Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.
Buddha
Meditate. Do not delay, lest you later regret it.
Wisdom of Buddha
Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.
The noble path
Wisdom of Buddha
Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.
Wisdom of Buddha
All that we are is the result of all that we have thought.
Dhammapada, Sayings of Buddha
Wisdom of Buddha
Hatred can never put an end to hatred; love alone can. This is an unalterable law.
People forget that their lives will end soon. But for those who remember, quarrels come to an end. . . . 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.
Dhammapada, Sayings of Buddha
Give up anger, give up pride, and free yourself from worldly bondage. No sorrow can befall those who never try to possess people and things as their own.
Dhammapada, Sayings of Buddha Ch 17 On Anger, Translation Eknath Easwaran
Be vigilant and go beyond death. If you lack vigilance, you cannot escape death. Those who strive earnestly will go beyond death; those who do not can never come to life. The wise understand this, and rejoice in the wisdom of the noble ones. Meditating earnestly and striving for nirvana, they attain the highest joy and freedom.
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.
- Dhammapada 2 : Vigilance 1,2
Wisdom of Buddha
He who walks the eightfold Noble Path with unswerving determination is sure to reach Nirvana.
About the eightfold noble path
Buddhism teaches that our consciousness, with all its pure and unpure qualities, incarnates in new bodies, life-after-life. seeking liberation and enlightenment, attempting to uncover the pure Buddha Nature inherent in us.
Other spiritual traditions have similar notions about this sacred potential of our innermost being. Only instead of Buddha Nature, it might be called the Divine Indwelling, or the Holy Spirit, Divine Love, or Christ Consciousness.
Likewise, many of these traditions, in one way or another, teach us that this sacred potential can expand to pervade our entire being, if we will only engage wholeheartedly in spiritual practice.
Dr. Edward Bastian
Wisdom of Buddha
Let no one think lightly of evil and say to himself, "Sorrow will not come to me." Little by little a person becomes evil, like a water pot is filled by drops of water. Let no one think lightly of good and say to himself, "Joy will not come to me." little by little a person becomes good, as a water pot is filled by drops of water.
Dhammapada, Sayings of Buddha, ch 9, Translation Eknath Easwaran
A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.
The Power of Giving
If you knew what I know about the power of giving,
you would not let a single meal pass
without sharing it in some way.
- Buddha
If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart.
The Saint
Even the gods envy the saints, whose senses obey them like well-trained horses who are free from pride.
Wisdom has stilled their minds, and their thoughts, words, and deeds are filled with peace.
Freed from illusion and from personal ties, they have renounced the world of appearance to find reality. Thus they reached the highest.
They make holy wherever they dwell, in village or forest, on land or at sea. With their senses at peace and their minds full of joy, they make the forests holy.
The Dhammapada, Translated by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, p. 102-103
Wisdom of Buddha
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first find discipline and control one's mind.
If a person can control one's mind, they can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will come naturally to them.
About the eightfold noble path
Wisdom of Buddha
The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve.
Dhammapada, Sayings of Buddha
Delight in meditation and solitude. Compose yourself, be happy. You are a seeker.
Do not look at the faults of others, or what others have done or not done; observe what you yourself have done and have not done.
- Dhammapada, Flowers, 4:7, Cleary
Wisdom of Buddha
Radiate boundless love towards the entire world - above, below, and across - unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.
From the Metta Sutta
DHAMMAPADA
Better than a speech of a thousand vain words is one thoughtful word which brings peace to the mind.
Better than a poem of a thousand vain verses is one thoughtful line which brings peace to the mind.
Better than a hundred poems of vain stanzas is one word of the dharma that brings peace to the mind.
Dhammapada 8:100-102, Thousands, Translation by Eknath Easwaran
Wisdom of Buddha
The Virtues, like the Muses, are always seen in groups. A good principle was never found solitary in any beast.
Dhammapada, Sayings of Buddha
Fragrance of Virtue
Of all the fragrances - sandal, tagara, blue lotus and jasmine, - the fragrance of virtue is the sweetest.
Pupphavagga:Flowers (Dhp IV), #55
translated from the Pali by Acharya Buddharakkhita.
Buddhist Publication Society
DHAMMAPADA
Better than a thousand sayings composed of meaningless statements is a single meaningful statement on hearing which one becomes calm.
Better than a thousand verses composed of meaningless lines is a single line of verse on hearing which one becomes calm.
Better than one who recites a hundred verses of meaningless lines is one verse on hearing which one becomes calm.
Dhammapada 8, Thousands, Translation by Thomas Cleary
WISDOM OF BUDDHA
To live a pure unselfish life, One must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance.
Wisdom of Buddha
To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
Dhammapada
Should you find a wise critic to point out your faults, follow him as you would a guide to hidden treasure.
Dhammapada, verse 76, Sayings of Buddha
Meditate. Do not delay, lest you later regret it.
If a man going down into a river, swollen and swiftly flowing, is carried away by the current - how can he help others across?
Words of Buddha
From the Sutta Nipata
A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.
Wisdom of Buddha
A mind unruffled by the vagaries of fortune, from sorrow freed, from defilements cleansed, from fear liberated - This is the greatest blessing.
Mangala Sutta, Buddha
Sky is free. Ocean is blissful. Trees are divine. Rocks are enlightened. So are we. Who is still searching... For what?
- Anam Thubten Rinpoche
Wisdom of Buddha
Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.
Dhammapada
Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people.
Wisdom of Buddha
From the Magandiya Sutta in the Sutta Nipata,
which is generally held to be one of the older texts in the Pali canon.
THE ONLY REAL FAILURE IN LIFE IS NOT TO BE TRUE TO THE BEST ONE KNOWS.
- Buddha
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle flame, and the life of the candle will not be shortened.
