“Both formerly and now, what I teach is suffering and the cessation of suffering.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
meaningethicsmind
Paraphrase or translation
Philosopher
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The Buddha
c. 5th–4th century BCE · Buddhism · Ancient
Part of:Ancient questions, modern life →
Siddhattha Gotama, the Buddha, or Awakened One, taught in northern India. Modern scholars usually place him in the fifth or fourth century BCE. He left no book. The teachings were remembered orally and written down centuries later, in several canons. What this library quotes is that canonical voice, not a journalist's transcript and not a meditation-app caption.
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The centre of the first sermon is a diagnosis: suffering, its origin in craving, its cessation, and a path. Mind is treated as the forerunner of states, which is a claim about intention, not the poster 'what you think, you become'. Hatred is said not to end hatred. Speculative questions that do not help with the wound are set aside in the story of the poisoned arrow.
The Kalamas are told not to rely on rumour or tradition alone, and then given a test, which the short quotation often drops. Narada Thera's Dhammapada and Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations of the Nikayas are the English guides worth naming. The historical person is reconstructed through a tradition that already believed him. That is a reason to cite the discourse, not a reason to accept every sentence the internet attributes to a Buddha.
Start here
The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 56.11) and Dhammapada 1 and 183.
You get the four truths and the ethical summary before the verses turn into posters.
Quotations
“Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is an eternal law.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
ethicslovemind
Paraphrase or translation
“All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
changeknowledgemeaning
Paraphrase or translation
“Mind is the forerunner of states. They are mind-made.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
mindethics
Paraphrase or translation
“Not to do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
ethicsvirtue
Paraphrase or translation
“Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, death is suffering.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
meaningdeath
Paraphrase or translation
“A person struck by a poisoned arrow who will not let the arrow be drawn until every question about the archer is answered does not get what the teaching is for.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
knowledgemeaning
Paraphrase or translation
“Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing, nor upon tradition, nor upon rumour.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
knowledgemind
Paraphrase or translation
“Greater than one who conquers a thousand times a thousand people is the person who conquers themself.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
selfvirtue
Paraphrase or translation
“The mind is everything. What you think, you become.”
The Buddha · Buddhism
mindselfchange
Misattributed
Key ideas
Four truths
The teaching is framed as suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path, a diagnosis rather than a theory of everything.
Impermanence
Conditioned things do not stay, and seeing that, rather than only agreeing, is said to loosen clinging.
Mind and intention
The Dhammapada opens by making mind the forerunner of states, with ethical consequences attached.
Undeclared questions
Questions that do not serve the end of suffering are set aside, as in the parable of the poisoned arrow.
Major works
Dhammapada (early canonical verse)
A verse collection of the Pali canon, traditionally the Buddha's teaching, arranged by topic for memorising.
Majjhima, Samyutta, and Anguttara Nikayas (discourses written down centuries later)
Collections of suttas, including the first sermon, the arrow parable, and the advice to the Kalamas.
Common misreadings
- 'The mind is everything. What you think, you become' is not Dhammapada 1.
- The Kalama discourse does not say 'believe whatever you like'; it replaces rumour with a test.
Topic hubs
Famous lines The Buddha never said
Misattributed means the library does not treat the sentence as theirs. Questionable means there is a real doubt, which is not the same as a proof they never wrote it. Both are listed here.
- Misattributed
“The mind is everything. What you think, you become.”
This pair of sentences is not in the Dhammapada or the major discourses. The canon does say that mind is the forerunner of states (Dhammapada 1–2), which is a more precise and less magical claim. The poster line overshoots that teaching and has no early source.
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FAQ
What is the best book to start with?
The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 56.11) and Dhammapada 1 and 183. You get the four truths and the ethical summary before the verses turn into posters.
What is the most famous quote?
This library does not measure fame, and it does not rank lines by how often they are shared. The first line it files for The Buddha that is not marked Questionable or Misattributed is “Both formerly and now, what I teach is suffering and the cessation of suffering.” (Majjhima Nikāya 22, Alagaddūpama Sutta, Paraphrase or translation).
What is the most misquoted line?
The library marks this as Misattributed: “The mind is everything. What you think, you become.” This pair of sentences is not in the Dhammapada or the major discourses. The canon does say that mind is the forerunner of states (Dhammapada 1–2), which is a more precise and less magical claim. The poster line overshoots that teaching and has no early source.
What is one key idea, in a sentence?
Four truths: The teaching is framed as suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path, a diagnosis rather than a theory of everything.