Great Throughts Treasury

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought."

"Better than a thousand meaningless words is one word of sense which brings the hearer peace."

"As rain breaks through an ill-thatched roof, so lust breaks through an ill-trained mind."

"By thoughtfulness, by restraint and self-control, the wise man may make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm."

"By one’s self the evil is done, by one’s self one suffers; by one’s self evil is left undone, by one’s self one is purified. The pure and the impure stand and fall by themselves, no one can purify another."

"Both the young and the old, both the wise and the foolish, end up in death."

"`He abused me, he struck me, he overcame me, he robbed me’ – in those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease."

"As a solid rock cannot be moved by the wind, the wise are not shaken by praise or blame."

"Even if the water falls drop by drop, it will fill the pot; and the fool will become full of evil, even though he gather it little by little."

"Faith is wealth! Obedience is wealth! Modesty also is wealth! Hearing is wealth, and so is Charity! Wisdom is sevenfold riches."

"From love comes grief, from greed comes fear; he who is free from greed knows neither grief nor fear."

"Hatred does not cease by hatred; hated ceases only by love. This is the eternal law."

"From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear; he who is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear."

"However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do if you do not act upon them?"

"If a man’s faith is unstable and his peace of mind troubled, his knowledge will not be perfect."

"It is easy to do that which is of real benefit to oneself, but it is difficult indeed to do that which is truly beneficial and good."

"If by renouncing a lesser happiness one attains to a happiness that is greater, then let the wise pursue that happiness which is greater."

"If you rest in the stillness like a broken gong, you have already reached heaven, for anger has left you."

"It is good to tame the mind, which is difficult to hold in and flighty, rushing wherever it listeth; a tamed mind brings happiness."

"Just as solid rocks are not shaken by the wind, so wise men are not moved by either blame or praise."

"Just as the paths of the birds or the fish are invisible, so is the path of the possessors of wisdom."

"Let no one forget his own duty for the sake of another’s, however great; let a man after he has discovered his own duty, be always attentive to his duty."

"The conquest of oneself is better than the conquest of all others."

"No suffering befalls the man who calls nothing his own."

"The pure and impure stand and fall by their own deeds; no one can purify another."

"The body dies but the spirit is not entombed."

"The process of salvation must come from within."

"What is life but the flower or the fruit which falls, when ripe, but yet which ever fears the untimely frost?"

"The fool who knows he is a fool is already wise; the fool who thinks he is wise is definitely a fool."

"They blame him who talks too much; they blame him who is silent; and they also blame him who speaks little; there is not, in fact, a person who is not blamed. Yet there never was, there will never be, nor is there now, a man who is always blamed or a man who is always praised."

"There is no fire like passion, no shark like hatred, no snare like folly, and no torrent like greed."

"Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. The calm one is he who has given up both victory and defeat."

"Those who love nothing, and hate nothing, have no fetters."

"A person of little knowledge Grows old as a plough-ox grows old. His fleshes increases; His wisdom does not increase."

"Fore-run by mind are mental states, Ruled by mind, made of mind. If you speak or act With corrupt mind, Suffering follows you, As the wheel the foot of the ox. Fore-run by mind are mental states, Ruled by mind, made of mind. If you speak or act With clear mind, Happiness follows you, Like a shadow that does not depart."

"But the scent of the good is blown against the wind: A good man perfumes all directions."

"In the village, a sage should go about Like a bee, which, not harming Flower, colour or scent, Flies off with the nectar."

"The aware do not die; The unaware are as though dead already."

"Not merely by rules of conduct and religious observances, nor by much learning either, nor even by attainment of concentration, nor by sleeping alone, do I reach the happiness of freedom, to which no worldlings attain. If you have not put an end to compulsions, nurse your faith."

"Watchfulness is the path of immortality: Unwatchfulness is the path of death. Those who are watchful never die: Those who do not watch are already as dead. Those who with a clear mind have seen this truth, Those who are wise and ever watchful, They feel the joy of watchfulness, The joy of the path of the great. And those who in high thought and in deep contemplation With ever living power advance on the path, They in the end reach NIRVANA, The peace supreme and infinite joy."

"If you never see a fool You'll always be happy. The one who keeps company with fools Will be sorry for a long time. It's painful to live with fools, Like being always with an enemy."

"The fool who knows his folly Becomes wise by that fact. But the fool who thinks he's wise - He's called 'a fool' indeed!"

"Better than a thousand sayings Made up of useless words Is one word of meaning Which calms you to hear it."

"Though you recite much scripture, If you are unaware and do not act according You are like a cowherd counting others' cattle, Not a sharer in the wanderer's life."

"The virtuous man delights in this world and he delights in the next."

"From the dear comes grief; From the dear comes fear. If you're freed from the dear You'll have no grief, let alone fear."

"There's a mess inside you: You clean the outside."

"The non-doing of any evil, the performance of what's skillful, the cleansing of one's own mind: this is the teaching of the Awakened."

"If there is no wound in your hand You can carry poison in your hand. Poison does not attack one who is unwounded. There is no evil for one who does not do evil."

"Life is as good and as bad as it seems. There is no need to add anything extra."