103 Buddhism Quotes

In a world often characterized by chaos and complexity, the timeless teachings of Buddhism offer a sanctuary of wisdom and peace. Whether you are a seasoned practitioner or simply curious about Buddhist philosophy, our carefully curated collection of the top 103 Buddhism Quotes is designed to inspire, enlighten, and bring a sense of balance to your daily life. These quotes encapsulate the profound insights of Buddhist sages, touching on themes of mindfulness, compassion, and inner tranquility. Dive in and allow these words to guide you on your journey to a more mindful and serene existence.

1. “Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.” - Buddha

2. “Once a Buddha, always a Buddha, Sam. Dust off some of your old parables. You have about fifteen minutes.' Sam held out his hand. "Give me some tobacco and a paper.” - Roger Zelazny

3. “Today's satori:Such a change of mind wouldNot exist withoutMy lifelong habit of havingMy mind immersed in blossoms.” - Saigyo

4. “the golden eternity is { }” - Jack Kerouac

5. “A boddhisattva is someone who is on the way to becoming a buddha. All of us become boddhisattvas as soon as we start to take our Zen work seriously and the work we do contributes to creating a world in which all good actions become more efficacious.” - David Brazier

6. “Perhaps the day will come where the validity of one's spirituality will be judged not by the correctness of one's theology but by the authenticity of one's spiritual life. When that day comes, an authentically spiritual Buddhist and an authentically spiritual Christian may find that they have more in common with each other than they do with those in their respective religions who have failed to develop their spirituality. (Beyond Religion, p. 98)” - David N. Elkins

7. “The secret of Buddhism is to remove all ideas, all concepts, in order for the truth to have a chance to penetrate, to reveal itself.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

8. “Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.” - Shunryu Suzuki

9. “If there is any religion that could respond to the needs of modern science, it would be Buddhism.” - Albert Einstein

10. “Many people think excitement is happiness.... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

11. “To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea is simply not to allow yourself to get lost in regrets about the past or worries about the future. If you are firmly grounded in the present moment, the past can be an object of inquiry, the object of your mindfulness and concentration. You can attain many insights by looking into the past. But you are still grounded in the present moment.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

12. “We who are like senseless children shrink from suffering, but love its causes. We hurt ourselves; our pain is self-inflicted! Why should others be the object of our anger?” - Shantideva

13. “It turned out this man worked for the Dalai Lama. And she said gently-that they believe when a lot of things start going wrong all at once, it is to protect something big and lovely that is trying to get itself born-and that this something needs for you to be distracted so that it can be born as perfectly as possible.” - Anne Lamott

14. “What struck me, in reading the reports from Sri Lanka, was the mild disgrace of belonging to our imperfectly evolved species in the first place. People who had just seen their neighbors swept away would tell the reporters that they knew a judgment had been coming, because the Christians had used alcohol and meat at Christmas or because ... well, yet again you can fill in the blanks for yourself. It was interesting, though, to notice that the Buddhists were often the worst. Contentedly patting an image of the chubby lord on her fencepost, a woman told the New York Times that those who were not similarly protected had been erased, while her house was still standing. There were enough such comments, almost identically phrased, to make it seem certain that the Buddhist authorities had been promulgating this consoling and insane and nasty view. That would not surprise me.” - Christopher Hitchens

15. “We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.” - Hermann Hesse

16. “The thinking brain influences the body’s responses and it makes a neat little loop.” - Brad Warner

17. “All phenomena do not inherently exist because of being dependent-arisings. All phenomena do not inherently exist because of being dependently imputed.” - Gautama Buddha

18. “This will never come again” - Steve Hagen

19. “What makes human life--which is inseparable from this moment--so precious is its fleeting nature. And not that it doesn't last but that it never returns again.” - Steve Hagen

20. “Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen.” - Bodhidharma

21. “But people of the deepest understanding look within, distracted by nothing. Since a clear mind is the Buddha, they attain the understanding of a Buddha without using the mind.” - Bodhidharma

22. “Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.” - Huang Po

23. “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.” - Siddhārtha Gautama

24. “True change is within; leave the outside as it is.” - Dalai Lama XIV

25. “Strength is Happiness. Strength is itself victory. In weakness and cowardice there is no happiness. When you wage a struggle, you might win or you might lose. But regardless of the short-term outcome, the very fact of your continuing to struggle is proof of your victory as a human being.” - Daisaku Ikeda

26. “Merchant: 'So you have lived on the possessions of others?'Saddhartha: 'Apparently. The merchant also lives on the possession of others.'Merchant: 'Well spoken...” - Hermann Hesse

27. “Reality is harsh. It can be cruel and ugly. Yet no matter how much we grieve over our environment and circumstances nothing will change. What is important is not to be defeated, to forge ahead bravely. If we do this, a path will open before us.” - Daisaku Ikeda

28. “Culture is an elevated expression of the inner voice which the different peoples of the Earth have heard in the depths of their being, a voice which conveys the vibrant compassion and wisdom of the cosmic life. For different cultures to engage in interaction is to catalyze each other's souls and foster mutual understanding.” - Daisaku Ikeda

29. “Life is painful. It has thorns, like the stem of a rose. Culture and art are the roses that bloom on the stem. The flower is yourself, your humanity. Art is the liberation of the humanity inside yourself.” - Daisaku Ikeda

30. “Like a lamp, dispelling the darkness of ignorance” - Dalai Lama XIV

31. “I am a lover of what is, not because I'm a spiritual person, but because it hurts when I argue with reality.” - Byron Katie

32. “Those who read books cannot understand the teachings and, what's more, may even go astray. But those who try to observe the things going on in the mind, and always take that which is true in their own minds as their standard, never get muddled. They are able to comprehend suffering, and ultimately will understand Dharma. Then, they will understand the books they read.” - Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

33. “We are fragmented into so many different aspects. We don´t know who we really are, or what aspects of ourselves we should identify with or believe in. So many contradictory voices, dictates, and feelings fight for control over our inner lives that we find ourselves scattered everywhere, in all directions, leaving nobody at home.Meditation, then, is bringing the mind home.” - Sogyal Rinpoche

34. “When the mind is exhausted of images, it invents its own.” - Gary Snyder

35. “There's a limit to my patience with anything that smacks of metaphysics. I squirm at the mention of "mind expansion" or "warm healing energy." I don't like drum circles, public nudity or strangers touching my feet.” - Koren Zailckas

36. “Whether we eat, sleep, work, play, whatever we do life contains dissatisfaction, pain. If we enjoy pleasure, we are afraid to lose it; we strive for more and more pleasure or try to contain it. If we suffer pain we want to escape it. We experience dissatisfaction all the time. All activities contain dissatisfaction or pain, continuously.” - CHOGYAM TRUNGPA

37. “Whether our action is wholesome or unwholesome depends on whether that action or deed arises from a disciplined or undisciplined state of mind. It is felt that a disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering, and in fact it is said that bringing about discipline within one's mind is the essence of the Buddha's teaching.” - Dalai Lama XIV

38. “We long for permanence but everything in the known universe is transient. That’s a fact but one we fight.” - Sharon Salzberg

39. “When you blame, you open up a world of excuses, because as long as you're looking outside, you miss the opportunity to look inside, and you continue to suffer.” - Donna Quesada

40. “Mindfulness has never met a cognition it didn't like.” - Daniel J. Siegel

41. “Everyone makes mistakes. Whether we put our mistakes to use depends on how deeply we reflect on our actions. It is desirable to reflect until the tears come. - On Self-Reflection -” - Kentetsu Takamori

42. “If someone comes along and shoots an arrow into your heart, it’s fruitless to stand there and yell at the person. It would be much better to turn your attention to the fact that there’s an arrow in your heart...” - Pema Chodron

43. “Too lazy to be ambitious,I let the world take care of itself.Ten days' worth of rice in my bag;a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?Listening to the night rain on my roof,I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.” - Ryokan

44. “There is no illness that is not exacerbated by stress.” - Allan Lokos

45. “One who is patient glows with an inner radiance.” - Allan Lokos

46. “Patience requires a slowing down, a spaciousness, a sense of ease.” - Allan Lokos

47. “True patience is grounded in wisdom & compassion.” - Allan Lokos

48. “To forgive does not mean to forget.” - Allan Lokos

49. “If you are involved with the intensity of crescendo situations, with the intensity of tragedy, you might begin to see the humor of these situations as well. As in music, when we hear the crescendo building, suddenly if the music stops, we begin to hear the silence as part of the music.” - CHOGYAM TRUNGPA

50. “With the practice of meditation we can develop this ability to more fully love ourselves and to more consistently love others.” - Sharon Salzberg

51. “Buddha first taught metta meditation as an antidote: as a way of surmounting terrible fear when it arises.” - Sharon Salzberg

52. “It is not what you can do for your country, but what you can do for all of mankind.” - Mike Norton

53. “When we teach a child patience we offer them the gift of a dignified life.” - Allan Lokos

54. “TreeIt is foolishto let a young redwoodgrow next to a house.Even in this one lifetime,you will have to choose.That great calm being,this clutter of soup pots and books--Already the first branch-tips brush at the window.Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.” - Jane Hirshfield

55. “We must accept the reality that the causes of impatience travel a two-way street.” - Allan Lokos

56. “By practicing meditation we establish love, compassion, sympathetic joy & equanimity as our home.” - Sharon Salzberg

57. “We cannot force the development of mindfulness.” - Allan Lokos

58. “An open beginner's mind is a powerful tool for developing patience.” - Allan Lokos

59. “A fearless heart is free of desire, a kind heart finds paradise everywhere.” - Alan Yuen

60. “We need the courage to learn from our past and not live in it.” - Sharon Salzberg

61. “The essence of the Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha) is about identifying the cause of our suffering & alleviating it.” - Allan Lokos

62. “Our greatest happiness comes from the experience of love & compassion.” - Allan Lokos

63. “When we are aware of our weaknesses or negative tendencies, we open the opportunity to work on them.” - Allan Lokos

64. “Directing the mind to stay in the present can be a formidable task.” - Allan Lokos

65. “According to the Buddha's teaching the beginning of the life-stream of living beings is unthinkable. THe believer in the creation of life by God may be astonished at this reply. But if you were to ask him 'What is the beginning of God?' he would answer without hesitation 'God has no beginning', and he is not astonished at his own reply.” - Walpola Rahula

66. “When the Aggregates arise, decay and die, O bhikkhu, every moment you are born, decay, and die.” - Gautama Buddha

67. “Bliss and suffering, it seems, always go hand in hand.” - Kentetsu Takamori

68. “The Heart-mantra of Dependent Origination (rten-'brel snying-po [རྟེན་འབྲེལ་སྙིང་པོ]), which liberates the enduring continuum of phenomena and induces the appearance of multiplying relics ('phel-gdung [འཕེལ་གདུང་] and rainbow lights, is:[OṂ] YE DHARMĀ HETUPRABHAVĀHETUN TEṢĀṂ TATHĀGATOHY AVADAT TEṢĀṂ CA YONIRODHO EVAṂ VĀDIMAHĀŚRAMAṆAḤ [YE SVĀHĀ]('Whatever events arise from a cause, the Tathagāta [Buddha, "Thus-gone"] has told the cause thereof, and the great virtuous ascetic has taught their cessation as well [so be it]').” - Graham Coleman

69. “Consider this:1. Would you ride in a car whose driver was on the consciousness-expanding "entheogenic" drug LSD?And here's a bonus question:2. Why does an "expanded consciousness" include the inability to operate a motor vehicle?” - Brad Warner

70. “The practice of lovingkindness can uplift us & relieve sorrow & unhappiness.” - Allan Lokos

71. “The more we genuinely care about others the greater our own happiness & inner peace.” - Allan Lokos

72. “Because the development of inner calm & energy happens completely within & isn’t dependent on another person or a particular situation, we begin to feel a resourcefulness and independence that is quite beautiful—and a huge relief.” - Sharon Salzberg

73. “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” - Gautama Buddha

74. “We train the mind so that we can enjoy greater peace, happiness, wisdom & equanimity.” - Allan Lokos

75. “Thoughts, words, emotions & deeds not coming from love are likely coming from fear.” - Allan Lokos

76. “Instead of engaging in cutthroat competition, we should strive to create value. In economic terms, this means a transition from a consumer economy - the mad rush for ownership and consumption - to a constructive economy where all human beings can participate in the act of creating lasting worth.” - Daisaku Ikeda

77. “This kind of renunciation, in fact, has often been the strength, born of necessity, of the world's disinherited, of those who do not fit in with their surroundings or with their own body or with their own race or tradition and who hope, by means of renunciation, to assure for themselves a future world where, to use a Nietzschean expression, the inversion of all values will occur.” - Julius Evola

78. “But, the true reason for the success of such new expositions [translated Eastern religious texts] is to be found where they are the most accommodating, least rigid, least severe, most vague, and ready to come to easy terms with the prejudices and weaknesses of the modern world. Let everyone have the courage to look deeply into himself and to see what it is that he really wants.” - Julius Evola

79. “Although contemplating the nature of the body highlights its less attractive features, the purpose of the exercise is not to demonize the body. While it is certainly true that at times the discourses describe the human body in rather negative terms, some of these instances occur in a particular context in which the point being made is that the speakers in question have overcome all attachment to their body. In contrast, the Kāyagatāsati Sutta takes the physical bliss of absorption attainment as an object for body contemplation. This passage clearly demonstrates that contemplation of the body is not necessarily linked to repugnance and loathing.The purpose of contemplating the nature of the body is to bring its unattractive aspects to the forefront of one's attention, thereby placing the attractive aspects previously emphasized in a more balanced context. The aim is a balanced and detached attitude towards the body. With such a balanced attitude, one sees the body merely as a product of conditions, a product with which one need not identify.” - Anālayo

80. “The more truthful I am with myself and others, the more my conscience is clear and tranquil. Thus, I can more thoroughly and unequivocally inhabit the present moment and accept everything that happens without fear, knowing that what goes around comes around (the law of karma). Ethical morality and self-discipline represent the good ground, or stable basis. Mindful awareness is the skillful and efficacious grow-path, or way. Wisdom and compassion constitute the fruit, or result. This is the essence of Buddhism [...]” - Lama Surya Das

81. “Tune as the sitthar, neither high nor low, and we will dance away the hearts of men.” - The Buddha

82. “Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” - Pema Chodron

83. “The first noble truth of the Buddha is that when we feel suffering, it doesn’t mean that something is wrong. What a relief. Finally somebody told the truth. Suffering is part of life, and we don’t have to feel it’s happening because we personally made the wrong move. In reality, however, when we feel suffering, we think that something is wrong. As long as we’re addicted to hope, we feel that we can tone our experience down or liven it up or change it somehow, and we continue to suffer a lot.” - Pema Chodron

84. “A close examination of the instructions in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta reveals that the meditator is never instructed to interfere actively with what happens in the mind. If a mental hindrance arises, for example, the task of satipaṭṭhāna contemplation is to know that the hindrance is present, to know what has led to its arising, and to know what will lead to its disappearance. A more active intervention is no longer the domain of satipaṭṭhāna, but belongs rather to the province of right effort (sammā vāyāma).The need to distinguish clearly between a first stage of observation and a second stage of taking action is, according to the Buddha, an essential feature of his way of teaching. The simple reason for this approach is that only the preliminary step of calmly assessing a situation without immediately reacting enables one to undertake the appropriate action.” - Anālayo

85. “A revolution in the eyes of man carries purpose.A revolution in the eyes of the awakened carries bliss.” - Sal Martinez

86. “The advantages of developing absorption concentration are not only that it provides a stable and receptive state of mind for the practice of insight meditation. The experience of absorption is one of intense pleasure and happiness, brought about by purely mental means, which thereby automatically eclipses any pleasure arising in dependence on material objects. Thus absorption functions as a powerful antidote to sensual desires by divesting them of their former attraction.” - Anālayo

87. “On considering these instances it is indubitably clear that sati has a crucial role to fulfill in the realm of samatha. This might be why the Cūḷavedalla Sutta speaks of satipaṭṭhāna as the "cause" of concentration (samādhinimitta)....On the other hand, however, to consider satipaṭṭhāna purely as a concentration exercise goes too far and misses the important difference between what can become a basis for the development of concentration and what belongs to the realm of calmness meditation proper. In fact, the characteristic functions of sati and concentration (samādhi) are quite distinct. While concentration corresponds to an enhancement of the selective function of the mind, by way of restricting the breadth of attention, sati on its own represents an enhancement of the recollective function, by way of expanding the breadth of attention. These two modes of mental functioning correspond to two different cortical control mechanisms in the brain. This difference, however, does not imply that the two are incompatible, since during absorption attainment both are present. But during absorption sati becomes mainly presence of the mind, when it to some extent loses its natural breadth owing to the strong focusing power of concentration.” - Anālayo

88. “Whenever the Christian idea of meditation is taken seriously, there are those who assume it is synonymous with the concept of meditation centered in Eastern religions. In reality, the two ideas stand worlds apart. Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind; Christian meditation is an attempt to fill the mind. The two ideas are quite different.” - Richard J. Foster

89. “Two ideas are psychologically deep-rooted in man: self-protection and self-preservation. For self-protection man has created God, on whom he depends for his own protection, safety and security, just as a child depends on its parent. For self-preservation man has conceived the idea of an immortal Soul or Atman, which will live eternally. In his ignorance, weakness, fear, and desire, man needs these two things to console himself. Hence he clings to them deeply and fanatically.” - Walpola Rahula

90. “Love has no meaning without understanding” - Thich Nhat Hanh

91. “People sometimes imagine that without desire there would be no enjoyment. The opposite is true. When you're caught up in craving, you never really enjoy anything very much because your mind is always pulling you on to the next desire and the next after that. When you let go of desire, then you're free to enjoy whatever is right in front of you.” - Lorne Ladner

92. “The mind is limitless, in its creations.” - T. Scott McLeod

93. “You will bring yourself the suffering you need to bring yourself so that you may awaken.” - T. Scott McLeod

94. “When all that’s left of us is the pure untainted consciousness without form, we’ll know what it means when the last human breath expires.” - Zeena Schreck

95. “To become enlightened is not just to slip into some disconnected euphoria, an oceanic feeling of mystic oneness apart from ordinary reality. It is not even to come up with a solution, a sort of formula to control reality. Rather, it is an experience of release from all compulsions and sufferings, combined with a precise awareness of any relevent subject of knowledge. Having attained enlightenment one knows everything that matters, and the precise nature of all that is.” - Robert Thurman

96. “There are some among the so-called elite who are overbearing and arrogant. I want to foster leaders, not elitists.” - Daisaku Ikeda

97. “I cannot say this too strongly: Do not compare yourselves to others. Be true to who you are, and continue to learn with all your might.” - Daisaku Ikeda

98. “Throughout my life, until this very moment, whatever virtue I have accomplished, including any benefit that may come from this book, I dedicate to the welfare of all beings.May the roots of suffering diminish. May warfare, violence, neglect, indifference, and addiction also decrease.May the wisdom and compassion of all beings increase, now and in the future.May we clearly see all the barriers we erect between ourselves and others to be as insubstantial as our dreams.May we appreciate the great perfection of all phenomena.May we continue to open our hearts and minds, in order to work ceaselessly for the benefit of all beings.May we go to the places that scare us.May we lead the life of a warrior.” - Pema Chodron

99. “Can the water in the valleys ever stop and rest?When the water finally reaches the sea, it becomes great waves.” - Francis Harold Cook

100. “No doubt, humans will do a lot of damage before we ultimately destroy ourselves. But life will continue without humans. New forms of intelligence will emerge long after this human experiment is over.” - Zeena Schreck

101. “When I missed the physical body of my partner, I meditated on its parts, tossed by the waves, torn, dispersed, and deteriorated. When memories of our lives together became acute and intense, I breathed. I breathed through each wave of yearning, of regret, of guilt, of what-could-have-been. Every time I asked him, “Where are you?” A quiet voice immediately responded, “I am here. I have never left you.” I did not only lose a partner. I lost my childhood all over again. I lost my soul mate. I lost the accepting father and the gentle mother that he was to me. I lost the dream of a “normal life,” which I had tried so hard to achieve. Now I had to face my own mind.” - Dang Nghiem

102. “The main shift, you see, is from placing self at the center of our thoughts to putting others there. It is-what do you say?-a paradox that the more we can focus our thoughts on the well-being of others, the happier we become. The first one to benefit is oneself. I call this being wisely selfish.” - David Michie

103. “As much as possible, it is useful to think of all other beings as being just like me. Every living being strives for happiness. Every being wants to avoid all forms of suffering. They are not just objects or things to be used for our benefit. You know, Mahatma Gandhi once said: 'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - David Michie