In short: the Buddha saw human life as rare and precious: "It's hard to gain a human birth; the life of mortals is hard" (Dhammapada 182), and urged living it awake: "Better to live a single day seeing rise and fall than to live a hundred years blind to rise and fall" (Dhammapada 113). Here are seven genuine quotes on life, each with its source.
1. Dhammapada 182
"It's hard to gain a human birth; the life of mortals is hard; it's hard to hear the true teaching; the arising of Buddhas is hard."
How rare a human life is: the blind turtle simile.
2. Dhammapada 113
"Better to live a single day seeing rise and fall than to live a hundred years blind to rise and fall."
3. Dhammapada 170
"Look upon the world as a bubble or a mirage, then the King of Death won't see you."
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4. Dhammapada 168
"Get up, don't be heedless, live by principle, with good conduct. For one of good conduct sleeps at ease, in this world and the next."
5. Dhammapada 21
"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."
6. Dhammapada 62
"‘Sons are mine, wealth is mine’— thus the fool frets. For even your self is not your own, let alone your sons or wealth."
7. Dhammapada 2
"Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they're made by intention. If with pure intent you speak or act, happiness follows you like a shadow that never leaves."
All quotes are from the early Buddhist texts in Bhikkhu Sujato's translation on SuttaCentral, copied exactly. Last checked: 17 October 2026.
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What did the Buddha say about life?
'It's hard to gain a human birth; the life of mortals is hard; it's hard to hear the true teaching; the arising of Buddhas is hard' (Dhammapada 182).