The Essence of Buddhism Quotes

“But if you do not find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go on your way alone, like a king abandoning a conquered kingdom, or like a great elephant in the deep forest – The Buddha.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“Being attached to any worldly thing always leads to suffering, since nothing in the world is permanent and any attachment to impermanence is certain to cause suffering.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“When happiness comes along, enjoy it while it lasts because it will not be permanent. You should not try hold onto it as if it were permanent because when it leaves, it will upset you.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The greatest achievement is selflessness.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The mental energy that is consumed by right effort is directed into self-discipline, truthfulness and compassion. The same energy might otherwise be channelled through a person’s base nature to produce desire, aggression and violence. Right effort ensures that this mental energy is expressed in wholesome ways.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The third noble truth holds that you can end your suffering by eliminating the desire for sensual gratification and breaking the attachments you have to the egoic self and any of the other conceptual structures that are the furniture of your life.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The enlightened person therefore tells the truth, speaks with warm gentleness when they do speak, and refrains from speaking when they have nothing important to say.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“essence of Buddhism: The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery. The greatest quality is seeking to serve others. The greatest precept is continual awareness. The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything. The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways. The greatest magic is transmuting the passions. The greatest generosity is non-attachment. The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind. The greatest patience is humility. The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go. The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The enlightened person can take immediate action to end the suffering, but while it lasts, they accept the reality of it and simply allow it to be, knowing that it will pass.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The cultivation of Right View is about applying the four noble truths in your life, taking them from an abstract idea into a living reality. The enlightened person sees the truth of the world, recognising the flawed and temporary nature of objects and ideas. They see the cause and effect relationships that connect the events of the world (karma). Because all ideas and concepts are ultimately impermanent, the enlightened person does not rely on ideologies and other external explanations of the world in order to practice Right View. Instead they cultivate their Intuition and use it to build a deeper, more complete understanding of the world beyond the level of appearances.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery. The greatest quality is seeking to serve others. The greatest precept is continual awareness. The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything. The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways. The greatest magic is transmuting the passions. The greatest generosity is non-attachment. The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind. The greatest patience is humility. The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go. The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The greatest effort is not concerned with results.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“the enlightened person does not rely on ideologies and other external explanations of the world in order to practice Right View. Instead they cultivate their Intuition and use it to build a deeper, more complete”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The mental energy that is consumed by right effort is directed into self-discipline, truthfulness and compassion.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The enlightened person has learned to observe their mind and control how it goes. They have cultivated consciousness about consciousness. It is doubtful whether any other creature on the planet is capable of this meta-awareness, since it appears to be a function of the recently evolved portions of the human brain that other animals do not have. Exercising these higher brain functions does not happen automatically in most people, it must be cultivated through right mindfulness.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“Right mindfulness is a state of heightened consciousness in which a person has cultivated the mental ability to see the world around them clearly, without delusion.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“Words can be powerful. Words can make or break a person’s life, start wars or bring peace. Words can indeed be mightier than the sword, as great orators have proven.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The underlying cause of attachment is desire, which manifests in a multitude of ways; it can be desire for higher status, wealth, sexual gratification, popularity, food, comfort, more possessions of all kinds, to name just a few of the things that people desire.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“Right mindfulness is therefore about becoming (a) conscious of your mind’s tendency to interpret and distort meaning from our experience of the world, and (b) to limit this tendency by simply allowing the world to be what it is without judging it or wishing it were otherwise.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“Words can be powerful. Words can make or break a person’s life, start wars or bring peace.”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism

“The enlightened person sees the truth of the world, recognising the flawed and temporary nature of objects and ideas. They see the cause and effect relationships that connect the events of the world (karma).”
― David Tuffley, The Essence of Buddhism