Buddha on Wisdom Quotes

"Irrigators channel waters; fletchers straighten arrows; carpenters bend wood; the wise master themselves."

"Everything is burning. The eye is burning, forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning."

"He who has no attachments can really love others."

"Purity or impurity depends on oneself. No one can purify another."

"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."

"Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame."

"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye."

"Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal."

"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace."

"Doubt everything. Find your own light."

"It is easy to see the faults of others, but difficult to see one's own."

"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."

"One is not wise because one talks and talks; therefore, one who is peaceable, friendly and fearless is called wise."

"The path is not in the sky. The path is in the heart."

"Radiate boundless love towards the entire world."

"The world is afflicted by death and decay. But the wise do not grieve, having realized the nature of the world."

"Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good."

"Faith is the best wealth for a man in this world. Righteousness when well practised brings happiness. Truth is the sweetest of flavours. They say the life of one living by wisdom is the best. § 182"

"Silence the angry man with love. Silence the ill-natured man with kindness. Silence the miser with generosity. Silence the liar with truth."

"Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think."

"Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others."

"In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you."

"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without."

"Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish."

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

"One with true wisdom is a secure boat for crossing over the ocean of old age, sickness, and death. He is also like a great bright lamp in the darkness of ignorance, a good medicine for all kinds of illnesses , and a sharp axe for cutting down the tree of afflictions."

"Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame."

"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."

"If you have wisdom, you will be without greed or attachment. Always examine yourselves, and do not allow yourselves to have faults, for it is in this way that you will be able to obtain liberation within my Dharma."

"A jug fills drop by drop."

"The wise man is he who endures insults without resentment."

"Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. As quoted in Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing (2006) edited by Larry Chang, p. 193"

"Patience is the highest asceticism, Nirvana the supreme."