Quotes About Goodness

Every true spiritual tradition has urged human beings to water the seeds of love, compassion, empathy, and goodness. Below you will find examples from all the major faith traditions.

Buddhism

“For hatred can never put an end to hatred; love alone can. This is an unalterable law.”

The Dhammapada, Verse 5
Collection of Sayings of the Buddha

“The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others. Rather, we must criticize ourselves. How much am I doing about my anger? About my attachment, about my hatred, about my pride, my jealousy? These are the things which we must check in daily life.”

The 14^th Dalai Lama (1935)
Monk of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism

Christianity

“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

St. Matthew 7:12
King James Bible

“I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone.”

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
Roman Catholic Friar and Preacher

“Not all of us can do great things but we can do small things with great love. Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

Mother Teresa or Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic Nun and Missionary

“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)
French-German Theologian, Philosopher, and Physician

“Love is the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth… Love is as love does. Love is an act of will — namely, both an intention and an action. Will also implies choice. We do not have to love. We choose to love.”

Scott Peck (1936-2005)
American psychiatrist, Christian, and Author

Hinduism/Vedanta

“All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore love for love’s sake, because it is law of life, just as you breathe to live.”

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
Hindu Monk and Chief Disciple of Ramakrishna
From: Letters of Swami Vivekananda

“It is easy enough to be friendly to one’s friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.”

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Civil Rights Leader, Hindu mystic, and Nonviolent Visionary

“True, this world of ours is full of hatred and disbelief, but that is no reason why we should not love and why we should not believe. We must love and believe in order to empty the hatred-sea.”

Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007)
Indian Spiritual Leader who taught Meditation from his base in New York City

“As soon as we learn in meditation to love God, we shall love all mankind as we love our own family. Those who have found God through their own Self-realization—those who have actually experienced God—they alone can love mankind; not impersonally, but as their blood brothers, children of the same one Father.”

Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952)
Indian Yogi and Founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship
From: Where There is Light (Selections from his Teachings)

Judaism

“If you won’t be better tomorrow than you were today, then what do you need tomorrow for?”

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810)
Inspired the Hasidic Movement by Combining Esoteric Secrets of the Kabbalah with In-Depth Torah Scholarship

“A religious man is a person who holds God and man in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair.”

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972)
Polish-born American Rabbi and Jewish Theologian

“If one is cruel to himself, how can we expect him to be compassionate with others?”

Hasdai ibn Shaprut (915-970)
Jewish scholar, physician, diplomat and patron of science who lived in Spain

Taoism

“Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained.”

Lao Tzu (6^th Century BC)
Legendary Chinese Figure (Taoism)

Confucianism

“When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.”

Confucius (551-479 BC)
Chinese Teacher, Editor, Politician, and Philosopher

Islam/Sufism

“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”

Imam al-Nawawi (1233-1277)
Syrian Hadith Scholar
From: 40 Hadith (number 13)

“I have loved Thee with two loves – a selfish love and a love that is worthy of Thee. As for the love which is selfish, therein I occupy myself with Thee, to the exclusion of all others. But in the love which is worthy of Thee, thou dost raise the veil that I may see Thee. Yet is the praise not mine in this or that, but the praise is to Thee in both that and this.”

Rabia al Basri (713-801)
Female Muslim Saint and Sufi Mystic

“God is the ally of those who believe: He brings them out of the depths of darkness and into the light.”

The Qur’an 2:257
Translated by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

“There are two aspects of individual harmony: the harmony between body and soul, and the harmony between individuals. All the tragedy in the world, in the individual and in the multitude, comes from lack of harmony. And harmony is the best given by producing harmony in one’s own life.”

Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927)
Founder of the Sufi Order in the West and teacher of Universal Sufism

“I am a lover, and I deal in love. Sow flowers, so your surroundings become a garden. Don’t sow thorns; for they will prick your feet. We are all one body. Whoever tortures another, wounds himself.”

Rahman Baba (1653-1711)
Pashtun Sufi Dervish and Poet from Peshawar

Native American

“This we know. The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth. All things are connected, like the blood that unites one family. Whatever befalls the Earth, befalls the children of the Earth. We do not weave the web of life; we are only a strand of it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”

Chief Seattle, (1786-1866)
Native American Chief of the Suquamish Tribe

“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself.”

Chief Tecumseh (1768-1813)
Native American Leader of the Shawnee Nation

Bahá’í

“Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.”

Baha’u’llah (1817-1892)
Founder of the Baha’i Faith

Feel free to add similar quotes in the comment section.

Gudjon Bergmann
Interfaith Minister & Author

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