Famous quotes by Gautam Buddha

• “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”
• “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”
• “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”
• “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”
• “The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
• “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
• “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
• “Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.”
• “To understand everything is to forgive everything”
• “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
• “The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.”
• “You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself”
• “An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.”
• “When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky”
• “However many holy words you read,However many you speak,What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?”
• “A jug fills drop by drop.”
• “The tongue like a sharp knife... Kills without drawing blood.”
• “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”
• “Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.”
• “A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.”
• “There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.”
• “The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.”
• “Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.”
• “Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”
• “The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.”
• “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”
• “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
• “Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.”
• “Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.”
• “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
• “What we think, we become.”
• “To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others”
• “Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.”
• “He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.”
• “To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
• “There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.”
• “Life is suffering.”
• “Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.”
• “Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”

Thought provoking Quotes

There are certain quotations which do not advice. They do not preach. They are not judgmental.  They don’t claim that they are the Truth. But still you would have to think about each of them at least twice. The wisdom ingrained in them is sometimes not visible openly. That’s why I have categorized them as thought provoking. I have been getting the following quotes from a friend through email (The subject is Good Morning, though and with a neat picture). Some of them have indeed made my day, not just the morning. Have a look at a few selected ones that I have liked over the years.

• “The true mystery of the world is the visible; not the invisible”
• “Money is a very excellent servant; but a terrible master”
• “An angry man is again angry with himself when he returns to reason”
• “Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten but they may start a winning game”
• “Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind”
• “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”
• “It’s not what you are called, but what you answer to”
• “Putting off an easy thing makes it hard”
• “Having enemies’ means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life”
• “Failure is not falling down; but staying down”
• “By learning to obey, you will know how to command”
• “To be content with a little is hard; to be content with much is impossible”
• “If you wish to travel far and fast, try traveling light, taking off all your burdens”
• “LUCK….. stands for Labouring Under Correct Knowledge”
• “Intellectuals solve problems. Geniuses prevent them”
• “The future will be exactly like the past; only far more expensive”
• “Hardwork has a future pay-off; Laziness pays-off now”
• And how about this one to close: “Cheer up, the worst is yet to come” !!

Since by now, you would have known my interest in collecting different quotations which would make you read them once again, here are some more, which I found interesting:

• “Fortune does not change men; it unmasks them”
• “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to change it every six months”
• “Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them as much”
• “It’s human to think wisely but act in an absurd manner”
• “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good”
• “Truth, like surgery, may hurt but it cures”
• “The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own”
• “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal”
• “You should not bite the hand that feeds you. But maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself”
• “What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become, is our gift to God”
• “Insanity in individuals is something rare. But in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule”
• “There are three sides to every argument – Your side, My side and the Right side.”
• “Everyone should have a spouse, because there are a number of things that go wrong that one can’t blame the Government”
• “Hearing is one of the body’s five senses. But listening is an art”
• “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”
• “The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it generation after generation”