80 Buddhist phrases to find calm and inner peace

According to the estimates of the Pew Research Center , Buddhists make up 7% of the world’s population. Half of them are found in China, although the philosophical-spiritual doctrine has spread to all corners of the world. To bring you closer to his teachings, we have compiled a selection of the best Buddhist phrases.

There are dozens of Buddhist schools, but broadly speaking we can classify them into two groups: Mahayana and Theravada. Although each one follows different methods, deep down they share the same philosophy. With 2,500 years of history, Buddhism remains one of the most important spiritual systems.

The best Buddhist phrases

The beliefs of Buddhism revolve around the teachings of Gautama Buddha (6th-5th century BC) and the four noble truths discovered by him after 49 days of meditation on the Bo tree. The truths that serve as a basis for Buddhists are the following:

Suffering is a characteristic of existence. The cause of suffering is attachment and desire. The cessation of suffering is achieved through Nirvana. The path to reach Nirvana is composed of eight steps.

These eight steps, occasionally known as the Noble Eightfold Path, involve achieving wholeness in the following areas: understanding, determination, speech, resolution, action, sustenance, effort, and attention. If you are just dabbling in these terms, the following Buddhist phrases will serve as an introduction:

1. “If you miss the present moment, you miss your date with life. “That’s very serious!” (Thich Nhat Hanh)

It seems obvious, but in practice the biggest truisms in life go over the heads of most. The busy life that characterizes modernity never makes room to enjoy the present.

It’s all about planning, thinking that happiness will be found there. If you can’t be happy now, if you don’t take advantage of your life, if you don’t value the present moment, then you can hardly do it. Your existence will pass in front of your eyes without you realizing it.

2. “If something is worth doing, do it with all your heart.” (Buddha)

This is one of the Buddhist phrases that should be remembered, since apathy when doing something also characterizes modern societies. No matter how small the action you take, always do it giving your all.

3. “If we take care of everything, a peaceful mind will have nowhere to live.” (Shen-Hui)

It seems that our selection of Buddhist phrases encourage us to rethink what kind of existence we lead in the 21st century. If your mind is always agitated, don’t expect to find peace no matter how hard you try.

20 minutes of meditation at the end of the day is not worth a whole day with your mind scrambled by information, worries and stress.

4. “Power over others is a weakness disguised as strength. The true power is within and available to you now.” (Eckhart Tolle)

All power is ephemeral; a fact that the person who exercises it usually forgets. Understanding this is one of the most valuable lessons for your life. The one you exercise within yourself, on the other hand, is the only one that is 100% safe and permanent.

5. “Do not seek sanctuary in anyone but yourself.” (Buddha)

As we have already seen in the four noble truths, Attachment is one of the causes of suffering. If you build a sanctuary around someone else and start pouring emotions, dreams, and ambitions into it, you could lose everything if that person leaves.

6. “It all depends on you. You can continue sleeping forever or you can wake up right now.” (Osho)

The choice in the end always falls to you. Both to begin the journey along the Buddhist path, and when facing any decision in your life.

It is you, and only you, who holds the reins of life. Make sure you hold them firmly and start directing your destiny.

7. “The goal of spiritual life is to awaken a joyful freedom, a benevolent and compassionate heart despite everything.” (Jack Kornfield)

This summarizes all our Buddhist phrases. The ultimate goal is always freedom, although on the path to it we reap many things. Benevolence and compassion are two of them. We invite you to read the link between Buddhism and mindfulness.

8. “If we don’t take care of others when they need help, who will take care of us?” (Buddha)

It is better that you do not act thinking about what you could receive in return. Understanding the power, effect and joy behind the gesture is the most important thing.

9. “Not thinking about anything is Zen. “Once you know this by walking, sitting or lying down, everything you do is zen.” (Bodhidharma)

Zen is one of the best-known schools of Buddhism. It has several internal schools, although meditation is a central part of all of them. Learn more about it with our article on the essential principles of Zen philosophy.

10. “No one divides you more than thought.” (R.H. Blyth)

Not only does it divide you, it also puts obstacles in your way that will make your progress through life insurmountable. The obstacles that your mind places are worse than those you find on the physical plane.. Another Buddhist phrase that should be kept in mind at all times.

11. “When the mind is perfectly clear, what is is what we want.” (Byron Katie)

So when it is full of darkness, embodied through worries, stress, insecurities, anger and so on, you cannot see the picture in front of you at all. The difference is identical to a spring with clear water compared to a lake with stagnant, dark water.

12. “What you are is what you have been. What you will be is what you do now.” (Buddha)

You cannot anchor your present, much less your future, to what you have done. What you did is in the past and, although it is extended as experience/learning, it will be a determining factor to the extent that we allow it. You are the one who decides who you want to be based on what you do right now..

13. “All the things that really matter, beauty, love, creativity, joy and inner peace arise from beyond the mind.” (Eckhart Tolle)

Your duty is to find the path that leads you to them. Other Buddhist phrases that serve as an introduction to the philosophy that supports this practice.

14. “They never give you more pain than you can bear. You never, ever get more than you can take.” (Byron Katie)

Or you never get more than you have worked to get. Many times we hope to achieve a lot by doing little, something that of course is one of the blindfolds that you must remove to see a different side of life.

15. “Whoever acts on the basis of truth is happy in this world and beyond.” (Buddha)

You live better with yourself and with others if you choose to walk the path of truth. The choice is always up to you, so you can’t excuse yourself for not choosing the right option. Taking responsibility is also part of Buddhist philosophy.

16. “Resistance to the unpleasant situation is the root of suffering.” (Ram Dass)

Resistance that translates into different ways: denial, rejection of changes and attachment. It is not enough to free yourself from something from the material plane, you must also do it from your mind. Even when there are thousands of miles away from a problem, it will always be in you if you never let it go from your mind. One of the best Buddhist healing phrases.

17. “Letting go is the choice. Letting go is always the choice. Have you ever noticed that much of our agony is related to desire and loss? (Susan Lydon)

Although it is not the only way in which it manifests itself, you can value these words by applying them to relationships. The agony in which some people drown after a breakup is always related to desire and loss. This is one of the Buddhist love phrases that every adult should keep in mind.

18. “Everything we are is the result of what we have thought.” (Buddha)

And also what we have done. Thought is often accompanied by action, this is the consummation of the former.

19. “Learning to let go must be assimilated before learning to achieve. Life should be touched, not strangled. You have to relax, let it happen sometimes and sometimes move on.” (Ray Bradbury)

Because sometimes the only solution, and the best of all, is to simply move on. Value things and people while they are with you, so you won’t have any type of complex when you have to leave them at some point.

20. “The practice of Zen is to forget oneself to immediately unite with something.” (Koun Yamada)

Something you achieve through meditation. If you are going through a difficult time, we suggest reading the ways in which you can center yourself in the midst of the storm based on Zen.

21. “Melting attachment to oneself is the most powerful medicine to control mental and emotional imbalances.” (Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche)

We have talked about avoiding attachment to others, but not that we should also do it to ourselves. This principle is the same as that which governs that which deals with love: “To learn to love others we must first love ourselves.”.

That said, how can you practice detachment toward others if you haven’t done it with yourself? Another of the best Buddhist phrases in life that you should memorize.

22. “Thousands of candles can be lit with a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never diminishes when shared.” (Buddha)

Wise words that most people ignore in their daily lives. A gesture towards someone, no matter how small, can be that spark that lights an inner candle that has gone out. Remember this when you have the opportunity to do good.

23. “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Humanity cannot survive without it.” (Tenzin Gyatso)

If you eliminate love and compassion from your life, in no case can you say that you have lived. Much of the sum of life’s experiences revolve around these two. They should not be luxuries that you can have occasionally, but rather they should be an active part of your daily life.

24. “Forgiveness is a transformative act because it asks you to be a more empathetic and compassionate person.” (Kamand Kojouri)

True forgiveness, that which is not subject to a temporal variable. All forgiveness must be permanent, sincere and with clemency. If not, you are not practicing true forgiveness.

25. “There are three things that cannot be hidden for long: the sun, the moon and the truth.” (Buddha)

No matter how much effort you put into doing it. The date with the truth is unavoidable, and the longer it takes to meet the truth, the more apotheotic it will be. There is nothing more praiseworthy in this life than always walking with the truth guiding your path.

26. “Have good confidence in yourself. Not the one you think you should be, but the one you are.” (Maezumi Roshi)

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