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Fake Buddha Quotes
In a rare burst of creative energy, the Tricycle team went a step further when it came to illustrating Thanissaro Bhikkhu's article "Lost In Quotation," a piece about what we miss when we don't read the whole sutta. We actually created the art ourselves:
We know. Artistic genius.
In all seriousness, the amount of "fake Buddha quotes" in circulation, especially on the Internet, is staggering. Those Post-It note quotes might look nice on your refrigerator and in your day-planner, but they can actually be problematic. People end up formulating their perception of what the Buddha said based on these snapshot quotes that are often totally made up.
A friend of Tricycle's recently sent us a blog whose mission it is to take these quotes and figure out whether or not the Buddha actually said them: Fake Buddha Quotes. It's like a Buddhist scriptures Myth Busters!
The blog is written by Bodhipaksa, a Buddhist teacher based in New Hampshire who also runs the blog Bodhi Tree Swaying and the website Wildmind. He takes quotes attributed to the Buddha that are being shared on social media and delves into the scriptures to see if the quotes have any basis. Sometimes, the quotes pass the test. But other times, we're left with hilarious images like this one:
Practical and hilarious.
I have come across many inspiring quotes and some that can help us to switch our minds to a better state of mind. So what really matters to us, what matters to us is if those quotes can help to bring some betterment, improvement for us and bring us closer to the truth. I think being in buddhism we are open to new ideas and things, we just should check it out first whether the quotes are beneficial or not. We are not closed to influences that are non dharma. Just because it is not labeled buddhism does not mean it is not real or true or beneficial.
loved the article by Thanissaro Bikkhu; it is quite annoying to see feel-good new-age sound bites being passed off as ancient wisdom. It's interesting that the Kalama sutta is probably the most frequently misquoted sutta that I come across; most versions simply reaffirm one's own ego. Even Buddhists find it hard to escape that particular ego delusion i guess.
"bad karma is like the debt on your credit card, it is compounded monthly." the Buddha