Buddhist Wisdom Quotes

The Joy of Effort

2010-05-28T15:29:00.002+07:00

What is meant by nonduality, Mahatmi? It means that light and shade, long and short, black and white, can only be experienced in relation to each other; light is not independent of shade, nor black of white. There are no opposites, only relationships. In the same way, nirvana and the ordinary world of suffering are not two things but related to each other. There is no nirvana except where the world of suffering is; there is no world of suffering apart from nirvana. For existence is not mutually exclusive.

- Lankavatara Sutra

Erroneous

2010-01-11T21:07:00.004+07:00

Erroneous views keep us in defilement. While right views remove us from it, but when we are in a position to discard both of them. We are then absolutely pure.

- The Sutra of Hui Neng

Gift of Dhamma

2010-01-11T21:07:00.001+07:00

A gift of Dhamma conquers all gifts; the taste of Dhamma, all tastes; a delight in Dhamma, all delights; the ending of craving, all suffering and stress.

- Dhammapada, 24, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Human Nature

2010-01-11T21:06:00.001+07:00

Brute force, no matter how strongly applied, can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom and dignity. It is not enough, as communist systems have assumed, merely to provide people with food, shelter and clothing. Human nature needs to breathe the precious air of liberty.

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Die Unsatisfied

2010-01-11T21:05:00.000+07:00

Suppose a man were wounded by an arrow, and when the surgeon arrived, he said to him, "Don't pull out this arrow until I know who shot it, what tree it comes from, who made it, and what kind of bow was used." Certainly the man would die before he discovered the answers. In the same way, if you say you will not be a monk unless I solve all the questions of the world, you are likely to die unsatisfied.

- Majjhima Nikaya

True Dharma

2010-01-11T21:04:00.001+07:00

Some people live closely guarded lives, fearful of encountering someone or something that might shatter their insecure spiritual foundation. This attitude, however, is not the fault of religion but of their own limited understanding. True Dharma leads in exactly the opposite direction. It enables one to integrate all the many diverse experiences of life into a meaningful and coherent whole, thereby banishing fear and insecurity completely.

- Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Wisdom Energy"

Skillful Speech

2010-01-11T21:03:00.001+07:00

Skillful speech not only means that we pay attention to the words we speak and to their tone but also requires that our words reflect compassion and concern for others and that they help and heal, rather than wound and destroy.

- Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness"

Guard The Mind

2010-01-11T21:02:00.000+07:00

In the same way that someone in the midst of a rough crowd guards a wound with great care, so in the midst of bad company should one always guard the wound that is the mind.

- Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"

Establishments of Mindfulness

2010-01-11T21:01:00.000+07:00

Let alone seven years, monks, whoever practices on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness for six, five, four, three, two years, one year, or one month, can also expect one of two fruits-either the highest understanding in this very life or can attain the fruit of no-return. Let alone a month, monks, whoever practices the Four Establishments of Mindfulness one week can also expect one of two fruits-either the highest understanding in this very life or the fruit of no-return.

- Adapted from Satipatthana-sutta, translated by Thich Nhat Hanh and Annabel Laity

Doing Good

2010-01-11T20:58:00.002+07:00

Don't be afraid of doing good. It's another name for happiness, for all that is dear and delightful--this phrase "doing good." Whoever would live well, Long lasting, bringing bliss-- Let him be generous, be calm, And cultivate the doing of good. By practicing these three, These three bliss-bringing things, The wise one lives without regret His world infused with happiness.

- Itivuttaka Sutta

Hidden Treasure

2010-01-11T20:54:00.003+07:00

By charity, goodness, restraint, and self-control men and woman alike can store up a well-hidden treasure -- a treasure which cannot be given to others and which robbers cannot steal. A wise person should do good -- that is the treasure which will not leave one.

- "Khuddhaka Patha"

Live

2010-01-11T20:53:00.002+07:00

O let us live in joy, although having nothing! In joy let us live like spirits of light!

- Buddha

Freed

2010-01-11T20:52:00.001+07:00

Wandering far, going alone, bodiless, lying in a cave: the mind. Those who restrain it: from Mara's bonds they'll be freed.

- Dhammapada, 3, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

The Truth

2010-01-11T20:48:00.003+07:00

If you seek after truth, you should investigate things in such a way that your consciousness as you investigate is not distracted by what you find, or diffused and scattered; neither is it fixed and set. For the one who is not swayed, there will be a transcending of birth, death, and time. Whether you walk or stand or lie down, Stretch your limbs or draw them in again, Let you do all these things attentively, Above, across, and back again. Whatever your place in the world, Let you be the one who views the movement Of all compounded things with attention.

- Itivuttaka Sutta

The Mind

2010-01-11T20:42:00.002+07:00

When you are thinking about an object, it sometimes occurs that evil, unwholesome thoughts connected with hate and delusion come into your mind. The way to get rid of them is to concentrate on another object that is wholesome and good. Just as a skilled carpenter knocks out a coarse peg with a fine one, so the evil thoughts will disappear. With their departure, the mind will become calm, unified, and concentrated once more.

- Majjhima Nikaya

Smackdown Against Anger

2010-01-03T11:07:00.002+07:00

Even as rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, So lust breaks through an ill-trained mind. Even as rain breaks not through a well-thatched house, So lust breaks not through a well-trained mind.

- Dhammapada 13-14

Have You Cried While Meditating?

2010-01-03T11:07:00.000+07:00

The world's end can never be reached
by means of traveling through the world,
Yet without reaching the world's end
there is no release from suffering.

Therefore, truly, the world-knower, the wise one,
gone to the world's end, fulfiller of the holy life,
having known the world's end, at peace,
longs not for this world or another.

-Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"

Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from "Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations," edited by Josh Bartok, with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org.

Rid Yourself on Conceptual Thought

2010-01-03T11:04:00.001+07:00

If you can only rid yourselves of conceptual thought, you will have accomplished everything.

-Huang Po, "Zen Teaching of Huang Po"

From "365 Buddha: Daily Meditations," edited by Jeff Schmidt. Reprinted by arrangement with Tarcher/Putnam, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.

Is Living the Dharma Easy?

2010-01-03T11:02:00.001+07:00

Explaining many profound dharmas is easy; living them yourself is hard.

-Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"

Watch Your Mind Carefully

2010-01-03T11:01:00.002+07:00

Don't forget to bring the good experiences of meditation into your daily activities. Instead of acting and reacting impulsively and following your thoughts and feelings here and there, watch your mind carefully, be aware, and try to deal skillfully with problems as they arise. If you can do this each day, your meditation will have been successful.

-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"

The Victorious Ones Have Said

2010-01-03T11:00:00.000+07:00

The victorious ones have said
That emptiness is the relinquishing of all views.
For whomever emptiness is a view,
That one will accomplish nothing.

-Nagarjuna; Mulamadhyamaka-Karika XIII, 8

Permission: From '365 Buddha: Daily Meditations', edited by Jeff Schmidt. Reprinted by arrangement with Tarcher/Putnam, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.

The Dalai Lama on 21st Century

2010-01-03T10:58:00.002+07:00

It is my belief that whereas the twentieth century has been a century of war and untold suffering, the twenty-first century should be one of peace and dialogue. As the continued advances in information technology make our world a truly global village, I believe there will come a time when war and armed conflict will be considered an outdated and obsolete method of settling differences among nations and communities.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

From "The Pocket Dalai Lama," edited by Mary Craig, 2002. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Boston, www.shambhala.com.

How Do You Help a Friend in Need?

2010-01-03T10:54:00.001+07:00

The only foundation stone of practice is renunciation.
The only gateway of practice is faith.
The only approach to practice is compassion.

-Jamgon Kontrul, Creation and Completion

Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations, edited by Josh Bartok. Reprinted with permission by arrangement with Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org.

Neural Buddhist

2010-01-03T10:52:00.001+07:00

The dharma is such that it cannot be attained by groping or searching about. In the realm of seeing, knowledge perishes. At the moment of attaining, mind is surpassed.

-Dogen, "Moon in a Dewdrop"

From "365 Buddha: Daily Meditations," edited by Jeff Schmidt. Reprinted by arrangement with Tarcher/Putnam, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.

That Which Is Real

2010-01-03T10:51:00.001+07:00

That people are unknowing does not mean that they are unknowing like cows or goats. Even ignorant people look for a pathway to reality. But, searching for it, they often misunderstand what they encounter. They pursue names and categories instead of going beyond that name to that which is real.

-Digha Nikaya

From "The Pocket Buddha Reader," edited by Anne Bancroft, 2001. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Boston, www.shambhala.com.