Sacred texts · Buddhism
35 Buddha quotes on anger, hatred and right speech
Anger holds a special place in the teaching attributed to the Buddha: the Dhammapada takes it up in its very first verses and gives it a whole chapter, the seventeenth. The central idea fits in one verse, which Max Müller translates: “For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.” (Dhp 5)
This page gathers Dhammapada verses and a few passages from the suttas on hatred, anger, non-violence and right speech. The English quotes Max Müller (1881) and Bhikkhu Sujato’s public-domain translations, including verses from the Sutta Nipāta and the Udāna; the French page quotes Fernand Hû (1878). Every text was checked word for word against its source. For anger in everyday relationships, you can also read Selfia’s affirmations for relationships and boundaries, or go back to the main Buddha quotes.
Hatred does not cease by hatred
Verses 3 and 4 of the Dhammapada describe resentment fed by the wrongs we keep repeating to ourselves, and verse 5 the way out of it. The suttas quoted here carry the idea further: don’t dispute with the world, and love all beings so as to bear enmity toward no one.
“He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,”—in those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease.
“He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,”—in those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred will cease.
For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.
Let us live happily then, not hating those who hate us! among men who hate us let us dwell free from hatred!
Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. He who has given up both victory and defeat, he, the contented, is happy.
Mendicants, I do not dispute with the world; it is the world that disputes with me. When your speech is in line with the teaching you do not dispute with anyone in the world.
Don’t kill or cause others to kill, don’t conquer or encourage others to conquer, with love for all sentient beings, you’ll have no enmity for anyone.
Holding back anger: the charioteer
Chapter XVII, “Anger,” compares the person who holds back rising anger to a driver who checks a rolling chariot, while “other people are but holding the reins” (Dhp 222). The next verse gives the method: “Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good” (Dhp 223).
Let a man leave anger, let him forsake pride, let him overcome all bondage! No sufferings befall the man who is not attached to name and form, and who calls nothing his own.
He who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot, him I call a real driver; other people are but holding the reins.
Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth!
Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.
The Awakened call patience the highest penance, long-suffering the highest Nirvana; for he is not an anchorite (pravragita) who strikes others, he is not an ascetic (sramana) who insults others.
They lead a tamed elephant to battle, the king mounts a tamed elephant; the tamed is the best among men, he who silently endures abuse.
Him I call indeed a Brahmana from whom anger and hatred, pride and envy have dropt like a mustard seed from the point of a needle.
Him I call indeed a Brahmana who is tolerant with the intolerant, mild with fault-finders, and free from passion among the passionate.
Non-violence toward all beings
Verses 129 and 130 of the Dhammapada ground non-violence in a simple comparison: all beings tremble at punishment and love life, just as you do. Only the one who has pity on all living creatures, adds verse 270, deserves to be called noble (ariya).
All men tremble at punishment, all men fear death; remember that you are like unto them, and do not kill, nor cause slaughter.
All men tremble at punishment, all men love life; remember that thou art like unto them, and do not kill, nor cause slaughter.
He who seeking his own happiness does not punish or kill beings who also long for happiness, will find happiness after death.
The sages who injure nobody, and who always control their body, they will go to the unchangeable place (Nirvana), where, if they have gone, they will suffer no more.
A man is not an elect (Ariya) because he injures living creatures; because he has pity on all living creatures, therefore is a man called Ariya.
Him I call indeed a Brahmana who finds no fault with other beings, whether feeble or strong, and does not kill nor cause slaughter.
Him I call indeed a Brahmana who, though he has committed no offence, endures reproach, bonds, and stripes, who has endurance for his force, and strength for his army.
A mindful one who develops limitless love weakens the fetters, seeing the ending of attachments. Loving just one creature with a hateless heart makes you a true person. Sympathetic for all creatures, a noble one creates abundant merit.
Creatures love happiness, so if you don’t harm them with a stick in search of your own happiness, after death you will find happiness.
Right speech, blame and praise
A harsh word comes back to the one who spoke it (Dhp 133). These verses invite you to speak without harshness, to look at your own faults before others’, and to keep blame and praise in proportion. The suttas add a rule for speech: words that hurt neither yourself nor others.
Do not speak harshly to anybody; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful, blows for blows will touch thee.
This is an old saying, O Atula, this is not only of to-day: ‘They blame him who sits silent, they blame him who speaks much, they also blame him who says little; there is no one on earth who is not blamed.’
There never was, there never will be, nor is there now, a man who is always blamed, or a man who is always praised.
A man is not learned because he talks much; he who is patient, free from hatred and fear, he is called learned.
Him I call indeed a Brahmana who utters true speech, instructive and free from harshness, so that he offend no one.
The fault of others is easily perceived, but that of oneself is difficult to perceive; a man winnows his neighbour’s faults like chaff, but his own fault he hides, as a cheat hides the bad die from the gambler.
Let none deceive another, nor look down on anyone anywhere. Though provoked or aggrieved, let them not wish pain on each other.
Speak only those words that do not hurt yourself nor harm others; such speech is truly well spoken.
Speak only pleasing words, words gladly welcomed. Pleasing words are those that bring nothing bad to others.
Truth itself is undying speech: this is an ancient teaching. Good people say the teaching and meaning are grounded in truth.
“People out of control stab with words, like they stab a tusker in battle with darts. When they hear a harsh word spoken, a mendicant should endure with no anger in heart.”
How to use these quotes when anger rises
In the heat of anger, a long quote is useless. Keep the image of the charioteer (Dhp 222): the moment you feel anger take off, check it the way you would check a chariot, for three slow breaths, before you speak or type.
Once you have cooled down, reread the first group. Verses 3 and 4 describe a pattern everyone knows: replaying an offense keeps resentment alive. Write it down once if you need to, then stop retelling it to yourself. Holding back anger doesn’t mean accepting the unacceptable; you can set a boundary calmly.
In the Selfia app, the Buddhism path (Settings › Spirituality) offers passages from Buddhist texts in a separate section.
Frequently asked questions
What did the Buddha say about anger?
In the Dhammapada, anger is first something to hold back and overcome: chapter XVII is devoted to it and advises overcoming anger by love and evil by good (Dhp 223). Verses 3 to 5 add that hatred lasts as long as you dwell on the offense, and that it ends only through its opposite.
Where does “hatred does not cease by hatred” come from?
It is verse 5 of the Dhammapada, one of its most quoted lines. Max Müller writes that “hatred ceases by love,” while the French translator Fernand Hû speaks of “l’absence de haine,” the absence of hatred. The Pali has averena, “by non-hatred”: Hû stays close to the word, Müller gives its positive sense.
Is non-violence central to Buddhism?
Yes. The first of the five precepts kept by Buddhist lay people is to refrain from killing, and the Dhammapada keeps returning to the refusal to harm living beings (verses 129 to 132, 225 and 405). Verses 129 and 130 ground that refusal in empathy: all beings tremble at punishment and love life.