SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA BUDDHA

SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA BUDDHA QUOTES

• Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

• Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

• Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

• Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.

• There have been many Buddhas before me and will be many Buddhas in the future. All living beings have the Buddha nature and can become Buddhas.

• Neither my life of luxury in the palace nor my life as an ascetic in the forest is the way to freedom.

• If we destroy something around us, we destroy ourselves. If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves.

• In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.

• Awake. Be the witness of your thoughts. You are what observes, not what you observe.

• Life can only take place in the present moment. If we lose the present moment, we lose life.

• The cause of all pain and suffering is ignorance.

• Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

• Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

• Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.

• It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

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

• There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.

• To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. 

• If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.

• You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.

• All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.

• There is happiness in life, happiness in friendship, happiness of a family, happiness in a healthy body and mind, but when one loses them, there is suffering. - Dhammapada

• All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else. 

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

• The kind of seed sown will produce that kind of fruit. Those who do good will reap good results.Those who do evil will reap evil results. If you carefully plant a good seed, you will joyfully gather good fruit.

Four Noble Truths

• All human life is suffering (dhukka).
• All suffering is caused by human desire, particularly the desire that impermanent things be permanent.

• Human suffering can be ended by ending human desire. 

• Desire can be ended by following the 'Eight fold Noble Path'- right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. 

Three Great Truths

•  Nothing is lost in the universe.

The first truth is that nothing is lost in the universe. Matter turns into energy, energy turns into matter. A dead leaf turns into soil. A seed sprouts and becomes a new plant. Old solar systems disintegrate and turn into cosmic rays. We are born of our parents, our children are born of us.  We are the same as plants, as trees, as other people, as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around us, we are the same as everything. If we destroy something around us, we destroy ourselves. If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves. Understanding this truth, the Buddha and his disciples never killed any animal.

• Everything Changes.

The second universal truth of the Buddha is that everything is continuously changing. Life is like a river flowing on and on, ever changing. Sometimes it flows slowly and sometimes swiftly. It is smooth and gentle in some places, but later on snags and rocks crop up out of nowhere. Once dinosaurs, mammoths, and saber-toothed tigers roamed this earth. They all died out, yet this was not the end of life. Other life forms like smaller mammals appeared, and eventually humans, too.

•  Law of Cause and Effect.

The third universal truth explained by the Buddha is that there is continuous changes due to the law of cause and effect. The law of cause and effect is known as karma.  Our thoughts and actions determine the kind of life we can have. 

BUDDHA ON MEDITATION
EIGHT FOLD PATH 

The Middle Way or Middle Path  is the term that Gautama Buddha used to describe the character of the Noble eight fold path he discovered that leads to liberation.

The term "Middle Way" was used in the first teaching that the Buddha delivered after his awakening. The Buddha describes the middle way as a path of moderation, between the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification. This, according to him, was the path of Wisdom. 

There is addiction to indulgence of sensual pleasures, which is low, coarse, the way of ordinary people, unworthy, and unprofitable; and there is addiction to self-mortification, which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.
Avoiding both these extremes, the Tathagata (Buddha) has realized that the Middle Path (eight fold path)  leads to calmness, to insight, to enlightenment and to Nirvana. 

THE EIGHT FOLD PATH

• Right View. The right way to think about life is to see the world through the eyes of the Buddha-with wisdom and compassion.
• Right Thought. 

• Right Speech. 

• Right Conduct. 

• Right Livelihood. The Buddha said, "Do not earn your living by harming others. Do not seek happiness by making others unhappy."

• Right Effort. 

• Right Mindfulness. This means being aware of our thoughts, words, and deeds.

• Right Concentration. 

THE WHEEL OF LIFE

The wheel of life and death is kept turning by the three poisons of greed, hatred, and stupidity. By cutting off the three poisons, we can escape the wheel and become enlightened. 

A Jataka Story-

One day when Prince Siddhartha and his cousin Devadatta were walking in the woods, they saw a swan. Quickly, Devadatta drew his bow and shot the swan down. Siddhartha rushed to the wounded swan and pulled out the arrow. He held the bird in his arms and caressed it. 

Devadatta angrily shouted at Prince Siddhartha,

"Give me the swan. I shot it. It belongs to me!" "I shall never give it to you, You will only kill it!" said the prince firmly. "Let's ask the ministers of the court and let them decide." The ministers all had different views. Some said,"The swan should be given to Devadatta." Others said, "It should go to Prince Siddhartha." 

One wise minister stood up and said, "A life belongs to one who saves it, not to one who will destroy it". The swan goes to the prince."
Prince Siddhartha took care of the swan until it could fly again. Then he turned it loose so it could live freely with its own kind.

The last teaching of Gautama the Buddha is
'APPO DEEPO BHAVAH' which means "be a light unto yourself.” 

               

                     Be a light unto yourself.