gone horribly amok in omnipotent self-only fantasies. This simply represses the networks of communions that are just as important as agency in constituting the manifestation of Spirit. This is not Eros; this is Phobos - a withdrawal from social engagement and intersubjective action. All of this totally overlooks the fact that Spirit manifests not only as Self (I) but as intersubjective Community (We) and as an objective State of Affairs (It) - as Buddha, Sangha, Dharma - each inseparably interwoven with the others and interwoven in the Good and the Goodness of the All. ~ Ken Wilber

Born out of concern for all beings. ~ Gautama Buddha

Love and kindness are the glue that holds us together. ~ Debasish Mridha

The stupa is a white dome with a conical stone tower emerging from its center. There are two eyes painted on the tower, the all seeing eyes of Buddha. They're purple, and look a little sinister, like an Old Testament Buddha. ~ Joshua Isard

Buddha says: Life should be simple, not complex. Life should be based on needs, not on desires. Needs are perfectly okay: you need food, you need clothes, you need a shelter, you need love, you need relationship. Perfectly good, nothing wrong in it. Needs can be fulfilled; desires are basically unfulfillable. Desires create complexity. They create complexity because they can never be fulfilled. You go on and on working hard for them, and they remain unfulfilled, and you remain empty. ~ Rajneesh

Yes, Kālāmas, it is proper that your have doubt, that you have perplexity, for a doubt has arisen in a matter which is doubtful. Now, look you Kālāmas, do not be led by reports, or traditions, or hearsay. Be not led by the authority of religious texts, not by the delight in speculative opinions, nor by seeming possibilities, not by the idea: 'this is our teacher'. But, O Kālāmas, when you know for yourself that certain things are unwholesome, and wrong, and bad, then give them up... And when you know for yourself that certain things are wholesome and good, then accept them and follow them. ~ Gautama Buddha

I have to create a circle of reading for myself: Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Lao-Tzu, Buddha, Pascal, The New Testament. This is also necessary for all people. ~ Leo Tolstoy

For the wakeful one whose mind is quiet, whose thoughts are undisturbed, who has relinquished judgement and blame, there is no fear. ~ Gautama Buddha

Nature, God, Buddha - someone has given me this health. I can break dance still; I can run; I can play basketball. In my mind, I can do anything. As long as I have that spirit, I'm going to keep doing it. ~ James Hong

Meat-eating is condemned by the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Sravakas; if one devours meat out of shamelessness he will always be devoid of sense. ~ Gautama Buddha

We each have a place in life.
Just as we each have a heart.
It is up to us to find that place. ~ Anthony T. Hincks

Don't look for a reason to be kind. Be a little more loving and kind. ~ Debasish Mridha

When I am in nature, my heart dances with butterflies and sings along with flowers. ~ Debasish Mridha

Dispassion is the best of mental states ... ~ Gautama Buddha