Quotes About Nonviolence

An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

N.B. This quote refers to the British disarmament of the Indian Army. Gandhi never advocated the individual right to bear arms.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

Think about self-defense less as what you do and more about what you don't do.

The emotion of nonviolence was building in him until it became a prejudice like any other thought-stultifying prejudice. To inflict any hurt on anything for any purpose became inimical to him. He became obsessed with this emotion, for such it surely was, until it blotted out any possible thinking in its area. But never was there any hint of cowardice in Adam's army record. Indeed he was commended three times and then decorated for bravery.

My family were staunch believers in physical violence, not automatic violence, and we had a Safeway around the corner, so we never really needed to kill anything.

My father never raised his hand to any one of his children, except in self-defense.

When you are steadfast in your abstention of thoughts of harm directed toward yourself and others, all living creatures will cease to feel fear in your presence.

When we can lay down our fear and anger and choose responses other than aggression, we create the conditions for bringing out the best in us humans.

All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.

For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.

Possession of arms implies an element of fear, if not of cowardice.

The values a man must cherish as his life-breath are, Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non violence.

I cannot teach you violence,as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before anyone even at the cost of your life.

Let us never yield to those who believe political power flows from the barrel of a gun, to

I was very active in the peace movement, still am.

May we not succumb to thoughts of violence and revenge today, but rather to thoughts of mercy and compassion. We are to love our enemies that they might be returned to their right minds.

If we do an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, we will be a blind and toothless nation.

Gandhi was right: if we all live by 'an eye for an eye' the whole world will be blind. The only way out is forgiveness.

Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.

Nonviolent struggle is the most powerful means available to those struggling for freedom.

Retaliation is counter-poison and poison breeds more poison. The nectar of Love alone can destroy the poison of hate.