Quotations on Buddhism by BuddhaVac, Year 2016

1/1/2016
Buddha left us long ago so that we may each find him anew in our own thoughts.

1/1/2016
Meaning is the starting point of delusion

1/1/2016
Before Nirvana, Emptiness. Before Emptiness, Baldness

1/1/2016
Before Nirvana, Emptiness

1/2/2016
Between desire and destiny is the story of your life.

1/2/2016
You life is shaped by your desires just as they shape your thoughts.

1/2/2016
Being is a struggle when "having" is the goal.

1/4/2016
If you do what you can always do, you will never be more than what you are. - Master Shifu in Kung Fu Panda

1/12/2016
You are inherently capable of staying happy. You've all the faculties to keep yourself happy. Perhaps you're in denial or not trying enough.

2/1/2016
There's nothing that you can forever hold on to. All things pass away eventually leaving you behind to ponder about the impermanence.

2/3/2016
People do all crazy things for gain. Yet they need to be forgiven because if you don't, you too carry their burden.

2/3/2016
Forgiveness comes first.

2/3/2016
On the Path a monk becomes friendly and serene everywhere when he excels in forgiveness, compassion, giving and understanding.

2/4/2016
Patience is the best penance, tolerance the best virtue, and suffering the best lesson for those who strive for the wisdom of the Buddha.

2/4/2016
Not to blame not to strike to abide by the Law to be moderate to sleep well to be alone and engage in higher thoughts, this is the teaching.

2/5/2016
Life is full of shocks and surprises. Not to be shocked or surprised by the events of life is the essence of equanimity.

2/6/2016
Teach your eyes to see, your ears to listen, your heart to feel and your mind to discern and know. You will be the Buddha, the awakened one.

2/6/2016
If you observe the present with discernment you will see the future with some clarity, for the seeds of future are sown now.

2/8/2016
Seek happiness but do not waste an opportunity to learn from suffering.

2/8/2016
True baptism is when you are drenched enough in the waters of suffering.

2/8/2016
Sometimes tears are the gifts you receive from others.

2/10/2016
By speech alone no one becomes virtuous, learned or great except in the company of the ignorant and the unwise.

2/10/2016
On the path of Nirvana patience is the highest virtue. He who endures the harshest lessons of Dhamma prevails.

2/11/2016
All the knowledge to grow and become better and wiser is already there in you. You just want to hear it in different ways again and again.

3/3/2016
Aspiring to be a better person is a religion in itself.

3/3/2016
Spirituality is mostly about exploring and expressing your deeper awareness about the things that you love and care for.

3/4/2016
The Buddha's laughter is not afflicted by sorrow. His body is light despite the weight of suffering. (On The secret of the Laughing Buddha).

3/4/2016
Let the feelings rise and fall without tormenting your mind. It's the way of the serene smiling Buddha.

3/4/2016
Not to speak harsh words is a great virtue. Not to respond to harsh words is even a greater virtue.

3/7/2016
The Awakened Buddha looks at the sky just as he looks at the earth or a tree. They remind him of the impermanence and the need for serenity.

3/11/2016
Knowing is the First step. Remembering the Second. Practicing the Third. After that Eat Well, Sleep and Rest.

3/12/2016
Life is like a blank paper with no meaning and purpose. It is up to us what story we want to write in it.

4/1/2016
Buddhism is not a religion in the western sense. Buddhism is a solution to become sorrow free without any dependence on rituals and God.

4/1/2016
The Eightfold Path is timeless. It's a purely spiritual path which anyone can follow.

4/2/2016
Where am I? In the body or in the space around? I am is a structure of consciousness built by Time around desires and selected memories.

4/2/2016
In the end nothing remains and no one remembers. Life goes on as if you never existed and you never mattered.

4/2/2016
The thought that "I am emptiness" keeps the ego in check and your thinking straight.

4/8/2016
The Four Lofty States of Mind that heal others: Friendliness (Mitrata) Compassion (Karuna) Pure Happiness (Muditha) Sameness (Upalekha)

5/1/2016
The Buddha is not in the statues, books, or images they make, break or sell. He is not in the temples. The Buddha is in the living Dhamma.

5/1/2016
Don't just meditate or read a few words of the Master. Bring the Eightfold Path into living. Then you can hope for freedom and Nirvana.

5/1/2016
Have a thousand purposes. But put peace before them all. Then you will remained peaceful whether you reach them or not.

5/1/2016
Some people compare the Buddha to a Prophet. It's the western notion. The Buddha is the Way. Whoever walks on it is a Buddha in the making.

5/1/2016
Keeping the mind focused is as difficult as keeping the water in a pot still when you carry it. Hence practice and perseverance in mindfulness

5/2/2016
Can anything be stopped forever? Does anything stay forever? Existence is in a constant motion which will end in nonexistence only.

5/3/2016
The path of Nirvana is arduous on which a Bhikhu has to walk lightly with a serene mind leaving no foot print.

5/3/2016
Three blessings of life. To eat well, sleep well, and smile well.

5/4/2016
There is no difference between peace and nonviolence. As long as the world does not understand the connection there'll be no peace.

5/4/2016
If you want peace you must be peaceful. There is no other way for peace to settle in your mind. And peace is an expression of nonviolence.

5/5/2016
The goal of spirituality is to cultivate noble qualities or the right virtues. We contemplate upon the Buddha because he represents them.

5/5/2016
When you're judging you're not seeing. When you're not seeing, the moment is lost.

5/5/2016
If you're lost in the search of what cannot be known you'll not be able know what you can know. You've to choose between God and reality.

5/5/2016
The ability to see clearly, know clearly and understand clearly what is visible, knowable and understandable, this is the way to wisdom.

5/12/2016
After every misfortune and failure you have a choice for the better or the worse. Choose wisely for it's how you can stay on the chosen Path.

6/5/2016
Appreciate sunset when it is sunset and dawn when it is dawn without thinking of the midday meal. This is the essence of being in the flow.

6/5/2016
We ignore what is in the expectation of what can be. The Buddha says it is the chief source of misery.

6/7/2016
Not to ignore truth in love or hate is a huge challenge. Sameness is the essence of Buddhist wisdom, possible only in the awakened state.

6/7/2016
Those who punch holes in the plates they eat end up hungry. Be grateful to all that makes your life possible. Do not harm it with cruelty.

7/1/2016
In its essence Buddhism teaches us to think and see the world clearly without the prism of illusions, emotions, dogma, and other barriers.

7/1/2016
The No Self concept (Anatta) of the Buddha was revolutionary. It takes God and Soul out of the equation and makes everyone responsible in life.

7/2/2016
Everyone struggles and suffers. Hence the need for compassion, consideration, friendliness and charity.

7/2/2016
The time between life and death is a precious opportunity to be alive, attentive and grateful.

7/4/2016
Let your mindfulness begin with the tip of your nose and end in the deep and silent emptiness of your mind. Emptiness is Nirvana.

7/4/2016
The vow of non-possession is effective only when the mind does not possess anything. Renunciation is the true observation of the vow.

7/4/2016
Whatever you cannot let go stays with you. Whatever stays with you becomes your burden on the path of Nirvana.

7/5/2016
What makes you unhappy? It's almost always some expectation.

7/8/2016
Listening with the heart, the mind and the senses to what has been said and what has been left unsaid, this is called true listening.

7/10/2016
Compassion and nonviolence must first begin with your own mind and body. The Buddha suggested the Middle Path for this very reason. Be Gentle.

8/2/2016
True knowledge is to know that the Sun never sets. The day and night are mere illusions.

8/2/2016
Without FEAR there is no GOD.

8/3/2016
Let your goals be fixed but your plans flexible with Dhamma as the guiding light.

8/3/2016
Mindfulness leads to vigilance. Vigilance to restraint, and restraint to peace and happiness.

8/3/2016
The untamed mind is the source of great suffering.

8/3/2016
A monk should be intent upon reaching the destination, but should remain unattached to the path lest he may become stuck forever.

8/10/2016
Others' imperfections and failures are opportunities to learn and grow. They are the teachers karma puts on your path to help you become wiser.

9/2/2016
To be aware of the suffering in suffering and the happiness in happiness is the way to equanimity and enlightenment.

9/6/2016
Today's lesson from Master Breath: Accept whatever comes like the air you breathe in and let go whatever goes like the air you breathe out.

9/7/2016
Wisdom truly means making right choices with foresight, using sound judgment. Right living on the Eightfold Path is wise living

9/9/2016
Whatever you take for granted, a person or a thing, may give you much pain. Things are never the same. Hence, pay attention. Live mindfully.

9/12/2016
The Buddha does not speak to anyone. The decision to follow him is always yours. And in doing so you must always keep your eyes and mind open.

10/1/2016
The mind is where all battles are waged. It is where you enter heavens and hells, converse with gods and fight the demons. Beyond it is Nirvana.

10/2/2016
A monk is supposed to be an aimless wanderer. His path has no specific destination.

10/2/2016
Renunciation is the way of fearless and limitless freedom from the compulsion to be and to have.

10/4/2016
Nirvana is the extinguishing of all desires, seeking and striving.

10/4/2016
The unwise ones do not learn unless they already know it or in agreement with it. Hence they cannot walk on the unknown path of Nirvana.

10/9/2016
Faith should nurture your aspiration and guide you, not become a mental crutch. Faith is the means to freedom, not vanity pride or attachment.

10/12/2016
Because of time change. Because of change time. Because of time and change impermanence and suffering.

11/1/2016
Was the Buddha a Hindu by birth? Yes and No. In his time all Indians were called Hindus by outsiders, but they practiced different faiths.

11/1/2016
Desires are at the root of suffering. It's difficult to control them because they arise in many disguises that you may not recognize them.

11/2/2016
Better is loneliness than the company of fools.

11/2/2016
You reputation does not follow you. Wherever you go, know that it precedes you.

11/2/2016
Right speech must be matched by right action on the path of righteousness that leads to Nirvana.

11/4/2016
What should you look for in a relationship? The Buddha says look for trust. If it is not there walk away.

11/4/2016
If you win someone will be unhappy. If you lose you will be unhappy. The Buddha says give up both and be cheerful with whatever happens.

11/7/2016
If suffering is an ocean happiness is an island. Find more islands of happiness in the ocean of suffering until U reach the shore of Nirvana

11/11/2016
If you think good thoughts you become a better person. If you spread good thoughts you make the world a better place.

12/3/2016
The golden Buddha rises up in consciousness and dissolves again in consciousness.

12/4/2016
The Buddha was a great leader with exceptional organizational skills. He used them excellently well to establish the Dhamma and the Sangah.

12/4/2016
Friendliness (kalyana mitrata) which wishes for the welfare of all is the love that radiates from a compassionate being, a Buddha in making.

13/01/2016
The Buddha said "Be lamps unto yourselves." But until you clean the lamp to let light shine through, you still need Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

13/01/2016
To see things as they are the mind must be still.

13/02/2016
Nothing is certain until Nirvana is certain.

13/02/2016
Hold a handful of water in your hands and contemplate on the impermanence of things.

13/02/2016
Just as you cannot stop creating ripples in the water while swimming you cannot stop creating karma while swimming in the ocean of Samsara.

13/03/2016
Mara controls the lower mind while Buddha rules the higher. Only Buddha can defeat and silence Mara. Take refuge in Buddha, the intelligence.

13/03/2016
The lower nature acts according to desires and passions, but higher nature by intelligence and discernment. The Buddha is hidden in the higher.

13/04/2016
Be kind because kindness is the basis of peace and happiness in this life and in the next.

13/05/2016
What's right view? The view which holds no grudges and no judgment and does not conflict with that of another, even if it is the opposite.

13/05/2016
The way to peace is to know that nothing remains forever. There's nothing fixed or permanent. All things change and so are you.

13/05/2016
If you accept impermanence as the nature of the world, you will not feel surprised, shocked or betrayed when people change.

13/07/2016
He who walks on the path of Nirvana with fewer possessions, desires, wants and needs, walks free and walks quickly with less cares and concerns.

13/07/2016
Kids in rich countries searching for #PokemonGO characters while those in poor countries search for plastic bottles, water, food and survival.

13/07/2016
The mind always seeks but never satisfied. Hence, a wise monk remains contented with what he has and does not complain when the path is steep.

13/07/2016
Nothing lasts forever. All things eventually disappear. Hence, everything in the world, animate or inanimate, deserves compassion and respect.

14/02/2016
Let compassion be your wealth and let it flow from you like the fragrance of a flower in spring.

14/02/2016
You cannot be true to yourself if you always seek other people's approval. However, avoid hurting and harming, and be generous in compassion.

14/05/2016
We each live in our own little worlds although we may live in the same world and think it's the same for everyone.

14/05/2016
Your world is not the world in which you live. It is created by you with your thoughts, desires, relationships, projections and perceptions.

14/06/2016
On the path of Nirvana the Buddha walks alone leaving no footprints and imitating none. And leaves no trail.

14/07/2016
Generosity does not have to arise from abundance or surplus. It is a state of mind and an attitude, independent of externalities.

14/07/2016
A Morning Prayer: May my compassion spread all around. May my thoughts illuminate and inspire. May the wicked prosper through good thoughts.

14/08/2016
The shadow is but made by light only when you stand in between.

14/08/2016
Violence leaves it's own vibrations in the sea of humanity. A voyager is never safe in the waters of Samsara until he reaches the shore.

15/01/2016
True courage is not in fighting but in not fighting. That is true renunciation.

15/01/2016
The world will not be in peace until the Buddha awakes in the West. The old world is saturated with Buddha consciousness.

15/03/2016
The beneficiary of any service is the one who serves. He's the receiver of good karma for his good deeds. So don't take pride when you help.

15/03/2016
A monk is not satisfied with his own progress or happiness. He knows that the world needs a lot of healing and compassion.

15/03/2016
These three in life are important. Kind words, compassion, and mindful awareness.

15/05/2016
Do what you can without exertion. Make peace with what you cannot control. This is the right effort which leads to peace and stability.

15/05/2016
A wise monk does not over exert himself, nor does control what he cannot. He has the wisdom to know what he can do, cannot do and should not.

16/01/2016
The Buddha doesn't light the candle. He extinguishes it.

16/01/2016
Don't look for a prophet in the Buddha. Don't seek him in what you desire. The Buddha is the path that leads to pure awareness and freedom.

16/01/2016
The Buddha is the discerning intelligence in all of us. Pure awareness with pure discernment, untainted by desire and delusion.

16/01/2016
There's nothing more invigorating than being in harmony with yourself.

16/01/2016
In seeking we invite fear. In serving we invite love.

16/01/2016
When you seek nothing you fear nothing.

16/04/2016
Follow your breath like a disciple who follows his master. It's the only action in your body which is not controlled by desire.

16/04/2016
If you're unable to sleep or restless hold the breath for a while and release it. Do it few times. Your mind begins to relax and slow down.

16/05/2016
When you focus on your feelings and body sensations by withdrawing your mind, you become mindful and gain a better understanding of yourself.

16/09/2016
A true disciple of Buddha practices discipline. He reaches the goal of Nirvana when he is disciplined enough to persevere on the path.

16/09/2016
Your Inner silence is your nearest resort. Retreat into it occasionally to regain your composure.

17/02/2016
There are only two ways to resolve suffering. You either mitigate it or bear with it. On the Eightfold Path you learn both.

17/02/2016
With a strong mind in a frail body the monk walks fearlessly on the Eightfold Path.

17/03/2016
Blessings and good tidings to all the souls who are starving who are suffering who are striving and who are caught in the flow of life.

17/04/2016
Be gentle with your words because some of them are like boomerangs. They will come back to you in one way or another.

17/05/2016
He who discerns truth in untruth and untruth in truth has the right mindfulness. He is not deluded by appearances and pretensions.

17/05/2016
Discernment arises from observation and attentiveness for which purity and silence of the mind are the foundation.

17/06/2016
Always look for the intentions in actions be they yours or others for the intentions hidden in your words and deeds follow you as your shadow.

18/02/2016
Silence and stillness are the constant companions to the monk who shuns desires and prefers the company of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

18/02/2016
In a quiet mind, truth reflects itself to the attentive and discerning one.

18/03/2016
Each war leaves a deep gash in the karmic history of humanity and generations that follow have to heal the pain and the injury.

18/05/2016
Happiness which arises from within from the state of being is more lasting than that which arises from the world from the state of having.

18/06/2016
Even if you go to a remote corner of the world on vacation, your cellphone follows you like your karma.

18/08/2016
To know that you "may" not know is the beginning of learning and knowing.

19/03/2016
Each act of judgment is an act of karma. Each thought joined by an intention produces consequences.

19/04/2016
Each day is an opportunity to be alive, to be better, to begin afresh, to forgive and break free from the burdens of your past.

19/05/2016
Epicurus whose teachings were close to Buddhist teachings said, " Not what you have but what you enjoy constitutes abundance." How true!

20/02/2016
You do not learn much from those with whom you always agree.

20/02/2016
A flower has no purpose, aim or motive in spreading its fragrance. It is its nature to be so and to do so. Be like a flower in the wind.

20/02/2016
The bodhi (enlightened one) is present in all but remains awake in a few.

20/03/2016
The path to wisdom is paved with restraint. Restraint in thinking, in speech and in actions. Guarding against the three one abides in Dharma.

20/05/2016
Love of the compassionate kind does not bind, defend or offend. Fear does. Where there's universal love, there's freedom for everyone to be.

21/02/2016
Whether it is anger fear, pride, envy, cruelty, love, compassion or friendliness, you can give only what you have. Cultivate right thinking.

21/04/2016
In seeking advice trust virtuous people. In giving advice trust the teachings of the Buddha and follow right speech.

21/04/2016
Stay close to the Buddha for you never know when he will wake you up and let you in.

21/04/2016
There's always something to envy, a smile, a friendship... Enemy At The Gates

21/11/2016
The path to Nirvana is built by practice only. The knowledge of Dharma is just a roadmap.

22/03/2016
Decay and destruction are inherent in all composite formations. Contemplate upon decay so that you may walk freely on the path to Nirvana.

22/03/2016
All things that come into existence are impermanent and subject to modifications. The wise ones therefore cultivate detachment and discernment.

22/05/2016
You are not in the river. You are the river.

22/06/2016
@artbydw @Ms_ChelseaH @amanimurrayyoga Thank you

22/07/2016
Friction when controlled warms the hearth and spreads light all around, but when left uncontrolled burns a whole forest.

22/07/2016
What you do or think in moments of spontaneity is what you truly are. It's when your mask falls off and you appear in your pristine purity.

22/07/2016
Speaking right words Speaking facts Speaking gently Speaking positively Speaking with compassion And without ill will This is Right speech.

22/11/2016
Open your mind to all possibilities and impossibilities so that you will find right solutions.

23/01/2016
The Buddha rests in the silence of your desires.

23/01/2016
The Buddha is your path to your own freedom and destiny.

23/02/2016
With detachment in perception, in thinking, in actions, in relationships, and in being, you awaken the mind into the wisdom of the Buddhas.

23/02/2016
Your feelings are the pathways to both heavens and hells of your inner world. Do not become stuck in them.

23/02/2016
Pay attention to your feelings. They reflect truths about you and others.

23/03/2016
Take refuge in the wisdom of the Buddha. Even gods follow the Wheel of Dhamma.

23/04/2016
Don't cling to the Buddha. Nor to the goal of Nirvana. Only those who are fully detached from attraction and aversion can walk on the Path.

23/07/2016
A Bodhisattva walks with others on the path of Nirvana but stops at the gates of freedom, for he has resolved to help others until the last.

23/07/2016
Bodhisattvas' Dharma: Let compassion flow at the suffering of others. Let the mind be still when you are in suffering.

23/08/2016
Wealth is like fire. You can use it to warm others' hearts or spread light, or you can burn yourself with it by going too closer.

23/09/2016
To be comfortable with silence when there is a problem or no problem, disturbance or no disturbance, this is the mark of true renunciation.

24/01/2016
In any situation focus on what you can control and what you can do.

24/01/2016
First suffering. Then mindfulness. Then understanding. Then suffering again. This is the beginning of the great journey.

24/01/2016
In suffering this thought alone leads you to right understanding, "Why am I suffering?"

24/01/2016
Knowing the difference between knowing and not knowing is the foundation to Nirvana.

24/06/2016
You may learn about Dharma from others. But only from observation that you truly know how it works in your life.

24/08/2016
In silence the mind awakens to new awareness.

24/10/2016
The mind is like a Twitter box. It has its own trolls.

25/02/2016
Your actions and your behavior are the ultimate test of your character and integrity.

25/03/2016
Before taking Refuge in Buddha, refrain from hurting, from taking what's not given, from misconduct, from hateful speech and from intoxicants.

25/03/2016
Speaking gently, speaking at the right time, speaking facts, speaking useful words, with compassion and without malice, this is Right Speech.

25/05/2016
We each have our own illusions and we spend a lifetime defending them or nurturing them.

25/10/2016
Sleep is a big healer. Take refuge in sleep. Your mind sets itself right and your body becomes bright.

26/02/2016
Each moment is alive and ready for you with infinite possibilities.

26/02/2016
To keep the mind pure and calm, to be awake here and now, to be virtuous, these are the simple aims of a difficult path which the monk chooses.

26/02/2016
Other than you, no one can take responsibility for your life. Nor can you take responsibility for another's.

26/03/2016
He who does not disturb the world, nor is disturbed by it, he is the true embodiment of Buddha's compassion, equanimity and nonviolence.

26/04/2016
Do not hunt the beasts of the forest. Or cause anyone harm. For the weight of sin will be heavy and the suffering of the pitiless manifold.

26/04/2016
Compassion, friendliness, courtesy and humility, the four virtues make a person holy, wise and serene. All hearts open to him.

27/01/2016
Mindfulness is better than study and recitation. But mindfulness in study and recitation is even better.

27/03/2016
So earth is 4.5 billion years old. Humans appeared 150000 years ago. Then God entered human history about 6000 BC. Where was he until then?

27/05/2016
We are prisoners of the world. But the world is also a prisoner of our minds. We just do not let it go.

28/04/2016
Through meditation try reach to the core of your consciousness that survives death. It will be your sanctuary when death really happens.

28/04/2016
Embracing the realty without reaction or judgment is the essential purpose of all spiritual practice.

28/04/2016
Breath has no religion. So also meditation and mindfulness.

28/04/2016
Meditation is not just for peace or stress relief. It can help you mentally deal with pain and suffering when your body can't get rid of them.

29/01/2016
Your mother carries you for nine months or so. Thereafter you carry that child for life.

29/01/2016
Just as the continuity of a river is an illusion the continuity of Self is.

29/01/2016
The illusion of self is caused by the association of aggregates. When you separate them, the notion of I, me and mine disappear.

29/01/2016
Ignorance in Buddhism means ignorance of Dhamma, the cause and the cessation of suffering.

29/01/2016
Step aside so that you can see things as they are.

29/03/2016
There is no effort, force or coercion in breathing. The essence of nonviolence is you must extend the same to other aspects of life.

29/06/2016
RT @MelyndaRokke: @Buddhavac @MelyndaRokke Thanks for following. I don't tweet much, unless I like the content. May the Force be with you.…

29/07/2016
@TheWriteSF spontaneity is to unmask yourself from yourself. When speaking to others the rules of right speech apply using right words, etc.

29/07/2016
Evil prevails because it is the nature of evil to appear good. Hence the need for right discernment (buddhi).

30/06/2016
Many Buddhists regularly practice compassion. Yes, compassion needs practice. It's like recharging your mind and body with the light of Buddha

30/06/2016
You can help others with your thoughts, with your words, with your compassion and an occasional smile. Just spread a few rays of light around.

30/06/2016
Beneath the surface of reality we experience everyday is an entirely different world. However it does not make any difference to our lives.

30/08/2016
The practice of right speech consists of abstaining from 1. False speech 2. Divisive speech 3. Abusive speech and 4. Idle speech

31/03/2016
Observation with gentle awareness is the beginning of meditation and mindful awareness. It is in that effort you see the Buddha in action.

31/05/2016
On the path of Nirvana the intention not to have any intention is the best intention.

31/10/2016
If you keep your mind clean and calm it becomes a sacred place where you can find freedom, peace and the wisdom of the Buddha.

Next: Quotations on Buddhism by BuddhaVac, Year 2017