Gautama Buddha Quotes

“Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.”

— Gautama Buddha

The Gift of Truth excels all other Gifts.

— Gautama Buddha

“Generosity brings happiness at every stage of its expression. We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous. We experience joy in the actual act of giving something. And we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Subhuti, someone might fill innumerable worlds with the seven treasures and give all away in gifts of alms, but if any good man or any good woman awakens the thought of Enlightenment and takes even only four lines from this Discourse, reciting, using, receiving, retaining and spreading them abroad and explaining them for the benefit of others, it will be far more meritorious. Now in what manner may he explain them to others? By detachment from appearances-abiding in Real Truth. -So I tell you-
Thus shall you think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightening in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
When Buddha finished this Discourse the venerable Subhuti, together with the bhikshus, bhikshunis, lay-brothers and sisters, and the whole realms of Gods, Men and Titans, were filled with joy by His teaching, and, taking it sincerely to heart they went their ways.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Ennui has made more gamblers than avarice, more drunkards than thirst, and perhaps as many suicides as despair.”

— Gautama Buddha

Bhikkus, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning?
The eye is burning, visible forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning; also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact as its condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of greed, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion, with birth, ageing and death, with sorrow, with lamentation, with pain, grief and despair it is burning.

— Gautama Buddha

“Delightful are forests
Where the public does not delight.
There the passion-free delight,
Not seeking sensual pleasure.”

— Gautama Buddha

“AS one instructs others,
So should one do oneself:
Only the self-controlled should restrain others.
Truly, it's hard to restrain oneself.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Ambition is like love, impatient of both delays and rivals”

— Gautama Buddha

“The less you have, the less you have to worry about.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Love in the past is only a memory. Love in the future is only a fantasy. True love lives in the here and now.”

— Gautama Buddha

The world is afflicted by death and decay. But the wise do not grieve, having realized the nature of the world.

— Gautama Buddha

When you move your focus from competition to contribution life becomes a celebration. Never try to defeat people, just win their hearts.

— Gautama Buddha

“Buddha was speaking in a village square one day, when one of the inhabitants started to abuse him. Buddha paused and said to the man, "If you offer me a piece of paper and I refuse to accept it, what happens to the paper?" "Why, it stays with me, of course," the villager replied. Buddha smiled gently, "And that is exactly what I am doing with your abuse," he said. "I am not accepting it, therefore it stays with you."”

— Gautama Buddha

“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”

— Gautama Buddha

The masters only point the way. But if you meditate And follow the dharma You will free yourself from desire. 'Everything arises and passes away.' When you see this, you are above sorrow. This is the shining way.

— Gautama Buddha

“Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

— Gautama Buddha

After much seeking for truth and knowledge the profoundness of reality came to me with a clarity never before known.

— Gautama Buddha

Happiness never decreased by being shared.

— Gautama Buddha

You should respect each other and refrain from disputes; you should not, like water and oil, repel each other, but should, like milk and water, mingle together.

— Gautama Buddha

“Only those who go where few have gone can see what few have seen.”

— Gautama Buddha

“A fool thinks it like honey so long as the bad deed does not bear fruit, but when it does bear fruit he experiences suffering.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Ambition is like love, impatient both of delays and rivals.”

— Gautama Buddha

“The calmed say that what is well-spoken is best; second, that one should say what is right, not unrighteous; third, what's pleasing, not displeasing; fourth, what is true, not false.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Like a beautiful flower that is colorful but has no fragrance, even well spoken words bear no fruit in one who does not put them into practice.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Overcome your uncertainties and free yourself from dwelling on sorrow. When you delight in existence, you will awaken, and become a guide to those in need, revealing the path to many.”

— Gautama Buddha

Just as you have come to know, the false discrimination of yourself, apply this mentally to all phenomena

— Gautama Buddha

“People cleave to their worldly possessions and selfish passions so blindly as to sacrifice their own lives for them. They are like a child who tries to eat a little, honey smeared on the edge of a knife. The amount is by no means sufficient to appease his appetite, but he runs the risk of wounding his tongue.”

— Gautama Buddha

A great gift - a gift of Dharma conquers all gifts.

— Gautama Buddha

“Hatreds never cease by hatreds in this world. By love alone they cease. This is an ancient Law.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Believe not because some old manuscripts are produced, believe not because it is your national belief, believe not because you have been made to believe from you childhood, but reason truth out, and after you have analyzed it, then if you find it will do good to one and all, believe it, live up to it and help others live up to it.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Monks, we who look at the whole and not just the part, know that we too are systems of interdependence, of feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and consciousness all interconnected. Investigating in this way, we come to realize that there is no me or mine in any one part, just as a sound does not belong to any one part of the lute.”

— Gautama Buddha

“If you are poor, live wisely. If you have riches, live wisely. It is not your station in life but your heart that brings blessings.”

— Gautama Buddha

“To live a single day and hear a good teaching is better than to live a hundred years without knowing such teaching.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Inflamed by greed, incensed by hate, confused by delusion, overcome by them, obsessed by mind, a man chooses for his own affliction, for others' affliction, for the affliction of both and experiences pain and grief.”

— Gautama Buddha

“You have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy.”

— Gautama Buddha

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

— Gautama Buddha

“If you don't see God in the next person you meet, look no further.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Never in this world can hatred be stilled by hatred; it will be stifled by non-hatred - this is the law Eternal.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Never have anything to do with likes and dislikes. The absence of what one likes is painful, as is the presence of what one dislikes. Therefore don't take a liking to anything. To lose what one likes is hard, but there are no bonds for those who have no likes and dislikes. From preference arises sorrow, from preference arises fear, but he who is freed from preference has no sorrow and certainly no fear.”

— Gautama Buddha

“By your own folly you will be brought as low as your worst enemy wishes.”

— Gautama Buddha

“The wise have mastered body, word, and mind. They are the true masters.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Let your love flow outward through the universe, To its height, its depth, its broad extent, A limitless love, without hatred or enmity. Then as you stand or walk, Sit or lie down, As long as you are awake, Strive for this with a one-pointed mind; Your life will bring heaven to earth.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Solitude is happiness for one who is content, who has heard the Dhamma and clearly sees. Non-affliction is happiness in the world - harmlessness towards all living beings.”

— Gautama Buddha

The fool thinks he has won a battle when he bullies with harsh speech, but knowing how to be forbearing alone makes one victorious.

— Gautama Buddha

When things are going well, be mindful of adversityWhen prosperous, be mindful of povertyWhen loved, be mindful of thoughtfulnessWhen respected, be mindful of humility

— Gautama Buddha

Little by little a person becomes evil, as a water pot is filled by drops of water ... Little by little a person becomes good, as a water pot is filled by drops of water.

— Gautama Buddha

“Want what you have and you will always get what you want.”

— Gautama Buddha

“Craving brings pain; craving brings fear. If you do not yield to craving, you will be free from pain and fear”

— Gautama Buddha