"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world."

Philosophy

Create & Download Quote Image

Select Template

Insight & Reflection

This reflection on philosophy by Buddha resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in philosophy is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering religious teacher who lived in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained nirvana at Bodh Gaya in what is now Bihar, India. The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order (sangha). Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached parinirvana.

More quotes by Buddha  ’
Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Buddha

"Without health life is not life it is only a state of langour and suffering - an image of death."

Read more  ’

"Without health life is not life; it is only a state of langour and suffering - an image of death."

Read more  ’

"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth not going all the way, and not starting."

Read more  ’

"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves."

Read more  ’

More about Philosophy

"What we face may look insurmountable. But I learned something from all those years of training and competing. I learned something from all those sets and reps when I didn't think I could lift another ounce of weight. What I learned is that we are always stronger than we know."

Read more  ’

"Freedom is not a gift nor does it simply exist for us to have, but rather it is a sacred duty, and its blessed yield of hope is born from none other than the blood of the innocent."

Read more  ’

"It would be a terrific innovation if you could get your mind to stretch a little further than the next wisecrack."

Read more  ’

"It is a profound truth that a quiet mind perceives the subtle truths that noisy ambitions constantly drown out — an essential principle for the reflective life."

Read more  ’
View all Philosophy quotes  ’