Bigg Elephant

Buddha Quotes

• Remember always that you are just a visitor here, a traveller passing through. Your stay is but short and the moment of your departure unknown.
• Religion is not just some dry intellectual idea but rather your basic philosophy of life: you hear a teaching that makes sense to you, find through experience that it relates positively with your psychological makeup, get a real taste of it through practice, and adopt it as your spiritual path. That’s the right way to enter the spiritual path.
• Suttas are not meant to be ‘sacred scriptures’ that tell us what to believe. One should read them, listen to them, think about them, contemplate them, and investigate the present reality, the present experience with them. Then, and only then, can one insightfully know the truth beyond words.
• If you wish others to know about your good deeds, they are not truly good deeds. If you fear others will find out about your bad deeds, those are truly bad deeds. Our lives are based on what is reasonable and common sense; Truth is apt to be neither.
• All philosophies are mental fabrications.
• Truth is only as real as our delusion allows.
• My religion is to live and die without regret.
• Through violence, you may ‘solve’ one problem, but you sow the seeds for another.
• War is out of date, obsolete.
• Having a wider heart and mind is more important than having a larger house.
• Happiness does not come from having much, but from being attached to little.
• If you know the psychological nature of your own mind, depression is spontaneously dispelled; instead of being enemies and strangers, all living beings become your friends. The narrow mind rejects; wisdom accepts.
• The fool thinks he has won a battle when he bullies with harsh speech, but knowing how to be forbearing alone makes one victorious.
• Conquer the liar with truth.
• Check your own mind to see whether or not this is true.
• The only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else’s eyes.
• So, the tendency of our childish nature is to take small things too seriously and get easily offended, whereas when we are confronted with situations which have long-term consequences, we tend to take things less seriously.
• Rather, just as we are responsible for our own suffering, so are we solely responsible for our own cure.
• View all problems as challenges. Look upon negativities that arise as opportunities to learn and to grow. Don’t run from them, condemn yourself, or bury your burden in saintly silence. You have a problem? Great. More grist for the mill. Rejoice, dive in, and investigate.
• Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned.
• The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.
• Treasure silence when you find it, and while being mindful of your duties, set time aside, to be alone with yourself.
• Cast off pretence and self-deception and see yourself as you really are.
• If you haven’t wept deeply, you haven’t begun to meditate.
• All meditation must begin with arousing deep compassion. Whatever one does must emerge from an attitude of love and benefitting others.
• One has to try to develop one’s inner feelings, which can be done simply by training one’s mind.
• Be gentle first with yourself – if you wish to be gentle with others.
• What is it that binds you? You are not bound by any chains now. Is it just the thought that you are bound that binds you? Mental chains can only be broken by mental effort.
• Always think of how others are kind and precious. Treat them as you would like to be treated.
• Be near when help is needed, but far when praise and thanks are being offered.
• Speak quietly and kindly and be not forward with either opinions or advice. If you talk much, this will make you deaf to what others say, and you should know that there are few so wise that they cannot learn from others.
• Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.
• Do not speak- unless it improves on silence.
• You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and you will not find that person anywhere.
• 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.
• Despite all appearances, no one is really evil. They are led astray by ignorance. If you ponder this truth always you will offer more light, rather than blame and condemnation.
• If the love within your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and confusion will ensue.
• When it is impossible for anger to arise within you, you find no outside enemies anywhere. An outside enemy exists only if there is anger inside.
• It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.
• Since everything is but an apparition, having nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may well burst out in laughter.
• Whenever you hear that someone else has been successful, rejoice. Always practice rejoicing for others–whether your friend or your enemy. If you cannot practice rejoicing, no matter how long you live, you will not be happy.
• Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
• None can live without toil and a craft that provides your needs is a blessing indeed. But if you toil without rest, fatigue and weariness will overtake you, and you will denied the joy that comes from labour’s end.