Gautama Buddha Quotes About Meditation
-
Moved by their selfish desires, people seek after fame and glory. But when they have acquired it, they are already stricken in years. If you hanker after worldly fame and practise not the Way, your labors are wrongfully applied and your energy is wasted. It is like unto burning an incense stick. However much its pleasing odor be admired, the fire that consumes is steadily burning up the stick.
→ -
The masters only point the way. But if you meditate And follow the dharma You will free yourself from desire. 'Everything arises and passes away.' When you see this, you are above sorrow. This is the shining way.
→ -
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles.
→ -
Of all footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all mindfulness meditations, that on death is supreme.
→ -
Delight in meditation and solitude. Compose yourself, be happy. You are a seeker.
→ -
Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.
→ -
If a man who enjoys a lesser happiness beholds a greater one, let him leave aside the lesser to gain the greater.
→ -
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.
→ -
Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.
→ -
For soon the body is discarded, Then what does it feel? A useless log of wood, it lies on the ground, Then what does it know? Your worst enemy cannot harm you As much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, No one can help you as much, Not even your father or your mother.
→ -
Wakefulness is the way to life. The fool sleeps As if he were already dead, But the master is awake And he lives forever.
→ -
If the traveller can find A virtuous and wise companion Let him go with him joyfully And overcome the dangers of the way. But if you cannot find Friend or master to go with you, Travel on alone.
→ -
Do not let pleasure distract you from meditation, from the way. Free yourself from pleasure and pain.
→ -
How easy it is to see your brother's faults, How hard it is to face your own. You winnow his in the wind like chaff, But yours you hide, Like a cheat covering up an unlucky throw. Dwelling on your brother's faults Multiplies your own. You are far from the end of your journey. The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. See how you love.
→ -
Men are tied up to their families and possessions more helplessly than in a prison. There is an occasion for the prisoner to be released, but householders entertain no desire to be relieved from the ties of family. When a man's passion is aroused nothing prevents him from ruining himself. Even into the jaws of a tiger will he jump. Those who are thus drowned in the filth of passion are called the ignorant. Those who are able to overcome it are saintly Arhats.
→ -
People cleave to their worldly possessions and selfish passions so blindly as to sacrifice their own lives for them. They are like a child who tries to eat a little, honey smeared on the edge of a knife. The amount is by no means sufficient to appease his appetite, but he runs the risk of wounding his tongue.
→ -
You have to do your own work; Enlightened Ones will only show the way. Those who practise meditation will free themselves from the chains of death
→ -
Evil-doers who denounce the wise resemble a person who spits against the sky; the spittle will never reach the sky, but comes down on himself. Evil-doers again resemble a man who stirs the dust against the wind; the dust is never raised without doing him injury. Thus, the wise will never be hurt, but the curse is sure to destroy the evil-doers themselves.
→ -
One should strive to understand what underlies sufferings and diseases - and aim for health and well-being while gaining in the Path.
→ -
How can a troubled mind Understand the way? If a man is disturbed He will never be filled with knowledge. An untroubled mind, No longer seeking to consider What is right and what is wrong, A mind beyond judgements, Watches and understands. Know that the body is a fragile jar, And make a castle of your mind. In every trial Let understanding fight for you To defend what you have won.
→ -
How will you become free? With a quiet mind Come into that empty house, your heart, And feel the joy of the way Beyond the world. Look within - The rising and the falling.
→ -
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
→ -
If you determine your course With force or speed, You miss the way of the dharma. Quietly consider What is right and what is wrong. Receiving all opinions equally, Without haste, wisely, Observe the dharma.
→ -
The whole secret of existence is to have no fear.
→ -
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
→ -
Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.
→ -
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.
→ -
Understand the suffering of worldly existence. Abandon its causes of ignorance and selfishness. Practice the path of meditation and compassion. Awaken from suffering within Great Peace.
→ -
Men who are addicted to the passions are like the torch-carrier running against the wind; his hands are sure to be burned.
→ -
If you let cloudy water settle, it will become clear. If you let your upset mind settle, your course will also become clear.
→
Related Authors
-
Mahatma Gandhi Civil rights leader -
Laozi Philosopher -
Surya Das Poet -
-
Hermann Hesse Poet -
-
-
-
Pema Chodron Nun -
-
Socrates Philosopher -
Rajneesh Guru -
Bodhidharma Biographer -
Plato Philosopher -
-
Joan Halifax Anthropologist -
Confucius Philosopher -
Nhat Hanh Monk -
B. R. Ambedkar Indian Politician -
Aristotle Philosopher