135+ Clever Buddha Quotes Really Worth To Read

Historians believe Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born in the 5th or 6th Century BC in Nepal. In his 20s, the prince experienced realities of the outside world that led him on a quest for enlightenment. He left the palace to search for it and eventually attained enlightenment.

It was then that he became Buddha. Gautama Buddha quotes have the power to show us how he attracted a following and dedicated the rest of his life teaching the path of enlightenment and awakening to them.

If you’re searching for inspiring quotes by philosophers that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of meaningful Confucius quotes, greatest Lao Tzu quotes and most famous Socrates quotes.

Top 10 Buddha Quotes

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” – Buddha

“When you like a flower, you just pluck it. But when you love a flower, you water it daily.” – Buddha

“In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?” – Buddha

most famous quotes by buddha

“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you.” – Buddha

“The past is already gone, the future is not yet here. There’s only one moment for you to live.” – Buddha

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” – Buddha

life-changing quotes by buddha

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” – Buddha

“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.” – Buddha

powerful quotes by buddha

“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” – Buddha

“As rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, do not burden your heart with judgments but rain your kindness equally on all.” – Buddha

Which Buddha quotes were your favorite? What other quotes by Buddha would you add to the list?

Tell us in the comment section below!

Famous Buddha Quotes

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others. – Buddha

There is no fear for one whose mind is not filled with desires. – Buddha

If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart. – Buddha

Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it. – Buddha

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. – Buddha

It is better to travel well than to arrive. – Buddha

Do not look for a sanctuary in anyone except your self. – Buddha

If we fail to look after others when they need help, who will look after us? – Buddha

The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. – Buddha

One who acts on truth is happy in this world and beyond. – Buddha

Wear your ego like a loose fitting garment. – Buddha

What you are is what you have been. What you’ll be is what you do now. – Buddha

When watching after yourself, you watch after others. When watching after others, you watch after yourself. – Buddha

The greatest gift is to give people your enlightenment, to share it. It has to be the greatest. – Buddha

You only lose what you cling to. – Buddha

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

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

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

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

Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded. – Buddha

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

Understanding is the heartwood of well-spoken words. – Buddha

Ambition is like love, impatient both of delays and rivals. – Buddha

Meditate… do not delay, lest you later regret it. – Buddha

Delight in meditation and solitude. Compose yourself, be happy. You are a seeker. – Buddha

If you propose to speak always ask yourself, is it true, is it necessary, is it kind. – Buddha

Inspirational Buddha Quotes on Happiness, Change and Peace

Since Buddhism teaches us enlightenment and to be at one with ourselves, words of wisdom from Buddha give us great insight about peace and happiness. Here is the Buddha quotes on peace, life and happiness. Take a look below and let us know your favorite life quotes in the comment section. You can also enjoy Grand Jedi Master Yoda’ wise quotes and get some insight.

Let achieve enlightenment with Gautama Buddha quotes about happiness, peace and success:

  • “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha
  • “Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.” – Buddha
  • “Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.” – Buddha
  • “Happiness is a journey, not a destination.” – Buddha
  • “There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.” – Buddha
  • “Let us rise up and be thankful. For if we didn’t learn a lot at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” – Buddha
  • “To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.” – Buddha
  • gautama buddha quotes
  • “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha
  • “Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others.” – Buddha
  • “Generosity brings happiness at every stage of its expression. We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous. We experience joy in the actual act of giving something. And we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given.” – Buddha
  • “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.” – Buddha
  • “To be angry is to let others’ mistakes punish yourself.” – Buddha
  • “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha
  • “The mind is everything. What you think you become.” – Buddha
  • Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha
  • lord buddha quotes
  • “All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?” – Buddha
  • “To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.” – Buddha
  • “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” – Buddha
  • “Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.” – Buddha
  • “The root of suffering is attachment.” – Buddha
  • “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.” – Buddha
  • “There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind.” – Buddha
  • “The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.” – Buddha
  • buddha inspirational quotes
  • “You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself.” – Buddha
  • “Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.” – Buddha
  • “People with opinions just go around bothering one another.” – Buddha
  • “One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world.” – Buddha
  • “Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” – Buddha
  • “If you find no one to support you on the spiritual path, walk alone. There is no companionship with the immature.” – Buddha
  • “Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts.” – Buddha
  • “In separateness lies the world’s greatest misery; in compassion lies the world’s true strength.” – Buddha
  • “There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.” – Buddha
  • “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.” – Buddha
  • “The whole secret of existence is to have no fear.” – Buddha

Best Buddha Quotes on Karma, Spirituality and Mindfulness

In the Buddhist tradition, karma refers to action driven by intention which leads to future consequences. Lord Buddha offers ancient wisdom on spirituality and mindfulness to enlighten and bring you inner peace within karma.

Let regain control of the wandering mind with Gautama Buddha quotes about karma, meditation and mindfulness:

  • Once you know the nature of anger and joy is empty and you let them go, you free yourself from karma. – Buddha
  • For, owners of their deeds (karma) are the beings, heirs of their deeds; their deeds are the womb from which they sprang; with their deeds they are bound up; their deeds are their refuge. Whatever deeds they do-good or evil-of such they will be the heirs. And wherever the beings spring into existence, there their deeds will ripen; and wherever their deeds ripen, there they will earn the fruits of those deeds, be it in this life, or be it in the next life, or be it in any other future life. – Buddha
  • If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path. – Buddha
  • Hate is never conquered by hate,
    Hate is only conquered by love. – Buddha
  • best buddha quotes on karma
  • You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. – Buddha
  • Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. – Buddha
  • Surely if living creatures saw the results of all their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in disgust. But selfhood blinds them, and they cling to their obnoxious desires. They crave pleasure for themselves and they cause pain to others; when death destroys their individuality, they find no peace; their thirst for existence abides and their selfhood reappears in new births. Thus they continue to move in the coil and can find no escape from the hell of their own making. – Buddha
  • All that we are is the result of what we have thought. – Buddha
  • 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. – Buddha
  • Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts. – Buddha
  • I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that I will fall heir. – Buddha
  • Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. – Buddha
  • What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create. – Buddha
  • There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. – Buddha
  • No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. – Buddha
  • If a man’s thoughts are muddy, If he is reckless and full of deceit, How can he wear the yellow robe? Whoever is master of his own nature, Bright, clear and true, He may indeed wear the yellow robe. – Buddha
  • buddha quotes on change and kindness
  • Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten. – Buddha
  • 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. – Buddha
  • One should strive to understand what underlies sufferings and diseases – and aim for health and well-being while gaining in the path. – Buddha
  • famous buddha quotes on mindfulness
  • If you are quiet enough, you will hear the flow of the universe. You will feel its rhythm. Go with this flow. Happiness lies ahead. Meditation is key. – Buddha
  • How is mindfulness an authority? Once mindfulness is established internally: “In just such a way, I will experience through liberation the Dharma that I have not yet experienced or assist with wisdom in various respects the Dharma that I have experienced.” It is in this way that mindfulness is an authority. – Buddha
  • With mindfulness as his gatekeeper, the noble one abandoned the unwholesome and develops the wholesome, abandoned what is blameworthy and develops what is blameless. – Buddha
  • Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. – Buddha
  • 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. – Buddha

Lord Buddha Quotes on Love, Relationships and Marriage

Quotes of wisdom from Buddha show us how we love, Buddha-style impartial to all, free from excessive attachment or false hope and expectation; accepting, tolerant, and forgiving. Buddha knew a thing or two about love.

Let become more aware, kind, and wise with buddhist quotes on love and relationships:

  • A true relationship is when you can tell each other anything and everything. No secrets. No lies. – Buddha
  • 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. – Buddha
  • Assumptions are the termites of relationships. – Buddha
  • True love is born from understanding. – Buddha
  • Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings. – Buddha
  • Don’t allow someone to treat you poorly just because you love them. – Buddha
  • Love doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be true. – Buddha
  • Without communication, there is no relationship. Without respect, there is no love. Without trust, there’s no reason to continue. – Buddha
  • Until he has unconditional and unbiased love for all beings, man will not find peace. – Buddha
  • Love is a gift of one’s innermost soul to another so both can be whole. – Buddha
  • Don’t take revenge. Let karma do all the work. – Buddha
  • Think good thoughts, say nice things, Do good for others. Everything comes back. – Buddha
  • The man who foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my most ungrudging love; and the more evil comes from him, the more good shall go from me. – Buddha
  • Whoever makes love grow boundless, and sets his mind for seeing the end of birth, his fetters are worn thin. If he loves even a single being, Good will follow. But the Noble One with compassionate heart for all mankind, generates abounding good. – Buddha
  • Love lasts when the relationship comes first. – Buddha
  • Don’t give way to heedlessness
    or to intimacy
    with sensual delight–
    for a heedful person,
    absorbed in jhana,
    attains an abundance of ease. – Buddha
  • beautiful gautam buddha quotes on love
  • 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. – Buddha
  • Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law. – Buddha
  • Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child. – Buddha
  • Love is a gift of one’s inner most soul to another so both can be whole. – Buddha
  • When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. – Buddha
  • I understand with love comes pain, but why did I have to love so much? – Buddha
  • Silence the angry man with love. Silence the ill-natured man with kindness. Silence the miser with generosity. Silence the liar with truth. – Buddha
  • Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity. – Buddha
  • Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. – Buddha
  • If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another. – Buddha
  • A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden. – Buddha

Gautama Buddha Quotes About Life And Death

  • The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly. – Buddha
  • Life is uncertain; death is certain. – Buddha
  • Of all footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all mindfulness meditations, that on death is supreme. – Buddha
  • Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village. – Buddha
  • We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it? – Buddha
  • To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent. – Buddha
  • Here will I live in the rainy season, here in the autumn and in the summer: thus muses the fool. He realizes not the danger (of death). – Buddha
  • gautama buddha quotes death and life
  • To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. – Buddha
  • 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. – Buddha
  • Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue. – Buddha
  • What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind. – Buddha
  • Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. – Buddha
  • To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance. – Buddha

Some Facts About Buddha

Was Buddha a real person?

Yes. According to general information Buddha was born in 6th century B.C although other researchers believe he was born later, even as late as 448 B.C.

Was Buddha married?

Yes. Married with Yaśodharā.

What was Buddha’s real name?

It was Siddhartha Gautama.

Who took over after Buddha?

Śuddhodana took over after Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya.

About the Author

Deniz Yalım is the founder and visionary behind BayArt, a platform renowned for its deeply resonant and inspirational content focusing on love, relationship, happiness, success and motivation. With a background rich in literature, psychology, and communication, Deniz has dedicated their career to the art of using words to inspire and empower. Passionate about the transformative power of language, Deniz has skillfully curated BayArt to be a platform for those seeking wisdom and guidance in the realms of love and life. Their writings not only reflect a deep understanding of human emotions and relationships but also aim to ignite change and encourage positive thinking. Through BayArt, Deniz Yalım continues to touch lives, offering solace, motivation, and a sense of connectedness to a global community.