1043 – “[Bliss] is like a lighted torch whose flame can be distributed to ever so many other torches which people may bring along; and therewith they will cook food and dispel darkness, while the original torch itself remains burning ever the same. It is even so with the bliss of the Way.”

-Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha

Common Paraphrase [See Source Notes]:

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, And the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

Quote Number: 95

Quote Source: Sutra of Forty-Two Sections. Section 10. In Sermons of a Buddhist Abbot. Soyen Shaku, author. Daietz Teitaro Suzuki, translator. The Open Court Publishing Company: Chicago. 1906. Pg 9. Online from Google Books Here.

Paraphrase Source: The Teaching of Buddha. Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism), author and translator. Kosaido Co., Ltd.: Tokyo. Pg 132. Online PDF Here. Other Languages Here.

Source Notes: The paraphrase is from a popular compilation of Buddha’s teachings created in Japan in the 1960s by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (The Society for the Promotion of Buddhism). Unlike most paraphrases, this one maintains the original sense and meaning, however it is significantly altered textually from the original.

Advertisement