Buddha Dharma Quotes

Those who regard worldly affairs as a hindrance to buddha dharma think only that there is no buddha dharma in the secular world; they do not understand that there is no secular world in buddha dharma. ~ Dogen

Dharma has several connotations in South Asian religions, but in Buddhism it has two basic, interrelated meanings: dharma as 'teaching' as found in the expression Buddha Dharma, and dharma as 'reality-as-is' (abhigama-dharma). The teaching is a verbal expression of reality-as-is that consists of two aspects-the subject that realizes and the object that is realized. Together they constitute 'reality-as-is;' if either aspect is lacking, it is not reality-as-is. This sense of dharma or reality-as-is is also called suchness (tathata) or thatness (tattva) in Buddhism. ~ Taitetsu Unno

Long ago a monk asked an old master, "When hundreds, thousands, or myriads of objects come all at once, what should be done?"
The master replied, "Don't try to control them"
What he means is that in whatever way objects come, do not try to change them. Whatever comes is the buddha-dharma, not objects at all. Do not understand the master's reply as merely a brilliant admonition, but realize that it is the truth. Even if you try to control what comes, it cannot be controlled. ~ Dogen

To think that practice and realization are not one is a heretical view. In the Buddha Dharma, practice and realization are identical. Because one's present practice is practice in realization, one's initial negotiating of the Way in itself is the whole of original realization. Thus, even while directed to practice, one is told not to anticipate a realization apart from practice, because practice points directly to original realization. ~ Masao Abe

The perpetuators of the Buddha dharma have a moral responsibility to the rest of humanity to be at the forefront of the change away from blood-letting and killing, and not surreptitiously fostering it because of their lack of will to change their habits or mode of thinking concerning the animal kingdom. ~ Bodo Balsys

The buddha-dharma ... is about directly seeing Truth, prior to forming any ideas about it. It is about responding to each particular situation as it comes ... , not according to some ... program of dos and don'ts. ~ Steve Hagen

Death should teach you that what is real is life. And life teaches you that what is unavoidable is not death, but impermanence. Impermanence is the only truth. Nothing is permanent. All is changing. In every instant. In every moment. Were anything permanent, it could not be. For even the very concept of permanence depends upon impermanence to have any meaning. Therefore, even permanence is impermanent. Look at this deeply. Contemplate this truth. Comprehend it, and you comprehend God. This is the Dharma, and this is the Buddha. This is the Buddha Dharma. This is the teaching and the teacher. This is the lesson and the master. This is the object and the observer, rolled into one. They never have been other than One. It is you who have unrolled them, so that your life may unroll before you. ~ Neale Donald Walsch

The buddha-dharma does not invite us to dabble in abstract notions. Rather, the task it presents us with is to attend to what we actually experience, right in this moment. You don't have to look "over there." You don't have to figure anything out. You don't have to acquire anything. And you don't have to run off to Tibet, or Japan, or anywhere else. You wake up right here. In fact, you can only wake up right here.
So you don't have to do the long search, the frantic chase, the painful quest. You're already right where you need to be. ~ Steve Hagen

Do not practice buddha-dharma with the thought that it is to benefit others. ~ Dogen

The quest for this unwearied inner peace is constant and universal. Probe deeply into the teachings of Buddha, Maimonides, or a Kempis, and you will discover that they base their diverse doctrines on the foundations of a large spiritual serenity. Analyze the prayers of troubled, overborne mankind of all creeds, in every age - and their petitions come down to the irreducible common denominators of daily bread and inward peace. Grown men do not pray for vain trifles. When they lift up their hearts and voices in this valley of tears they ask for strength and courage and understanding. ~ Joshua Loth Liebman

Ahimsa is the height of Kshatriya dharma as it represents the climax of fearlessness. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Mind precedes all phenomena, mind matters most, everything is mind-made. If with an impure mind, you speak or act, then suffering follows you as the cartwheel follows the foot of the draft animal. If with a pure mind, you speak or act, then happiness follows you as a shadow that never departs ~ Gautama Buddha

HOUSE

Grow high. The devil can't find you.
Grow deep. Buddha can't find you.
Build a house and live there.
Gourd creepers will climb over it,
their flowers dazzling at midnight.
~ Ko Un

Attachment," Buddha had said, "is the cause of grief. ~ Pearl S. Buck

A man who will be the public leader, must know how to be the public follower. ~ Gautama Buddha

Those which are produced from causes are not produced. they do not have an inherent nature of production. those which depend on causes are said to be empty; those who know emptiness are aware. ~ Gautama Buddha

We exist outside the universe because the universe exists within each, and everyone of us. ~ Anthony T. Hincks

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

You must use the hook of precepts to quickly remove it. ~ Gautama Buddha

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. ~ Gautama Buddha

Just as a line drawn on water with a stick will quickly vanish and will not last long; even so is human life like a line drawn on water. It is short, limited, and brief; it is full of suffering, full of tribulation. This one should wisely understand, one should do good and live a pure life; for none who is born can escape death. ~ Gautama Buddha

The religion that I advocate, and so did the mortal humans known as Jesus, Buddha and Nanak, is the religion of love, compassion and self-realization. ~ Abhijit Naskar

If a string has one end, it has another. ~ Gautama Buddha

The most fundamental message of Gautama the Buddha is not God, is not soul ... it is freedom: freedom absolute, total, unconditional. He does not want to give you an ideology, because every ideology creates its own slavery. ~ Rajneesh

To find the truth, try to follow the Socratic method. Just don't forget to follow your intuition and imagination. ~ Debasish Mridha

Remember my words: Be truthful, be kind to one another, and you will attain peace. We will meet again in another life. ~ Jeanne M. Lee

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them. ~ Gautama Buddha

A truly wise man does not play leapfrog with a unicorn. ~ Gautama Buddha

Winning gives birth to hostility Losing, one lies down in pain. The calmed lie down with ease, having set winning and losing aside. ~ Gautama Buddha

I don't subscribe to any religion so it didn't matter to me if I prayed in a shrine, temple, or church. Butbe cause I was asking for so much I assumed Buddha and the Christian God wouldn't even listen ~ Novala Takemoto

Great music is a great remedy for depression, but you have to drink it in with your heart and mind. ~ Debasish Mridha

One is not called noble who harms living beings. By not harming living beings one is called noble. ~ Gautama Buddha

The impersonal aspect [of God] (Nirakara, Nirguna) is called Brahman, or 'unknowable' by Herbert Spencer, 'will' by Schopenhauer, Absolute Noumenon by some 'substance' by Spinoza. The personal aspect (Sakara) of that Being is termed 'Ishvara' or Allah, Hari, Jehova, Father in Heaven, Buddha, Siva, etc. Just as vapour or steam is formless, so also God is formless in His unmanifested or transcendental state. ~ Sivananda

For a warrior, nothing is higher than a war against evil. The warrior confronted with such a war should be pleased, Arjuna, for it comes as an open gate to heaven. But if you do not participate in this battle against evil, you will incur sin, violating your dharma and your honor. ~ Swami Vivekananda

Too often in the west we fail to realize that even in eastern disciplines the spiritual life is not meant as an escape from the worldly life. There is karma to be fulfilled on earth, within the dharma of necessity. ~ James Hillman

One should refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs. ~ Gautama Buddha

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

Did Buddha teach that the many was real and the ego unreal, while orthodox Hinduism regards the One as the real, and the many as unreal?" the Swami was asked. "Yes", answered the Swami. "And what Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and I have added to this is, that the Many and the One are the same Reality, perceived by the same mind at different times and in different attitudes. ~ Swami Vivekananda

What do people think spiritual development is? It's not lights and trumpets. It's very simple. It's right here and now. People have this idea that Enlightenment and realization is something in the distance- a very fantastic and magnificent happening which will transform everything once and for always. But it's not like that at all. It's something which is sometimes so simple you hardly see it. It's right here in front of us, so close we don't notice it. And it's something which can happen at any moment. And the moment we see it, there it is. It's been there all the time, but we've had our inner eye closed. When the moments of awareness all link up - then we become a Buddha. ~ Vicki Mackenzie Cave In The Snow

We often know the truth, but rarely do we follow it. ~ Debasish Mridha

Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are, it solely relies on what you think. ~ Gautama Buddha

Whoever has done harmful actions but later covers them up with good is like the moon which, freed from clouds, lights up the world. ~ Gautama Buddha

May the sound of the bell penetrate deep into the cosmos. Even in the darkest spots living beings are able to hear it clearly. So that all suffering in them cease. Understanding comes to their heart, and they transcend the path of sorrow and death." "The universal dharma door is already open; the sound of the rising tide is already heard clearly. The miracle happens. A beautiful child appears in the heart of the lotus flower. One single drop of this compassionate water is enough to bring back the refreshing spring to our mountains and rivers." "Listening to the bell I feel the afflictions in me dissolve. My mind is calm, my body relaxed. A smile is born on my lips. Following the sound of the bell, my breath brings me back to the safe island of mindfulness. In the garden of my heart, the flowers of peace bloom beautifully. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

You have to get serious about your practice! ~ Dharma Mittra

The fool who thinks he is wise is just a fool. The fool who knows he is a fool is wise indeed. ~ Gautama Buddha