--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Buddha encouraged people to \"know for…" description: "\"“The Buddha encouraged people to \"know for yourselves that certain things are unwholesome and wrong. And when you do, then give them up. And when you k..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/steve-hagen-18377_buddha_the-buddha-encouraged-people-to-know-for_1770147.jpg" --- # The Buddha encouraged people to "know for yourselves that… ![“The Buddha encouraged people to "know for yourselves that certain things are unwholesome and wrong. And when you do, then give them up. And when you know for yourselves that certain things are wholesome and good, then accept them and follow them." The message is always to examine and see for…” quote by Steve Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/steve-hagen-18377_buddha_the-buddha-encouraged-people-to-know-for_1770147.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/steve-hagen-18377_buddha_the-buddha-encouraged-people-to-know-for_1770147.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/steve-hagen-18377_buddha_the-buddha-encouraged-people-to-know-for_1770147.jpg) > ““The Buddha encouraged people to "know for yourselves that certain things are unwholesome and wrong. And when you do, then give them up. And when you know for yourselves that certain things are wholesome and good, then accept them and follow them." The message is always to examine and see for yourself. When you see for yourself what is true-and that's really the only way that you can genuinely know anything-then embrace it. Until then, just suspend judgment and criticism.”” [Steve Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hagen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges personal investigation of moral qualities, urging us to reject harmful actions and embrace beneficial ones, based on direct experience rather than external authority. **In simple terms:** Know what harms you, accept what helps you, through personal insight. Key Takeaway Practice self‑observation and act accordingly. Themes ethics mindfulness personal responsibility Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - daily decision‑making - conflict resolution - habit formation - spiritual practice Key Concepts moral discernment self‑reliance Questions to Reflect On - How do you currently judge what is wholesome? - What practices help you suspend premature criticism? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge can be clouded by bias; external influences may distort perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddha/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Inspirational quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-quotes/) ## Related quotes > [“The Buddha encouraged his followers to never accept what was put to them as truth by anyone else without scrutiny or skepticism. 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You'll smack into that brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-fry/richard-drew-always-encouraged-his-people-to-pursue-ideas-he-said-if/) Arthur Fry > [I want to be remembered as a guy who inspired, encouraged and made people laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-perry/i-want-to-be-remembered-as-a-guy-who-inspired-encouraged-and-made/) [Tyler Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-perry/) > [My mother and father definitely encouraged me. 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That's as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/i-don-t-think-i-ve-changed-anything-but-i-hope-that-by-my-talks-i/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [“Buddha is not someone you pray to, or try to get something from. Nor is a buddha someone you bow down to. A buddha…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hagen/buddha-is-not-someone-you-pray-to-or-try-to-get-something-from-nor-is/) [Steve Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hagen/) > [“No words—Buddha’s, mine, or anyone else’s—can see for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hagen/no-words-buddha-s-mine-or-anyone-else-s-can-see-for-you/) [Steve Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hagen/) > [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/) ## More by Steve Hagen > [Socrates pointed out that we carry on as though death were the greatest of all calamities-yet, for all we know, it might be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hagen/socrates-pointed-out-that-we-carry-on-as-though-death-were-the/) [Steve Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hagen/) > [“Buddhism is not a belief system. It’s not about accepting certain tenets or believing a set of claims or principles. In fact, it’s quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hagen/buddhism-is-not-a-belief-system-it-s-not-about-accepting-certain/) [Steve Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hagen/) > [And here we are with our improved human world that we've spent a great deal of time and energy working on. 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Rather, the task it presents us with is to attend to what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hagen/the-buddha-dharma-does-not-invite-us-to-dabble-in-abstract-notions/) [Steve Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hagen/) > [Nothing holds us back but our thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hagen/nothing-holds-us-back-but-our-thoughts/) [Steve Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hagen/) > [“As we live out of such a mind, we become generous, with no sense of tolerance. 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I read 'Confession of a Buddhist Atheist' by Stephen Batchelor and Karen Armstrong's biography of Buddha, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-o-hare/i-went-on-a-buddha-jag-i-read-confession-of-a-buddhist-atheist-by/) [Denis O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-o-hare/) > [The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-buddha-the-godhead-resides-quite-as-comfortably-in-the-circuits/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Why don't the names of Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius offend people? The reason is that these others didn't claim to be God, but Jesus did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/why-don-t-the-names-of-buddha-mohammed-confucius-offend-people-the/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [When people suffer, their relationships usually suffer as well. Period. And we all suffer because, as the Buddha says, that's the nature of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/when-people-suffer-their-relationships-usually-suffer-as-well-period/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [The real power of the Buddha was that he had so much love. He saw people trapped in their notions of small separate self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/the-real-power-of-the-buddha-was-that-he-had-so-much-love-he-saw/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“Then Maitreya Bodhisattva thought: “Now the World-Honored One has displayed a marvelous sign. But what is the cause or reason for this auspicious sign?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-reeves/then-maitreya-bodhisattva-thought-now-the-world-honored-one-has/) Gene Reeves > [It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/it-is-possible-that-the-next-buddha-will-not-take-the-form-of-an/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“The foundational Vajrakilaya is the sun shining in the sky behind the clouds. The path Vajrakilaya is the removal of the clouds from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyatrul-rinpoche/the-foundational-vajrakilaya-is-the-sun-shining-in-the-sky-behind-the/) Gyatrul Rinpoche > [Inside we are all Golden Buddha's, but we grew to believe we were made of clay. 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Hence, whenever anyone enters that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/i-hold-that-all-the-teachers-of-the-world-have-attained-that-life/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) [Browse all 411 Buddha quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddha/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Buddha encouraged people to \"know for yourselves that certain things are unwholesome and wrong. And when you do, then give them up. And when you know for yourselves that certain things are wholesome and good, then accept them and follow them.\" The message is always to examine and see for yourself. When you see for yourself what is true-and that's really the only way that you can genuinely know anything-then embrace it. 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