--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Buddhism has existed forever, just like…" description: "\"Buddhism has existed forever, just like we have, and occasionally it's codified; it's put together into a system by someone who likes to codify.\" — Fre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-w_1054919.jpg" --- # Buddhism has existed forever, just like we have, and… ![“Buddhism has existed forever, just like we have, and occasionally it's codified; it's put together into a system by someone who likes to codify.” quote by Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-w_1054919.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-w_1054919.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-w_1054919.jpg) > “Buddhism has existed forever, just like we have, and occasionally it's codified; it's put together into a system by someone who likes to codify.” [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Buddhism is an ancient, evolving tradition, sometimes systematized by scholars. **In simple terms:** Buddhism is ancient and sometimes formalized. Key Takeaway Recognize both its timeless roots and modern structures. Themes Buddhism tradition codification history Mood educational contemplative Type philosophical informative When to use this quote - meditation practice - academic study - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts religious studies philosophy of religion Questions to Reflect On - How does codification affect practice? - What aspects of Buddhism remain fluid? A Different Perspective The view may simplify diverse Buddhist schools. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Buddhism Existed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism-existed-2545541/) [Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) [Cosmology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmology/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Existed Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existed-forever-1813761/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Likes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/likes/) [Occasionally Codified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasionally-codified-2545542/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) ## Related quotes > [The Buddha gave his first talks, and three or four ascetics became his first disciples. They recognized his enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-buddha-gave-his-first-talks-and-three-or-four-ascetics-became-his/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [What is evil? There is no such thing. In Buddhism we don't recognize evil and therefore we don't give it any power over us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/what-is-evil-there-is-no-such-thing-in-buddhism-we-don-t-recognize/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Buddhism is perception, gaining control of the mind and directing one's attention, to raise the kundalini energy so that it flows with such volatility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/buddhism-is-perception-gaining-control-of-the-mind-and-directing-one/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Occasionally, in each age and in different lands, a Buddha is born, that is to say, an enlightened person...they re-codify the ways, the practices,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/occasionally-in-each-age-and-in-different-lands-a-buddha-is-born-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Buddhism doesn't come from anybody. It exists by itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/buddhism-doesn-t-come-from-anybody-it-exists-by-itself/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Human beings have become so afraid of the unknown, themselves, and each other that they deprive themselves of that innate ecstasy and love of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/human-beings-have-become-so-afraid-of-the-unknown-themselves-and-each/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Humor enables us to deal with and overcome many of the most painful and difficult situations in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/humor-enables-us-to-deal-with-and-overcome-many-of-the-most-painful/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The Buddhist mindset seeks to eliminate the self. That is to say, what we want to experience is life, not self. When there's less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-buddhist-mindset-seeks-to-eliminate-the-self-that-is-to-say-what/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Knowledge of the Enlightenment Cycle, of the ways that inner dimensions and nirvana work, lifts you far above the transient sorrows, pains, pleasures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/knowledge-of-the-enlightenment-cycle-of-the-ways-that-inner/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Over a period of years he collected thousands of discples. Many became his students. Many didn't become his students but whenever he was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/over-a-period-of-years-he-collected-thousands-of-discples-many-became/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Novelists and poets have existed side by side forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-brakhage/novelists-and-poets-have-existed-side-by-side-forever/) [Stan Brakhage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-brakhage/) > [In a dog's world, only three states existed: "now," "in a while," and "forever." If someone left, he was gone "forever," and when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/in-a-dog-s-world-only-three-states-existed-now-in-a-while-and-forever/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [“There is no such thing as death. Life existed before we were born and will continue to exist after we leave this world. Same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/there-is-no-such-thing-as-death-life-existed-before-we-were-born-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When I looked at the painting I felt the same convergence on a single point: a glancing sun-struck instance that existed now and forever.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/when-i-looked-at-the-painting-i-felt-the-same-convergence-on-a-single/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Hero-worship exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally, among mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/hero-worship-exists-has-existed-and-will-forever-exist-universally/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More by Frederick Lenz > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You can draw power from everything in your life. In order to do that, everything has to be set up in a proper way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-draw-power-from-everything-in-your-life-in-order-to-do-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The sound man, immune as to a sacrifice of straw dogs, faces the passing human generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-sound-man-immune-as-to-a-sacrifice-of-straw-dogs-faces-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Karma means changing planes of reality or changing fields of attention. There will be perhaps a resulting physical action stemming from the change of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-means-changing-planes-of-reality-or-changing-fields-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Why waste your time being around people who drag you down? You don't live forever, at least in this life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/why-waste-your-time-being-around-people-who-drag-you-down-you-don-t/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Everybody here is so caught up in the game of life they don't see death. They don't see beyond their deaths. They are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everybody-here-is-so-caught-up-in-the-game-of-life-they-don-t-see/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Explore all 4,399 Frederick Lenz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More Buddhism quotes > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Enlightenment is lightening up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/enlightenment-is-lightening-up/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [The very best players, when they are practicing, put everything they've got into it. But then they leave it for a while. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-very-best-players-when-they-are-practicing-put-everything-they-ve/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mom and my aunties are really devout Christians. My mom married a Muslim when I was 12, so I got teachings from both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tech-n9ne/my-mom-and-my-aunties-are-really-devout-christians-my-mom-married-a/) [Tech N9ne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tech-n9ne/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“The extraction of discrete parts of Chöd teachings from their broader philosophical contexts is symptomatic of how Chöd has been incorporated into and transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-sorensen/the-extraction-of-discrete-parts-of-ch-d-teachings-from-their-broader/) [Michelle Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-sorensen/) > [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That's all there is, enlightenment on the end of a cock. It doesn't get any more Zen than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-wilkes/that-s-all-there-is-enlightenment-on-the-end-of-a-cock-it-doesn-t-get/) [Jaden Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-wilkes/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) [Browse all 6,100 Buddhism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Buddhism has existed forever, just like we have, and occasionally it's codified; it's put together into a system by someone who likes to codify.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frederick Lenz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-we-have-and-occasionally-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Buddhism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-we-have-and-occasionally-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-w_1054919.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-w_1054919.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-w_1054919.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Buddhism has existed forever, just like we have, and occasionally it's codified; it's put together into a…” — Frederick Lenz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frederick Lenz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Buddhism has existed forever, just like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-we-have-and-occasionally-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/buddhism-has-existed-forever-just-like-we-have-and-occasionally-it-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```