Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
Gautama BuddhaRead
Love yourself and be awake- Today, tomorrow, always. First establish yourself in the way, Then teach others, And so defeat sorrow. To straighten the crooked You must first do a harder thing- Straighten yourself. You are your only master. Who else? Subdue yourself, And discover your master.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Self-love and personal mastery are essential for true happiness and effective leadership.
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and self-improvement as the foundations for helping others and overcoming challenges. Gautama Buddha suggests that before guiding or teaching others, one must first cultivate a deep understanding and mastery of oneself, as this inner strength will enable one to navigate life's difficulties and assist others along their journeys.
Themes
Self-LoveMasterySelf-ImprovementHappinessWisdomGuidance
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop about personal development, you might use this quote to emphasize the importance of self-awareness.
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.
Gautama BuddhaRead
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.
Gautama BuddhaRead
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.
Gautama BuddhaRead
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.
Gautama BuddhaRead
The tongue like a sharp knife ... Kills without drawing blood.
Gautama BuddhaRead
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To know how to hide one's ability is great skill.
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Please don't settle for happiness. It's not good enough. Of course you deserve it, but if that's all you have in mind - happiness - I want to suggest to you that personal success devoid of meaningfulness, free of a steady commitment to social justice - that's more than a barren life. It's a trivial one.
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. . . the enemy of righteousness also works in little steps, so small that they are hard to notice if you are thinking only about yourself and how great you are. Just as truth is given to us line upon line and the light brightens slowly as we obey, even so, as we disobey our testimony of truth lessens almost imperceptibly, little by little, and darkness descends so slowly that the proud may easily deny that anything is changing.
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To prevent and suppress rising resentment is wise and glorious, is manly and divine.
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Analyze yourself. All emotions are reflected in the body and mind. Envy and fear cause the face to pale, love makes it glow.
Paramahansa YoganandaRead