A “saying” is looser than a quote. It does not promise a text; it promises wisdom, usually short, usually attributed to somebody. That looseness is exactly why sayings collections are where most unverifiable Buddhist material ends up — the format does not require a source, so no source is given.
This page takes the opposite approach. Everything below is a verse of the Dhammapada, with its number, in a translation that is public domain. If a saying cannot be shown to exist in the text, it is not on this page.
Sayings that are verses
“Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they’re made by intention. If with corrupt intent you speak or act, suffering follows you, like a wheel, the ox’s foot.”
Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā; Manasā ce paduṭṭhena, bhāsati vā karoti vā; Tato naṁ dukkhamanveti, cakkaṁva vahato padaṁ.
“For never is hatred laid to rest by hate, it’s laid to rest by love: this is an ancient teaching.”
Na hi verena verāni, sammantīdha kudācanaṁ; Averena ca sammanti, esa dhammo sanantano.
“Heedfulness is the state free of death; heedlessness is the state of death. The heedful do not die, while the heedless are like the dead.”
Appamādo amatapadaṁ, pamādo maccuno padaṁ; Appamattā na mīyanti, ye pamattā yathā matā.
“The supreme conqueror is not he who conquers a million men in battle, but he who conquers a single man: himself.”
Yo sahassaṁ sahassena, saṅgāme mānuse jine; Ekañca jeyyamattānaṁ, sa ve saṅgāmajuttamo.
“One is indeed the lord of oneself, for who else would be one’s lord? By means of a well-tamed self, one gains a lord that’s rare indeed.”
Attā hi attano nātho, ko hi nātho paro siyā; Attanā hi sudantena, nāthaṁ labhati dullabhaṁ.
“Not to do any evil; to embrace the good; to purify one’s mind: this is the instruction of the Buddhas.”
Sabbapāpassa akaraṇaṁ, kusalassa upasampadā; Sacittapariyodapanaṁ, etaṁ buddhāna sāsanaṁ.
“There is no fire like greed, no crime like hate, no suffering like the aggregates, no bliss beyond peace.”
Natthi rāgasamo aggi, Natthi dosasamo kali; Natthi khandhasamā dukkhā, Natthi santiparaṁ sukhaṁ.
“Defeat anger with kindness, villainy with virtue, stinginess with giving, and lies with truth.”
Akkodhena jine kodhaṁ, asādhuṁ sādhunā jine; Jine kadariyaṁ dānena, saccenālikavādinaṁ.
“All conditions are impermanent— when this is seen with wisdom, one grows disillusioned with suffering: this is the path to purity.”
“Sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā”ti, yadā paññāya passati; Atha nibbindati dukkhe, esa maggo visuddhiyā.
“A friend in need is a blessing; it’s a blessing to be content with whatever; good deeds are a blessing at the end of life, and giving up all suffering is a blessing.”
Atthamhi jātamhi sukhā sahāyā, Tuṭṭhī sukhā yā itarītarena; Puññaṁ sukhaṁ jīvitasaṅkhayamhi, Sabbassa dukkhassa sukhaṁ pahānaṁ.
Verse 183 is the one usually called the Buddha’s “summary of the teaching”: not to do any evil, to embrace the good, to purify one’s mind. It is three clauses and it is four lines of Pali, and it is one of the few places where the book states a programme rather than an observation.
Verse 202 is worth reading next to it: there is no fire like greed, no crime like hate, no suffering like the aggregates, no bliss beyond peace. It is the same structure as verse 183 but aimed at what to put out rather than what to do.
The difference between a saying and a quote
A quote claims a text. A saying claims a tradition. When a collection of “Buddhist sayings” contains a line like “let go or be dragged”, it is not lying about a verse — it is offering something in the register of proverbial wisdom, which does not carry a citation. The problem only starts when the same line is reprinted with a photograph of the Buddha and becomes a quote by accident.
The practical test is the same either way: can the line be found in a text, and can the text be named? If the answer is no, the line may still be good advice. It is not a source.
The separate page on fake Buddha quotes works through the most common cases.
Sayings by subject
The Dhammapada is arranged by subject, so the sayings cluster:
- On action and consequence — karma
- On anger — verses 3–5 and chapter 17
- On the mind — the opening verses and chapter 3
- On letting go — craving and the house-builder
- On death — the flood that takes the sleeping village
- On happiness — the chapter that argues it follows from renunciation
- On friendship and goodwill — metta
- On restraint — self-discipline
Short sayings
If what you want is a short line — something that fits on a card or in a caption — the short Buddhist quotes page filters the book mechanically: every verse whose English runs to about 115 characters or less, taken whole, not trimmed. That is the honest version of a “short sayings” collection: the shortness is a property of the verse, not of an edit.
Where these translations come from
Bhikkhu Sujato’s English translation, released CC0 through SuttaCentral; the Pali is the Mahāsaṅgīti edition held there. Both are free to reuse. The sources page has the full licence trail, including the photographs.
Because the translation is CC0, you can build a saying collection of your own from this site without asking. What you cannot do is improve a verse by shortening it and keep the citation — the number refers to the whole verse, and half a verse cited to a number is a misquote.