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Would you mind sharing some quotes from Buddha?
footiam
Veteran
Buddha says, 'All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become." Would you mind sharing some other quotes from Buddha that would polish the mind?
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"Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox."
- The Buddha
One, not all 'sayings from the Buddha' have been accurately translated or interpreted, and in this specific case, it is agreed by many scholars that the latter from @JamestheGiant is closer to the true version, than the one offered by @footiam.
So two things are required: seek more than one translation and study its reliability, authenticity and accuracy.
Two, realise that 'quotations from the Buddha' may be nothing of the kind.....
"Who gives, his virtues shall increase;
Who is self-curbed, no hatred bears;
Who is skilled in virtue, evil shuns,
And by the rooting out of lust and hate
And all delusion, comes to be at peace."
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.1.10.than.html
When contributing quotations, it would be useful please, to also give a link or reference to the source, within your post. Many thanks.
I have an app on my Chrome search engine called Buddha Quotes which sends me a new one every day. Here's a couple of faves...
“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.”
“Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.”
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”
And here's another quote from Buddha: 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"
This is a better translation of the verse your quote is loosely based on: It's interesting that he even rules out Logical Conjecture as excellent grounds for believing in something. Which kinda bums me out, because I like logic.
Thanks for sharing that quote. It is must more specific and pragmatic than the impressionist interpretation that is floating around the internet.
@footiam, sorry, I don't want to seem like I'm picking on you. You just happened to choose two quotes I know really well!
This is a quote from Buddha:You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. http://www.buddhist-tourism.com/buddhism/buddha-quotes.html
But that's a bit long for a thread title, I guess.
"He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,"-in those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred will cease.
For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.
If a traveller does not meet with one who is his better, or his equal, let him firmly keep to his solitary journey; there is no companionship with a fool.
They who imagine truth in untruth, and see untruth in truth, never arrive at truth, but follow vain desires.
That applies to your quotes too but they will have to be in a thread of their own.
And here's a quote of Buddha for your contemplation:
"Find out for yourself what is truth, what is real. Discover that there are virtuous things and there are non-virtuous things. Once you have discovered for yourself give up the bad and embrace the good."
- The Buddha
http://www.fakebuddhaquotes.com/fake-buddha-quote-197/
. . . however the sentiment is correct and therefore from enlightened Buddha Mind . . .
Since everything is but an illusion,
Perfect in being what it is,
Having nothing to do with good or bad,
Acceptance or rejection,
One might as well burst out laughing!
from chapter 1 of The Great Perfection’s Self-Liberation in the Nature of Mind, by Longchenpa (1308-1364)
When did the Buddha get so solemn?
or to put it in contemporary terms
'why so serious?' The Joker
There, he said it himself. In other words, don't quote me, figure it out for yourself.
You will always be getting praise and blame,
but do not let either affect the poise of the mind:
follow the calmness, the absence of pride.
Sutta Nipata
I prefer the usual one like: The tongue like a sharp knife... Kills without drawing blood.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/buddha.html
There was a woman who was experimented on with her twin by Mengele, and she forgave him, and all the Nazis. There's a movie about her.
There are people who fought on opposite sides of wars and became great friends through forgiveness.
There was a woman whose son was murdered, and she forgave his killer.
If forgiveness is possible in these extreme situations, it's possible anywhere.
And this probably is another quote from Buddha:
Judgements prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances.
http://tinybuddha.com/wisdom-category/judgment-2/
There is truth in a non-Buddha quote then. Don't worry too much about what have been done and undone.
Let's just have fun with the quotes. Here's one from the Net:
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.
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/buddha
And here's one more quote:
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."
http://quotationsbook.com/quotes/author/1113/
― Gautama Buddha
Thank you.
Yes, me too. I think it is easy to read more into the Buddha's words on this than is necessary. Although logic can tell us nothing for sure about reality, as Aristotle noted, it remains an excellent method for refuting false views, as Nagarjuna shows. So us analytical thinkers can go on liking logic. It's not as if Buddhist doctrine contradicts logic, just that we have to concede that we cannot build a tower of reasoning all the way to Heaven. This is presumably what the story of Babel is about.
HHDL writes, 'Anything that contradicts logic and experience should be abandoned'. So logic is important. He also says, 'Without contradiction there is no progress'.
Just sticking up for logic.
In that context, I agree that the Buddha didn't say that logic was useless. In fact, the Buddha asked the Kalamas to "think" in the case of determining whether a quality was skillful or unskillful, blameworthy or blameless and this would include using logic to determine that if one wishes to.
Therefore, what HHDL writes, ie. "Anything that contradicts logic and experience should be abandoned", is entirely consistent with what the Buddha said in the Kalama Sutta. At the same time, I think the Kalama Sutta does add to what HDDL wrote by saying that, "However, if something contradicts logic but not experience, we should rely on experience rather than logic when such experience also corresponds to what the wise have to say." Also, even in the case where something contradicts both logic and experience, the Buddhas does seeom to imply that we should nonetheless consider what the wise have to say. But remember, the Buddha said all of this in the context of determining whether certain qualities should be adopted or abandoned, so all of his advice given in the Kalama Sutta does not necessarily apply to other subject matters.
I find it not uncommon that fundamentalists (religious, political or otherwise) tend to do this. Ideologically wedded to syllogistic thinking, they can't engage in that messy, complicated life stuff before them-- they attempt to reduce life to a hermetically sealed formula to simply followed.
I know what you mean @riverflow, but I would violently, er, sorry, I mean politely disagree with you about fundamentalist idealogues who stick to syllogistic thinking. This is usually exactly what they refuse to do. It is by refusing to think logically that they protect their ideologies. It's a rampant practice in science and philosophy, never mind down the pub.