Buddha Quotes Teach Us To Look For Answers Within Ourselves

Buddha is an important religious and spiritual figure in history. His legacy is the inspirational way of life his followers lead and the many quotes he left behind. See for yourself with these 19 Buddha quotes.

“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” — Buddha
“However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?” — Buddha
“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.” — Buddha
“Give, even if you only have a little.” — Buddha
“Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.” — 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
“Silence the angry man with love. Silence the ill-natured man with kindness. Silence the miser with generosity. Silence the liar with truth.” — Buddha
“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.” — Buddha
“On a long journey of human life, faith is the best of companions; it is the best refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest property.” — Buddha
“Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.” — Buddha
“You only lose what you cling to.” — Buddha
“Some do not understand that we must die, but those who do realize this settle their quarrels.” — Buddha
“A disciplined mind brings happiness.” — Buddha
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.” — 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
“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
“There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth—not going all the way, and not starting.” — Buddha
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” — Buddha

Like the other major religions, Buddhism encourages us to adopt fundamental life teachings that make us better people and the world around us better.

But Buddha didn’t walk from village to village preaching or pass along epiphanies to apostles. Instead, he passed his quotes down to followers through teaching.

The inspirational words of Buddha have a very important place in everyone’s life—not just those practicing Buddhism. They encourage us to focus on life and discover our spiritual connection to it.

Buddha quotes that encourage

Buddha quotes like this one encourage us to develop spiritually as we live our lives.

When we have a sense of spirituality ingrained within us, we’re more open and accepting to whatever life brings us.

Most importantly, Buddha doesn’t specify what type of religion or belief we should adopt—simply that we should open ourselves up.

Real Buddha quotes like this one encourage us to act on our spiritualism each day—not simply seek solace in belief itself.

Buddha reminds us that though we may have faith, if we don’t harness it and act upon it to bring good into the world, we’re not truly experiencing it to the fullest.

Buddha quotes are about investing in your own discovery

Some of the best Buddha quotes are about investing in your own discovery. Do we really know who we are?

We might have some idea of what we believe or hope, but until we take the time to truly reflect on who we are, we lack the understanding to feel fulfilled.

When we achieve true introspection, nothing can ever triumph over our sense of self.

Buddha quotes on karma are the most popular teachings of this spiritual figure because they encourage us to be selfless.

This quote reminds us of the power of charity. When you give—even if it’s not within your means—you bring goodness and altruism into the world and encourage others to do the same.

Buddha quotes on death

Buddha quotes on death exemplify Buddhist culture in that death isn’t something to fear.

If you’ve lived a full life and are proud of the things you’ve done and the person you are, death is simply the closing of your story—one that people will reflect on positively.

And, is death truly the end if life is eternal? If you believe Buddhist teachings, you have nothing to fear in death.

Buddha on hard work

Inspirational quotes like this one teach us the value of hard work and patience. We live in a world that rushes and rushes each and every day.

But, when we take the time to slow down and be deliberate in our tasks, we learn from them and grow from them.

Something beautiful is produced and an important lesson is learned.

Good morning Buddha quotes

If you’re looking for good morning Buddha quotes, this is one of the most important. It reminds us about the power of giving and the sentiment of sharing.

Sharing connects us with others and develops our relationships, and when we allow ourselves to give freely, we embrace our own betterment.

Buddha on love, peace, change and faith

Buddha quotes on love and peace encourage us to look at things always from a position of positivity.

We shouldn’t meet anger with anger or greed with greed; instead, we should rise above the negative and spread the positive.

Where like-minded emotions clash, opposite emotions embrace.

There are a great many Buddha quotes on change and all of them encourage us to do the same thing: Open our mind to the possibility of change and embrace it.

When we change, we grow—whether it’s with new knowledge, new experiences or in a new phase of our lives.

Don’t fear change—welcome it and know you’ll be better for it.

Buddha quotes encourage us to take time and reflect on our faith, no matter where we’re at in life.

When’s the last time you had an honest discussion with yourself about faith or questioned your beliefs in a healthy way?

Take time to inventory your faith as you travel the road of life. You’ll be surprised at how often you’ll need it on the way to wherever you’re going!

Wisdom and life

Inspirational Buddha quotes like this one impart the wisdom of action on us. You can say anything; what you do is another story.

People promise many things, but few people follow through with their words.

Keep this in mind when you speak and make sure you only speak what you intend to act on.

Things will only ever be things. When you build your life around tangibles, you leave yourself open to loss.

Buddha quotes on karma teach us the most important things in life—the ones that should be central to all that we do—are the intangibles like belief, spirituality and integrity.

Short Buddha quotes like this one have a powerful impact on what we think about life. If you take a moment to recognize that life is finite, you’ll realize there’s no room for petty squabbles or grudges.

If you only have so many years, months and days, why not make the most of them in a positive way and leave the quarrelling to someone else?

Buddha quotes on happiness

Buddha quotes on happiness start with mentality.

How you think determines how you’ll act and how you act will determine your happiness.

If your mind is focused and calm, your actions will be measured and purposeful. When we do things with a purpose, we derive happiness from them.

Suffering is something we will all become intimately familiar with at some point in our lives. Buddha quotes on suffering teach us to embrace it and grow from it, instead of merely carrying the burden.

When we transform our mindset to one of openness and learning, we guard ourselves against pain and suffering.

Virtues of generosity

Many Buddha quotes extol the virtues of generosity. Being generous brings us joy and when we experience joy, we lead fruitful, happy lives.

The foundation of all of this is giving: When we give charitably, we enrich others and ourselves.

This Buddha quote on happiness is so powerful because it shows us how the actions of one person can ripple across the lives of many.

You may feel small and insignificant, but your ability to do great things in simple ways should never be underestimated.

Bring happiness into the world and you’ll find it returns to you in all directions.

Inspirational quotes like this one encourage us to act even when we have trepidation in our hearts.

We need to shed our fears and embark on the journey of life—and, more importantly, we must set out to finish it.

If you fail to take the first step or stop short of living to your fullest, you’ve done yourself a disservice.

Buddha and living right now

Live right now, because that’s all you can do. This, among many other Buddha quotes, is important to keep top in your mind each and every day. There’s so much you could worry about, but why worry about the unknown or the past when you can shape the present?

Buddha is one of the most inspirational figures in history, with no shortage of wisdom to pass along to people—even centuries later.

We hope you were inspired by the above Buddha quotes, which are part of our spiritual quotes series.

What are the best Buddha quotes you know? Share them with us in the comments below to inspire others to find the same positivity you’re working toward!