Buddha Quotes: 70 Sayings to Think About

Frauke Geuking (Senior Editor)

The Buddhist way of life is characterized, among other things, by its stringent values and a profound attitude toward life. Thus, there are many Buddha quotes and wise sayings that deal with values and sentiments such as self-love, strength, or hope.

Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, laid down some teachings and basic rules for Buddhists to follow. However, this approach to life extends far beyond his followers. Buddha’s quotes give many people hope and strength or inspire them to reflect on their own lives.

Famous Buddha Quotes

Quotes and teachings of the Buddha

Since Buddhism is less concerned with deities and similar beliefs, but concentrates on thinking philosophically, many people, including non-buddhists can make use of the often profound sayings and teachings of the Buddha.

Especially when it comes to topics like self-love, drawing strength, mindfulness or hope and health, these pearls of wisdom can be very motivating and still inspire many people today.

Buddha Quotes for Inspiration and Motivation

Buddha quotes for strength and motivation

Buddhists do not draw their strength from belief in a particular god. Instead meditation is what gives them energy and motivation for life.

The following wisdom and quotes should give you courage and help you to have a more positive attitude.

1. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
2. We are what we think, all that we are arises with our thoughts, with our thoughts we make the world.
3. We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
4. The mind is everything. What you think you become.
5. I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.
6. Give, even if you only have a little.
7. Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people.
8. Should you find a wise critic to point out your faults, follow him as you would a guide to hidden treasure.
9. In whom there is no sympathy for living beings: know him as an outcast.
10. Better it is to live one day seeing the rise and fall of things than to live a hundred years without ever seeing the rise and fall of things.

Buddhist Wisdom about Karma

Buddhist wisdom about karma

Followers of Buddhism believe in rebirth and karma. The latter means "actions". Everything we do creates either good or bad karma, depending on the motivations behind our actions.

According to their beliefs, the more good karma you collect in your life, the more you will be rewarded in this or one of your next lives.

Thus, Buddhists want to perform as many good deeds as possible so that they can be reborn as wealthy persons and to live a carefree life. The goal in Buddhism is also to one day break out of this cycle of rebirths and enter nirvana.

The belief that good deeds are rewarded and bad ones are punished is not unique to Buddhism. That is why quotes on the subject are now very popular all over the world.

1. Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.
2. One who previously created bad karma, but who reforms and creates good karma, brightens the world like the moon appearing from behind a cloud.
3. Live with no sense of 'mine', not forming attachment to experiences.
4. One is not called noble who harms living beings. By not harming living beings one is called noble.
5. Not even death can wipe out our good deeds.
6. Karma grows from our hearts. Karma terminates from our hearts.
7. All that we are is the result of what we have thought; what we think we become.
8. Just as one can make a lot of garlands from a heap of flowers, so man, subject to birth and death as he is, should make himself a lot of good karma.
9. Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.
10. I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that I will fall heir.

Buddha Quotes about a Positive Mind

Buddha quotes about hope

Suffering and dark times are part of life and affect most people.

Often in these situations one does not know what to do and feels empty. In such moments wisdom and quotes can give hope and shine a little light into the darkness.

1. The mind is everything – what you think, you become.
2. When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear.
3. Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.
4. There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.
5. The world is afflicted by death and decay. But the wise do not grieve, having realized the nature of the world.
6. To support mother and father, to cherish wife and children, and to be engaged in peaceful occupation – this is the greatest blessing.
7. Just as the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so also this teaching and discipline has one taste, the taste of liberation.
8. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows them like a never-departing shadow.
9. Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is Awakened.
10. It is in the nature of things that joy arises in a person free from remorse.

Buddha Quotes about Health

Buddha quotes about health

In Buddhism, much emphasis is placed on keeping one’s mind clear and healthy above all else. Therefore, the quotes about health are primarily about a healthy mind, which, according to Buddha, is the basis for a healthy life.

1. Whoever has healthy hands, poison does not harm him; Evil does not harm him who has not done it.
2. To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
3. Without health, life is not life; it is only a state of boredom and suffering – a picture of death.
4. 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.
5. Without health life is not life; it is only a state of langour and suffering – an image of death.
6. Health is the best gift, contentment the best wealth, trust the best kinsman, nirvana the greatest joy. Drink the nectar of the dharma in the depths of meditation, and become free from fear and sin.
7. The way to happiness is: keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, give much. Fill your life with love. Do as you would be done by.
8. Don’t run after pleasure and neglect the practice of meditation. If you forget the goal of life and get caught in the pleasures of the world, you will come to envy those who put meditation first.
9. If you meditate earnestly, pure in mind and kind in deeds, leading a disciplined life in harmony with the dharma, you will grow in glory. If you meditate earnestly, through spiritual disciplines you can make an island for yourself that no flood can overwhelm.
10. Resolutely train yourself to attain peace.

Quotes about Serenity, Compassion and Gratitude

Buddha quotes about serenity, contentment and gratitude

Buddhism is a religion that places much emphasis on the self through meditation and a very mindful lifestyle.

Being at peace with yourself and living a peaceful, serene life is the key to happiness and fulfillment in Buddhism.

Therefore, you will find the most beautiful Buddhist quotes about serenity, contentment, and gratitude below. Use them for yourself or send them to your loved ones.

1. Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.
2. Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
3. I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.
4. To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance.
5. Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.
6. Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.
7. A noble person is mindful and thankful for the favors he receives from others.
8. Reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude and hearing the good Dharma, this is the best good luck.
9. Patience is key. Remember: A jug fills drop by drop.
10. You have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy.

Gratitude and inner contentment is not only an important asset in Buddhism. You too can greatly improve your quality of life with the feeling of gratitude.

Buddha Quotes about Self-love

Buddha quotes about self-love

Loving yourself is not only important in Buddhism. Especially nowadays, the relevance of self-love is increasingly emphasized in psychology and mental health.

In fact, Buddha already dealt with this topic and always emphasized in his wisdom how central self-love is for one’s own happiness.

1. No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.
2. You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.
3. Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
4. You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
5. There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
6. It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
7. Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.
8. If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.
9. However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act upon them?
10. When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.

Meaningful Buddha Quotes about Life

Buddha quotes about life

There are countless quotes from Buddha and his followers. Some fall into the above categories, others simply refer to life itself.

1. Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
2. Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
3. Praise and blame, gain and loss, joy and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, you must rest like a giant tree in the midst of all these things.
4. Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
5. Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.
6. It is better to travel well than to arrive.
7. Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.
8. It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
9. Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.
10. The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.

History of Buddhism

Worth knowing about Buddhism

Buddhism has about 460 million believers worldwide, making it one of the five major world religions. The majority of its followers live in Asia.

About 650 years before Christ, this religion was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, more commonly known as Buddha, making it one of the oldest religions in the world.

Who Was Buddha?

Many centuries ago, the itinerant preacher Siddhartha Gautama lived at the foot of the Himalayas in northern India. He grew up in a wealthy household, but then realized at the age of 29 that wealth is not everything and one cannot simply buy a happy and peaceful life. So he dedicated the rest of his life to meditation and self-discovery. In doing so, he lived an extremely minimalist and modest life.

There are many legends surrounding the events in the life of the Buddha. He is said to have attained enlightenment at the age of 35 and from then passed on his teachings, which mainly revolve around the qualities of humility, contentment and peacefulness.

Because of this point of enlightenment, he has since been called "Buddha," which translates as "the enlightened one" or "the awakened one." Most of the sayings here come from him. Over the years, he passed on his views and thus founded Buddhism. At the age of 80, Buddha finally died.

The Buddhist Lifestyle

The Buddhist Lifestyle

Buddhism, unlike other well-known religions such as Islam or Christianity, is not characterized by worshiping specific deities.

Rather Buddhists live according to important beliefs and values that are meant to bring about their enlightenment and fulfillment. Thus, believers in Buddhism live very modest, peaceful and frugal lives, and they focus on a careful lifestyle.

Their lives are marked by abstinence – more so for some than others – and they are content with little. In the teachings of Buddha, things like envy, greed, and even violence are regarded poorly.

Buddhist Wisdom in Everyday Life

By no means are all who are interested in Buddha’s quotes actually Buddhists. For many, his wisdom is simply very profound and beautiful.

They make you think and allow you see life from a completely different angle. Therefore, they can also apply in a variety of life’s situations.

This includes, for example, congratulations on important occasions such as birthdays, school graduations or weddings, but also wall art and posters, postcards and wallpapers. Finally, these sayings are best to give you a little strength and hope or to get you more involved with yourself.

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