60 Monk Quotes To Live A Selfless Life

A monk is a person who dedicates his life to the service of others.

A monk often lives alone and will travel frequently, engaged in prayers and meditations to attain solitude and nirvana. Living the life of a hermit can be tough, however, monks do overcome all the evils of life through rigorous practice.

Buddhism which was founded by Gautama Buddha is a famous religion where the majority of believers turns to asceticism at some point in their life. The tradition of being a monk is ancient and can be found in the pages of history.

Monks are not secluded to one religion and can be found on almost all major religions of the planet. So if you are fond of ascetic vibes, do check out this article.

If you find our content interesting then do check out these Pema Chödrön quotes and trust god quotes

Best Monk Quotes

Listed below are the best monk quotes, funny monk quotes, Buddhist monk quotes, quotes about monks, wisdom quotes, and selfless quotes.

1. "Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea...This is the way to success."

- Swami Vivekananda.

2. "But God will show mercy, though you show none. And where is the merit of your boasted virtue? "

― Matthew Gregory Lewis, 'The Monk'.

3. "You haven't partied until you've partied at dawn in complete silence with Buddhist monks."

- Cameron Diaz.

4. "Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life."

― Thich Nhat Hanh.

5. "Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."

- Tenzin Gyatso.

6. "Liberty is the first condition of growth. It is wrong, a thousand times wrong, if any of you dares to say, 'I will work out the salvation of this woman or child."

- Swami Vivekananda.

7. "Perhaps the old monks were right when they tried to root love out; perhaps the poets are right when they try to water it."

- Olive Schreiner.

8. "The sign of intelligence is that you are constantly wondering."

- Jaggi Vasudev.

9. "A Buddhist monk has a responsibility first and foremost to themselves, and that's to find the truth each day in every part of their life."

- Frederick Lenz.

10. "Meditation is not just blissing out under a mango tree. It completely changes your brain and therefore changes what you are."

― Matthieu Ricard.

11. "Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes."

- Nhat Hanh.

Cool Monk Quotes

Here are cool monk quotes along with 'Canterbury Tales' monk quotes, Tibetan monk quotes, zen monk quotes, and Shaolin monk quotes.

12. "Why do you expect reward in heaven for that?...No, saintly monk, you try being virtuous in the world, do good to society, without shutting yourself up in a monastery..."

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

13. "My imagination is a monastery and I am its monk."

- John Keats.

14. "If you seek security in life, unknowingly you seek death. The only truly secure place is your grave."

- Jaggi Vasudev.

15. "From my own personal encounters and studies with both Tantric and Zen Buddhist monks, I have found them to be humorous, warm, charming, and compassionate."

- Frederick Lenz.

16. "Peaceful and kind one monk is more valuable than violent and rude ten thousand men!"

― Mehmet Murat ildan.

17. "Buddha's first admonition to the bhikkhus or monks was to go forth into the world and work for the welfare of the people."

- A. T. Ariyaratne.

18. "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."

- Tenzin Gyatso.

19. "Monk there was, one of the finest sort,

An outrider; hunting was his sport;

A manly man, to be an abbot able."

- Geoffrey Chaucer, 'The Canterbury Tales'.

20. "Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else."

- Swami Vivekananda.

21. "A monk should surely love his books with humility, wishing their good and not the glory of his own curiosity..."

- Umberto Eco.

22. "A monk's extraordinary patience can be a hindrance to desperate decision-making."

- Harsha Bhogle.

23. "No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change."

- Nhat Hanh.

24. "A rich entrepreneur who lives a simple life with his family while helping as many people as he can, is more monk than a monk who lives a secluded life in a monastery meditating and begging."

― Abhijit Naskar, 'Monk Meets World'.

Gautama Buddha Quotes

Here are all the best quotes by Gautama Buddha.

25. "Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes."

- Gautama Buddha.

26. "As rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, do not burden your heart with judgments but rain your kindness equally on all."

- Gautama Buddha.

27. "Everything that happens to us is the result of what we ourselves have thought, said, or done."

- Gautama Buddha.

28. "Though a fool spend all his life with wise men, he will know the truth no more than a spoon knows the taste of the soup."

- Gautama Buddha.

29. "The secret of health for both mind and body is...live the present moment wisely and earnestly."

- Gautama Buddha.

30. "True and lasting inner peace can never be found in external things."

- Gautama Buddha.

31. "Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people."

- Gautama Buddha.

32. "If you let cloudy water settle, it will become clear. If you let your upset mind settle, your course will also become clear."

- Gautama Buddha.

33. "Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have."

- Gautama Buddha.

34. "To stop suffering, stop greediness. Greediness is a source of suffering."

- Gautama Buddha.

35. "Pain is certain, suffering is optional."

- Gautama Buddha.

36. "If a man going down into a river, swollen and swiftly flowing, is carried away by the current — how can he help others across?"

- Gautama Buddha.

37. "The fool who thinks he is wise is just a fool. The fool who knows he is a fool is wise indeed."

- Gautama Buddha.

38. "And this, monks, is the noble truth of the origination of dukkha: the craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight..."

- Gautama Buddha.

39. "A mind unruffled by the vagaries of fortune, from sorrow freed, from defilements cleansed, from fear liberated — this is the greatest blessing."

- Gautama Buddha.

40. "When you move your focus from competition to contribution, life becomes a celebration."

- Gautama Buddha.

41. "Forgive and be free. Forget that you have forgiven and be freer."

- Gautama Buddha.

42. "Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."

- Gautama Buddha.

43. "Do not be the judge of people; do not make assumptions about others."

- Gautama Buddha.

Famous Monk Quotes

Here are all the finest quotes by famous monks. You will also find Buddhism quotes, Buddhist quotes, the monk quotes, and Buddhist monk quotes.

44. "Your success is not measured in terms of what all you obtained but in term of what you become, how you live and what actions you do. Upon this point reflect well and attain great happiness"

- Swami Vivekananda.

45. "Firstly, as a Buddhist monk, I hold that violence is not good. Secondly, I am a firm believer in the Gandhian ethic of passive resistance. And thirdly, in reality, violence is not our strength."

- Dalai Lama.

46. "As the bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the flower, or its color or fragrance, so let the sage dwell on earth."

- Gautama Buddha.

47. "The gift of knowledge is the highest gift in the world."

- Swami Vivekananda.

48. "As Buddhist monks, our task is to bring ourselves resolutely more and more into light, to forgive and forget, to forget those who create problems for us because to remember them is only to keep problems in mind."

- Frederick Lenz.

49. "I describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk. No more, no less."

- Dalai Lama.

50. "Frustration, discouragement, and depression mean you are working against yourself."

- Jaggi Vasudev.

51. "We are all basically the same human beings, who seek happiness and try to avoid suffering."

- Tenzin Gyatso.

52. "Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes."

- Nhat Hanh.

53. "Be like a tree. The tree gives shade even to him who cuts off its boughs."

- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

54. "To be a monk is to have time to practice for your transformation and healing. And after that to help with the transformation and healing of other people."

- Thich Nhat Hanh.

55. "Some consider me as a living Buddha....hat's silly. That's wrong. If they consider me a simple Buddhist monk, however, that's probably okay."

- Dalai Lama.

56. "Be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, always offering respect onto others and never expecting any in return"

- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

57. "Talk to yourself at least once in a Day...Otherwise you may miss a meeting with an Excellent person in this World."

- Swami Vivekananda.

58. "The Buddha also counseled the monks and nuns to avoid wasting any precious time by engaging in idle conversation, oversleeping, pursuing fame and recognition..."

- Nhat Hanh.

59. "The gift of knowledge is the highest gift in the world."

- Swami Vivekananda.

60. "Do not try to fix whatever comes in your life. Fix yourself in such a way that whatever comes, you will be fine."

- Jaggi Vasudev.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for monk quotes, then why not take a look at God's love quotes, or trust the process quotes.