--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not have as friends harmful people…" description: "\"Do not have as friends harmful people, the wise person does not associate with the worst of people. Have as friends virtuous people, the wise person as..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/gautama-buddha-163_associates_do-not-have-as-friends-harmful-people-th_1273847.jpg" --- # Do not have as friends harmful people, the wise person… ![“Do not have as friends harmful people, the wise person does not associate with the worst of people. Have as friends virtuous people, the wise person associates with the best of people.” quote by Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/gautama-buddha-163_associates_do-not-have-as-friends-harmful-people-th_1273847.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/gautama-buddha-163_associates_do-not-have-as-friends-harmful-people-th_1273847.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/gautama-buddha-163_associates_do-not-have-as-friends-harmful-people-th_1273847.jpg) > “Do not have as friends harmful people, the wise person does not associate with the worst of people. Have as friends virtuous people, the wise person associates with the best of people.” [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wisdom lies in choosing virtuous companions and avoiding harmful ones. **In simple terms:** Choose good friends, avoid bad ones. Key Takeaway Cultivate relationships with the wise. Themes friendship wisdom morality Mood reflective calm Type ethical advice When to use this quote - career mentorship - community building - personal development Key Concepts ethical conduct social influence Questions to Reflect On - Who in your life lifts you up? - How can you gently distance from negative influences? A Different Perspective Hard to identify harmful people objectively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Associates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/associates/) [Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Friends Harmful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-harmful-4093354/) [Friends Virtuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-virtuous-2571575/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-wise-1037051/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Virtuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtuous/) [Virtuous People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtuous-people-470190/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-person/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) ## Related quotes > [Do not have evil-doers for friends, do not have low people for friends: have virtuous people for friends, have for friends the best of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/do-not-have-evil-doers-for-friends-do-not-have-low-people-for-friends/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [As a mountain is unshaken by the wind, so the heart of a wise person is unmoved by all the changes on this earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/as-a-mountain-is-unshaken-by-the-wind-so-the-heart-of-a-wise-person/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. 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As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/only-a-virtuous-people-are-capable-of-freedom-as-nations-become/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hamilton then picked up a slim volume on the table and turned it over in his hands. “Ah, this is the constitution,” he said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/hamilton-then-picked-up-a-slim-volume-on-the-table-and-turned-it-over/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [Virtuous people are simply those who have not been tempted sufficiently, because they live in a vegetative state, or because their purposes are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/virtuous-people-are-simply-those-who-have-not-been-tempted/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Only free people have an incentive to be virtuous. Only people who bear the consequences of their own acts will care about those consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/only-free-people-have-an-incentive-to-be-virtuous-only-people-who/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) ## More by Gautama Buddha > [Before you've seen it, and when you first see it, it is the greatest thing; afterwards, it is ordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/before-you-ve-seen-it-and-when-you-first-see-it-it-is-the-greatest/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you the Messiah?" "No," answered Buddha. "Then are you a healer?" "No," Buddha replied. "Then are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/one-of-his-students-asked-buddha-are-you-the-messiah-no-answered/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Give thanks for what had been given to you, However little. 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That speech is truly well spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/speak-only-the-speech-that-neither-torments-self-nor-does-harm-to/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Pain is the outcome of sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/pain-is-the-outcome-of-sin/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [It is because I perceive the danger in the practice of mystic wonders, that I loath, abhor, and am ashamed thereof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/it-is-because-i-perceive-the-danger-in-the-practice-of-mystic-wonders/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [If one is the master of oneself, one is the resort one can depend on; therefore, one should control oneself of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/if-one-is-the-master-of-oneself-one-is-the-resort-one-can-depend-on/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/watch-the-thought-and-its-ways-with-care-and-let-it-spring-from-love/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [One is not low because of birth nor does birth make one holy. 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