Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
Gautama BuddhaRead
With gentleness overcome anger. With generosity overcome meanness. With truth overcome deceit.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the power of positive qualities like gentleness, generosity, and truth to combat negative emotions and behaviors.
In this quote, Gautama Buddha suggests that the best way to address negative actions and feelings, such as anger, meanness, and deceit, is through the application of gentleness, generosity, and truth. This highlights a compassionate approach to conflict resolution and personal interaction, advocating for constructive responses instead of falling into cycles of negativity.
Themes
GentlenessGenerosityTruthAngerDeceitConflictKindness
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a speech about conflict resolution techniques.
More from Gautama Buddha
All quotes →A kind man who makes good use of wealth is rightly said to possess a great treasure; but the miser who hoards up his riches will have no profit.
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There are having flowers in Spring, breezes in Summer, moon in Autumn, snows in Winter. If there is nothing worrying over you, it will be the best seasons at all times.
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Make an island of yourself, make yourself your refuge; there is no other refuge. Make truth your island, make truth your refuge; there is no other refuge.
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When a wise man is advised of his errors, he will reflect on and improve his conduct. When his misconduct is pointed out, a foolish man will not only disregard the advice but rather repeat the same error.
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The tongue like a sharp knife ... Kills without drawing blood.
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