Buddhavac Quotations from 2016
Summary: This extensive collection of Buddhavac’s 2016 reflections explores impermanence, suffering, mindfulness, compassion, and the disciplined pursuit of Nirvana. The quotations emphasize patience, forgiveness, right speech, and the cultivation of discernment. They examine the nature of desire, the challenges of the mind, the value of silence, and the transformative power of suffering. Many entries highlight the Eightfold Path, the importance of nonviolence, and the need for detachment from possessions, expectations, and ego. Together, they present a year‑long stream of contemplative insights rooted in Buddhist wisdom and practical spiritual living.
The Buddha lives in all of us as our very discerning intelligence. He personifies and exemplifies our awakened states in which we rise above our limitations and impurities and perceive truth as it is. When our perceptions and intelligence are pure, we find right solutions and right answers to resolve our problems and suffering. The following thoughts and quotations were born from that state of mind. They may not necessarily be relevant or useful to you, but in some awakening minds they may induce deeper awareness. The following quotations are compiled from the 2016 messages of Buddhavac. May they awaken you and inspire you in your daily life.
Buddha left us long ago so that we may each find him anew in our own thoughts.
Meaning is the starting point of delusion
Before Nirvana, Emptiness. Before Emptiness, Baldness
Before Nirvana, Emptiness
Between desire and destiny is the story of your life.
You life is shaped by your desires just as they shape your thoughts.
Being is a struggle when "having" is the goal.
If you do what you can always do, you will never be more than what you are. - Master Shifu in Kung Fu Panda
You are inherently capable of staying happy. You've all the faculties to keep yourself happy. Perhaps you're in denial or not trying enough.
There's nothing that you can forever hold on to. All things pass away eventually leaving you behind to ponder about the impermanence.
People do all crazy things for gain. Yet they need to be forgiven because if you don't, you too carry their burden.
Forgiveness comes first.
On the Path a monk becomes friendly and serene everywhere when he excels in forgiveness, compassion, giving and understanding.
Patience is the best penance, tolerance the best virtue, and suffering the best lesson for those who strive for the wisdom of the Buddha.
Not to blame not to strike to abide by the Law to be moderate to sleep well to be alone and engage in higher thoughts, this is the teaching.
Life is full of shocks and surprises. Not to be shocked or surprised by the events of life is the essence of equanimity.
Teach your eyes to see, your ears to listen, your heart to feel and your mind to discern and know. You will be the Buddha, the awakened one.
If you observe the present with discernment you will see the future with some clarity, for the seeds of future are sown now.
Seek happiness but do not waste an opportunity to learn from suffering.
True baptism is when you are drenched enough in the waters of suffering.
Sometimes tears are the gifts you receive from others.
By speech alone no one becomes virtuous, learned or great except in the company of the ignorant and the unwise.
On the path of Nirvana patience is the highest virtue. He who endures the harshest lessons of Dhamma prevails.
All the knowledge to grow and become better and wiser is already there in you. You just want to hear it in different ways again and again.
Aspiring to be a better person is a religion in itself.
Spirituality is mostly about exploring and expressing your deeper awareness about the things that you love and care for.
The Buddha's laughter is not afflicted by sorrow. His body is light despite the weight of suffering. (On The secret of the Laughing Buddha).
Let the feelings rise and fall without tormenting your mind. It's the way of the serene smiling Buddha.
Not to speak harsh words is a great virtue. Not to respond to harsh words is even a greater virtue.
The Awakened Buddha looks at the sky just as he looks at the earth or a tree. They remind him of the impermanence and the need for serenity.
Knowing is the First step. Remembering the Second. Practicing the Third. After that Eat Well, Sleep and Rest.
Life is like a blank paper with no meaning and purpose. It is up to us what story we want to write in it.
Buddhism is not a religion in the western sense. Buddhism is a solution to become sorrow free without any dependence on rituals and God.
The Eightfold Path is timeless. It's a purely spiritual path which anyone can follow.
Where am I? In the body or in the space around? I am is a structure of consciousness built by Time around desires and selected memories.
In the end nothing remains and no one remembers. Life goes on as if you never existed and you never mattered.
The thought that "I am emptiness" keeps the ego in check and your thinking straight.
The Four Lofty States of Mind that heal others: Friendliness (Mitrata) Compassion (Karuna) Pure Happiness (Muditha) Sameness (Upalekha)
The Buddha is not in the statues, books, or images they make, break or sell. He is not in the temples. The Buddha is in the living Dhamma.
Don't just meditate or read a few words of the Master. Bring the Eightfold Path into living. Then you can hope for freedom and Nirvana.
Have a thousand purposes. But put peace before them all. Then you will remained peaceful whether you reach them or not.
Some people compare the Buddha to a Prophet. It's the western notion. The Buddha is the Way. Whoever walks on it is a Buddha in the making.
Keeping the mind focused is as difficult as keeping the water in a pot still when you carry it. Hence practice and perseverance in mindfulness
Can anything be stopped forever? Does anything stay forever? Existence is in a constant motion which will end in nonexistence only.
The path of Nirvana is arduous on which a Bhikhu has to walk lightly with a serene mind leaving no foot print.
Three blessings of life. To eat well, sleep well, and smile well.
There is no difference between peace and nonviolence. As long as the world does not understand the connection there'll be no peace.
If you want peace you must be peaceful. There is no other way for peace to settle in your mind. And peace is an expression of nonviolence.
The goal of spirituality is to cultivate noble qualities or the right virtues. We contemplate upon the Buddha because he represents them.
When you're judging you're not seeing. When you're not seeing, the moment is lost.
If you're lost in the search of what cannot be known you'll not be able know what you can know. You've to choose between God and reality.
The ability to see clearly, know clearly and understand clearly what is visible, knowable and understandable, this is the way to wisdom.
After every misfortune and failure you have a choice for the better or the worse. Choose wisely for it's how you can stay on the chosen Path.
Appreciate sunset when it is sunset and dawn when it is dawn without thinking of the midday meal. This is the essence of being in the flow.
We ignore what is in the expectation of what can be. The Buddha says it is the chief source of misery.
Not to ignore truth in love or hate is a huge challenge. Sameness is the essence of Buddhist wisdom, possible only in the awakened state.
Those who punch holes in the plates they eat end up hungry. Be grateful to all that makes your life possible. Do not harm it with cruelty.
In its essence Buddhism teaches us to think and see the world clearly without the prism of illusions, emotions, dogma, and other barriers.
The No Self concept (Anatta) of the Buddha was revolutionary. It takes God and Soul out of the equation and makes everyone responsible in life.
Everyone struggles and suffers. Hence the need for compassion, consideration, friendliness and charity.
The time between life and death is a precious opportunity to be alive, attentive and grateful.
Let your mindfulness begin with the tip of your nose and end in the deep and silent emptiness of your mind. Emptiness is Nirvana.
The vow of non-possession is effective only when the mind does not possess anything. Renunciation is the true observation of the vow.
Whatever you cannot let go stays with you. Whatever stays with you becomes your burden on the path of Nirvana.
What makes you unhappy? It's almost always some expectation.
Listening with the heart, the mind and the senses to what has been said and what has been left unsaid, this is called true listening.
Compassion and nonviolence must first begin with your own mind and body. The Buddha suggested the Middle Path for this very reason. Be Gentle.
True knowledge is to know that the Sun never sets. The day and night are mere illusions.
Without FEAR there is no GOD.
Let your goals be fixed but your plans flexible with Dhamma as the guiding light.
Mindfulness leads to vigilance. Vigilance to restraint, and restraint to peace and happiness.
The untamed mind is the source of great suffering.
A monk should be intent upon reaching the destination, but should remain unattached to the path lest he may become stuck forever.
Others' imperfections and failures are opportunities to learn and grow. They are the teachers karma puts on your path to help you become wiser.
To be aware of the suffering in suffering and the happiness in happiness is the way to equanimity and enlightenment.
Today's lesson from Master Breath: Accept whatever comes like the air you breathe in and let go whatever goes like the air you breathe out.
Wisdom truly means making right choices with foresight, using sound judgment. Right living on the Eightfold Path is wise living
Whatever you take for granted, a person or a thing, may give you much pain. Things are never the same. Hence, pay attention. Live mindfully.
The Buddha does not speak to anyone. The decision to follow him is always yours. And in doing so you must always keep your eyes and mind open.
The mind is where all battles are waged. It is where you enter heavens and hells, converse with gods and fight the demons. Beyond it is Nirvana.
A monk is supposed to be an aimless wanderer. His path has no specific destination.
Renunciation is the way of fearless and limitless freedom from the compulsion to be and to have.
Nirvana is the extinguishing of all desires, seeking and striving.
The unwise ones do not learn unless they already know it or in agreement with it. Hence they cannot walk on the unknown path of Nirvana.
Faith should nurture your aspiration and guide you, not become a mental crutch. Faith is the means to freedom, not vanity pride or attachment.
Because of time change. Because of change time. Because of time and change impermanence and suffering.
Was the Buddha a Hindu by birth? Yes and No. In his time all Indians were called Hindus by outsiders, but they practiced different faiths.
Desires are at the root of suffering. It's difficult to control them because they arise in many disguises that you may not recognize them.
Better is loneliness than the company of fools.
You reputation does not follow you. Wherever you go, know that it precedes you.
Right speech must be matched by right action on the path of righteousness that leads to Nirvana.
What should you look for in a relationship? The Buddha says look for trust. If it is not there walk away.
If you win someone will be unhappy. If you lose you will be unhappy. The Buddha says give up both and be cheerful with whatever happens.
If suffering is an ocean happiness is an island. Find more islands of happiness in the ocean of suffering until U reach the shore of Nirvana
If you think good thoughts you become a better person. If you spread good thoughts you make the world a better place.
The golden Buddha rises up in consciousness and dissolves again in consciousness.
The Buddha was a great leader with exceptional organizational skills. He used them excellently well to establish the Dhamma and the Sangah.
Friendliness (kalyana mitrata) which wishes for the welfare of all is the love that radiates from a compassionate being, a Buddha in making.
The Buddha said "Be lamps unto yourselves." But until you clean the lamp to let light shine through, you still need Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
To see things as they are the mind must be still.
Nothing is certain until Nirvana is certain.
Hold a handful of water in your hands and contemplate on the impermanence of things.
Just as you cannot stop creating ripples in the water while swimming you cannot stop creating karma while swimming in the ocean of Samsara.
Mara controls the lower mind while Buddha rules the higher. Only Buddha can defeat and silence Mara. Take refuge in Buddha, the intelligence.
The lower nature acts according to desires and passions, but higher nature by intelligence and discernment. The Buddha is hidden in the higher.
Be kind because kindness is the basis of peace and happiness in this life and in the next.
What's right view? The view which holds no grudges and no judgment and does not conflict with that of another, even if it is the opposite.
The way to peace is to know that nothing remains forever. There's nothing fixed or permanent. All things change and so are you.
If you accept impermanence as the nature of the world, you will not feel surprised, shocked or betrayed when people change.
He who walks on the path of Nirvana with fewer possessions, desires, wants and needs, walks free and walks quickly with less cares and concerns.
Kids in rich countries searching for #PokemonGO characters while those in poor countries search for plastic bottles, water, food and survival.
The mind always seeks but never satisfied. Hence, a wise monk remains contented with what he has and does not complain when the path is steep.
Nothing lasts forever. All things eventually disappear. Hence, everything in the world, animate or inanimate, deserves compassion and respect.
Let compassion be your wealth and let it flow from you like the fragrance of a flower in spring.
You cannot be true to yourself if you always seek other people's approval. However, avoid hurting and harming, and be generous in compassion.
We each live in our own little worlds although we may live in the same world and think it's the same for everyone.
Your world is not the world in which you live. It is created by you with your thoughts, desires, relationships, projections and perceptions.
On the path of Nirvana the Buddha walks alone leaving no footprints and imitating none. And leaves no trail.
Generosity does not have to arise from abundance or surplus. It is a state of mind and an attitude, independent of externalities.
A Morning Prayer: May my compassion spread all around. May my thoughts illuminate and inspire. May the wicked prosper through good thoughts.
The shadow is but made by light only when you stand in between.
Violence leaves it's own vibrations in the sea of humanity. A voyager is never safe in the waters of Samsara until he reaches the shore.
True courage is not in fighting but in not fighting. That is true renunciation.
The world will not be in peace until the Buddha awakes in the West. The old world is saturated with Buddha consciousness.
The beneficiary of any service is the one who serves. He's the receiver of good karma for his good deeds. So don't take pride when you help.
A monk is not satisfied with his own progress or happiness. He knows that the world needs a lot of healing and compassion.
These three in life are important. Kind words, compassion, and mindful awareness.
Do what you can without exertion. Make peace with what you cannot control. This is the right effort which leads to peace and stability.
A wise monk does not over exert himself, nor does control what he cannot. He has the wisdom to know what he can do, cannot do and should not.
The Buddha doesn't light the candle. He extinguishes it.
Don't look for a prophet in the Buddha. Don't seek him in what you desire. The Buddha is the path that leads to pure awareness and freedom.
The Buddha is the discerning intelligence in all of us. Pure awareness with pure discernment, untainted by desire and delusion.
There's nothing more invigorating than being in harmony with yourself.
In seeking we invite fear. In serving we invite love.
When you seek nothing you fear nothing.
Follow your breath like a disciple who follows his master. It's the only action in your body which is not controlled by desire.
If you're unable to sleep or restless hold the breath for a while and release it. Do it few times. Your mind begins to relax and slow down.
When you focus on your feelings and body sensations by withdrawing your mind, you become mindful and gain a better understanding of yourself.
A true disciple of Buddha practices discipline. He reaches the goal of Nirvana when he is disciplined enough to persevere on the path.
Your Inner silence is your nearest resort. Retreat into it occasionally to regain your composure.
There are only two ways to resolve suffering. You either mitigate it or bear with it. On the Eightfold Path you learn both.
With a strong mind in a frail body the monk walks fearlessly on the Eightfold Path.
Blessings and good tidings to all the souls who are starving who are suffering who are striving and who are caught in the flow of life.
Be gentle with your words because some of them are like boomerangs. They will come back to you in one way or another.
He who discerns truth in untruth and untruth in truth has the right mindfulness. He is not deluded by appearances and pretensions.
Discernment arises from observation and attentiveness for which purity and silence of the mind are the foundation.
Always look for the intentions in actions be they yours or others for the intentions hidden in your words and deeds follow you as your shadow.
Silence and stillness are the constant companions to the monk who shuns desires and prefers the company of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
In a quiet mind, truth reflects itself to the attentive and discerning one.
Each war leaves a deep gash in the karmic history of humanity and generations that follow have to heal the pain and the injury.
Happiness which arises from within from the state of being is more lasting than that which arises from the world from the state of having.
Even if you go to a remote corner of the world on vacation, your cellphone follows you like your karma.
To know that you "may" not know is the beginning of learning and knowing.
Each act of judgment is an act of karma. Each thought joined by an intention produces consequences.
Each day is an opportunity to be alive, to be better, to begin afresh, to forgive and break free from the burdens of your past.
Epicurus whose teachings were close to Buddhist teachings said, " Not what you have but what you enjoy constitutes abundance." How true!
You do not learn much from those with whom you always agree.
A flower has no purpose, aim or motive in spreading its fragrance. It is its nature to be so and to do so. Be like a flower in the wind.
The bodhi (enlightened one) is present in all but remains awake in a few.
The path to wisdom is paved with restraint. Restraint in thinking, in speech and in actions. Guarding against the three one abides in Dharma.
Love of the compassionate kind does not bind, defend or offend. Fear does. Where there's universal love, there's freedom for everyone to be.
Whether it is anger fear, pride, envy, cruelty, love, compassion or friendliness, you can give only what you have. Cultivate right thinking.
In seeking advice trust virtuous people. In giving advice trust the teachings of the Buddha and follow right speech.
Stay close to the Buddha for you never know when he will wake you up and let you in.
There's always something to envy, a smile, a friendship... Enemy At The Gates
The path to Nirvana is built by practice only. The knowledge of Dharma is just a roadmap.
Decay and destruction are inherent in all composite formations. Contemplate upon decay so that you may walk freely on the path to Nirvana.
All things that come into existence are impermanent and subject to modifications. The wise ones therefore cultivate detachment and discernment.
You are not in the river. You are the river.
@artbydw @Ms_ChelseaH @amanimurrayyoga Thank you
Friction when controlled warms the hearth and spreads light all around, but when left uncontrolled burns a whole forest.
What you do or think in moments of spontaneity is what you truly are. It's when your mask falls off and you appear in your pristine purity.
Speaking right words Speaking facts Speaking gently Speaking positively Speaking with compassion And without ill will This is Right speech.
Open your mind to all possibilities and impossibilities so that you will find right solutions.
The Buddha rests in the silence of your desires.
The Buddha is your path to your own freedom and destiny.
With detachment in perception, in thinking, in actions, in relationships, and in being, you awaken the mind into the wisdom of the Buddhas.
Your feelings are the pathways to both heavens and hells of your inner world. Do not become stuck in them.
Pay attention to your feelings. They reflect truths about you and others.
Take refuge in the wisdom of the Buddha. Even gods follow the Wheel of Dhamma.
Don't cling to the Buddha. Nor to the goal of Nirvana. Only those who are fully detached from attraction and aversion can walk on the Path.
A Bodhisattva walks with others on the path of Nirvana but stops at the gates of freedom, for he has resolved to help others until the last.
Bodhisattvas' Dharma: Let compassion flow at the suffering of others. Let the mind be still when you are in suffering.
Wealth is like fire. You can use it to warm others' hearts or spread light, or you can burn yourself with it by going too closer.
To be comfortable with silence when there is a problem or no problem, disturbance or no disturbance, this is the mark of true renunciation.
In any situation focus on what you can control and what you can do.
First suffering. Then mindfulness. Then understanding. Then suffering again. This is the beginning of the great journey.
In suffering this thought alone leads you to right understanding, "Why am I suffering?"
Knowing the difference between knowing and not knowing is the foundation to Nirvana.
You may learn about Dharma from others. But only from observation that you truly know how it works in your life.
In silence the mind awakens to new awareness.
The mind is like a Twitter box. It has its own trolls.
Your actions and your behavior are the ultimate test of your character and integrity.
Before taking Refuge in Buddha, refrain from hurting, from taking what's not given, from misconduct, from hateful speech and from intoxicants.
Speaking gently, speaking at the right time, speaking facts, speaking useful words, with compassion and without malice, this is Right Speech.
We each have our own illusions and we spend a lifetime defending them or nurturing them.
Sleep is a big healer. Take refuge in sleep. Your mind sets itself right and your body becomes bright.
Each moment is alive and ready for you with infinite possibilities.
To keep the mind pure and calm, to be awake here and now, to be virtuous, these are the simple aims of a difficult path which the monk chooses.
Other than you, no one can take responsibility for your life. Nor can you take responsibility for another's.
He who does not disturb the world, nor is disturbed by it, he is the true embodiment of Buddha's compassion, equanimity and nonviolence.
Do not hunt the beasts of the forest. Or cause anyone harm. For the weight of sin will be heavy and the suffering of the pitiless manifold.
Compassion, friendliness, courtesy and humility, the four virtues make a person holy, wise and serene. All hearts open to him.
Mindfulness is better than study and recitation. But mindfulness in study and recitation is even better.
So earth is 4.5 billion years old. Humans appeared 150000 years ago. Then God entered human history about 6000 BC. Where was he until then?
We are prisoners of the world. But the world is also a prisoner of our minds. We just do not let it go.
Through meditation try reach to the core of your consciousness that survives death. It will be your sanctuary when death really happens.
Embracing the realty without reaction or judgment is the essential purpose of all spiritual practice.
Breath has no religion. So also meditation and mindfulness.
Meditation is not just for peace or stress relief. It can help you mentally deal with pain and suffering when your body can't get rid of them.
Your mother carries you for nine months or so. Thereafter you carry that child for life.
Just as the continuity of a river is an illusion the continuity of Self is.
The illusion of self is caused by the association of aggregates. When you separate them, the notion of I, me and mine disappear.
Ignorance in Buddhism means ignorance of Dhamma, the cause and the cessation of suffering.
Step aside so that you can see things as they are.
There is no effort, force or coercion in breathing. The essence of nonviolence is you must extend the same to other aspects of life.
RT @MelyndaRokke: @Buddhavac @MelyndaRokke Thanks for following. I don't tweet much, unless I like the content. May the Force be with you.…
@TheWriteSF spontaneity is to unmask yourself from yourself. When speaking to others the rules of right speech apply using right words, etc.
Evil prevails because it is the nature of evil to appear good. Hence the need for right discernment (buddhi).
Many Buddhists regularly practice compassion. Yes, compassion needs practice. It's like recharging your mind and body with the light of Buddha
You can help others with your thoughts, with your words, with your compassion and an occasional smile. Just spread a few rays of light around.
Beneath the surface of reality we experience everyday is an entirely different world. However it does not make any difference to our lives.
The practice of right speech consists of abstaining from 1. False speech 2. Divisive speech 3. Abusive speech and 4. Idle speech
Observation with gentle awareness is the beginning of meditation and mindful awareness. It is in that effort you see the Buddha in action.
On the path of Nirvana the intention not to have any intention is the best intention.
If you keep your mind clean and calm it becomes a sacred place where you can find freedom, peace and the wisdom of the Buddha.