Quotes About Buddhism

Precepts in Buddhism and commandments in Judiasm and Christianity are important jewels that we need to study and practice. They provide guidelines that can help us transform our suffering.

Buddhist teachings are meant to awaken our true self, not merely to add to our storehouse of knowledge. From

Buddha said, "The past no longer is, the future is not yet here; there is only one moment in which life is available, and that is the present moment." To meditate with mindful breathing is to bring body and mind back to the present moment so that you do not miss your appointment with life.

Buddhist meditation has two aspects — shamatha and vipashyana. We tend to stress the importance of vipashyana ("looking deeply") because it can bring us insight and liberate us from suffering and afflictions. But the practice of shamatha ("stopping") is fundamental. If we cannot stop, we cannot have insight.

We can also explore four additional concentrations on impermanence, non-craving, letting go, and nirvana. These four practices are found in Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing, a wonderful text from early Buddhism.

No view can ever be the truth. It is just from one point; that is why it is called a "point of view." If we go to another point, we will see things differently and realize that our first view was not entirely right. Buddhism is not a collection of views. It is a practice to help us eliminate wrong views. The quality of our views can always be improved. From the viewpoint of ultimate reality, Right View is the absence of all views.

In Buddhism we talk about a bodhisattva called Avalokiteshvara, the one who has the ability to listen and to understand the suffering of others. If we evoke his name, it is in order to learn to listen.

Zen certainly derives from Buddhism, but a form of Buddhism that belongs to a geographical zone influenced by the Chinese culture. The Chinese Zen tree, transplanted in Japan, in Vietnam, and in Korea, has grown well and greatly. Zen Buddhism, in each of these countries, differs with certain nuances from that practiced in China. One can, however, easily recognize its identity.

When the Buddha gave a talk to a large gathering of businessmen, the core of his message to them was, "It is possible to live happily right in the present moment.

Though Zen is a Chinese form of Buddhism, it reflects entirely the spirit and splendor of Indian Buddhism, from its inception to its full development. For this reason one can say that Zen brings us the authentic spirit of Buddhism.

The Buddha said, "The past no longer exists, and the future is not yet here." There is only a single moment in which we can truly be alive, and that is the present moment. Being present in the here and now is our practice.

Although different from Indian Buddhism from the standpoint of form and practice, in the end Zen seems to be more authentic than many other Buddhist schools. In particular, Zen emphasizes the necessity of practice aiming at enlightenment which is the very foundation of Buddhism.

The notion or emptiness in Buddhism is derived from the notion of non-identity. Emptiness ( suryata ) signifies the hollow space at the interior of a thing, the absence of identity of this thing, and not the absence of the thing itself. The image is that of a balloon. The balloon is empty; in the same way, everything is devoid of absolute identity.

Zen is none other than Buddhism.

Hay cuatro clases de alimentos que consumimos a diario. En el budismo los llamamos los Cuatro Nutrientes: los alimentos comestibles, las impresiones sensoriales, las voliciones y la conciencia, tanto a nivel individual como colectivo.

The negative attitude toward the description of ultimate reality by words is common to all Buddhist doctrine. The dictum used by Bodhidharma is only a drastic way of bringing people to this original attitude which underlines the importance of direct spiritual experience and discredits intellectual speculation.

The Buddha's Four Noble Truths are: there is suffering; there is a course of action that generates suffering; suffering ceases (i.e., there is happiness); and there is a course of action leading to the cessation of suffering (the arising of happiness).

The universe and the person who creates the universe are not two different entities. Some Christian theologians say that God is the ground of being. This is quite close to Buddhism. But then Buddhism asks the question, If God is the ground of being, then what is the ground of nonbeing?

The concept of "emptiness" here is not a form of nihilism as some early Western scholars of Buddhism thought; it simply means that all things are empty of an inherent, unchanging, and permanent nature—no thing exists independently and remains fixed, but arises due to a set of constantly changing causes and conditions. This is the insight of interbeing.

The teaching of the Buddha relieves us of suffering. The basis of suffering is ignorance about the true nature of self and of the world around you. When you don't understand, you are afraid, and your fear brings you much suffering. That is why the offering of nonfear is the best kind of gift you can give, to yourself and to anyone else.

Buda llamó al sufrimiento la Santa Verdad, porque nuestro sufrimiento tiene la capacidad de mostrarnos la senda de la liberación.

This is the great insight of the Mahayana—that everyone can become a Buddha. What Siddhartha achieved, all of us can also achieve, whether we are a man or a woman, no matter what social class or ethnic group we were born into, or whether we practice as a monastic or as a layperson. We all have the capacity to become a fully enlightened Buddha. And while on the path to becoming a fully enlightened Buddha, we are all bodhisattvas.

Bhikshu, you should know that the Tathagata is the Dharma King. If the Tathagata says something then those words are not false, they are always true. If the Tathagata says something exists, that is true. If the Tathagata says something does not exist, that is also true. If the Tathagata teaches the Mahayana, it is true. And if the Tathagata teaches the Hinayana, it is also true.

The Buddha recommends we live our daily life in this way, seeing everything in the light of interbeing. Then we will not be caught in our small self.