Vesak Day 2017: Top ten quotes from Buddha to mark the festival

IBTimes Singapore has hand picked top quotes to share with your close ones on this Vesak Day.

Vesak Day 2017
A devotee prays in front of a Buddha statue during the birth anniversary of Buddha, also known as Vesak Day May 10, 2017. Reuters

Vesak Day is one of the most important days in the Buddhist calendar. On this day, Buddhists around the world celebrate Vesak, which commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. According to Buddhist scriptures, each of these significant events occurred on the full moon of the Indian lunar month of Vesakha.

Every year, the date of the festival differs depending on the country or culture. This year, Singapore will celebrate Vesak day on 10 May. Vesak, also known as Buddha Purnima, is celebrated differently in each Buddhist groups.

In Sri Lanka, colourful lanterns are lit to signify the life of the Buddha, while in Taiwan fragrant water is poured over statues of Buddha. Singapore celebrates Vesak day by setting caged birds free. In this article, IBTimes Singapore has hand picked top quotes to share with your close ones on this Vesak Day.

  • Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.
  • Pay no attention to the faults of others, things done or left undone by others. Consider only what by oneself is done or left undone.
  • An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.
  • Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
  • Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.
  • All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
  • The past is already gone, the future is not yet here. There's only one moment for you to live.
  • If you knew what I know about the power of giving you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.
  • There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
  • One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world.

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