August 27, 2008

QUOTES BY THE BUDDHA


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.


A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden.


A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.


A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering.


All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.


An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.


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.


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.


Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.


Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.


Do not speak harshly to any one; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful: blows for blows will touch thee.


Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.


Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.


Friendship is the only cure for hatred, the only guarantee of peace.


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.


Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.


He is able who thinks he is able.


He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.


Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.


His success may be great, but be it ever so great the wheel of fortune may turn again and bring him down into the dust.


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.


If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.


It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.


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.


It is nature's law that rivers wind, trees grow wood, and, given the opportunity, women work iniquity.


Let a man avoid evil deeds as a man who loves life avoids poison.


Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.


Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds.

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


Nothing is permanent.


On a long journey of human life, faith is the best of companions; it is the best refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest property.


Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.


The greatest prayer is patience.


The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.


The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.


The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, And let it spring from love Born out of concern for all beings.


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.


The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage! Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves, but they are like heat haze.


There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth:
1.) not going all the way; and 2.) not starting.


There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.


There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed.


Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height.


This Ariyan Eightfold Path, that is to say: Right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right contemplation.


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.


To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.


To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance.


Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.


We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.



We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.

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